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A shocking revelation coming out of the coroner's inquest into Karen Lander's death earlier this month was that five of the 12 bullets fired struck a neighbouring home while the occupants were inside watching the evening news.

Three of those bullets penetrated the house, one of them smashing through a large bay window and into a coffee table. Another landed in a bedroom, a third flew into the kitchen and into a bookcase. Two lodged in the exterior walls.

The shots came some five hours after the standoff began. Police knew long before that Lander was possibly armed and a threat to her neighbours. Yet the homeowners say they heard not a word from the RCMP the entire time, even though they were only two doors down the street from the Glick Court home where Lander was contemplating her awful choice.

Other residents were warned of the incident by police but none were evacuated, which is what should have happened, according to Staff Sgt. Brent Secondiak of Medicine Hat Police Services, the third-party investigator brought in to study the shooting.

People may debate whether the RCMP had to shoot Lander. But there is no question that innocent people's lives were put at risk that day.

Admitting a mistake is the first requirement of preventing another. The RCMP has yet to acknowledge the serious errors made that day and steps taken, if any, to correct them.

If not for the inquest, it's quite possible the public would have never known about the errant bullets. Police said nothing about it in the days after the shooting or after the Medicine Hat Police Services cleared officers of wrong-doing, despite hints at the existence of a "substantial" but still secret report.

The fact that none of this came to light fuels the perception that police officers investigating police officers is the same as police officers protecting police officers.

In this instance, the police need no protection. They were doing their job to the best of their abilities. When such an effort puts the public in jeopardy, the flawed policies and procedure that were applied must be altered so next time the public is not put at risk. That's truly protecting police officers.

Last month, RCMP G Division Supt. Wade Blake bolstered public confidence by ordering his detachment to reopen an investigation into an assault complaint against a city bylaw officer after Yellowknifer revealed witnesses had not been interviewed by RCMP investigators. His full explanation was printed in Yellowknifer. He has so far declined to comment about this much more serious case.

He did, however, indicate in his press release dated March 7 regarding the Lander shooting, "the RCMP welcomes any opportunity to examine existing procedures and policies as they apply to front-line policing and police operations in order to ensure that the best policing services to the public are being provided. We are also committed to considering the advisability, feasibility and practicality of any recommendations that are addressed to the RCMP."

We hope that he follows through on his commitment, since he also indicated in the same press release that "public confidence in the police is essential to the RCMP's ability to serve the public."

We agree. The public ought to feel assured that when the police are called into action, it's not them that people should be afraid of.

It would be a special and educational experience to be able to look at the world through the eyes and with the experiences of Pauline Bonnetrouge.

Pauline celebrated her 100th birthday with members of her family in Fort Simpson on March 10. Leon Bonnetrouge, one of her sons, said he thinks about all of the things his mother has seen during her life.

Pauline's experiences are an example of just how much can change in the course of a life, particularly a long one. Her century of living is also a cautionary tale of how hard it is to predict what will happen in the future.

Pauline has lived through and seen revolutions in methods of transportation, technology, medicine and culture, among other things. When Pauline was born around 1913, dog sleds, walking and boats were the primary methods of transportation in the Deh Cho. She saw highways roll across the territory and the spreading use of trucks and cars.

Food supply and variety has also changed greatly. When she was young, Pauline and her family would have been primarily self-sufficient when it came to food, relying on things they could hunt and gather from the land with the addition of some store-bought goods such as flour or sugar.

Fast forward to the present when almost the opposite is true with most Deh Cho residents relying on grocery stores and supplementing their purchases with hunting or fishing. Processed, prepared food has become the norm.

Almost every aspect of life has changed during Pauline's 100 years. It's astounding to think of the adaptations she's made and new skills she would have learned throughout her life.

The lesson for us is that there's no real way to know what lies ahead in our lifetimes, let alone those of the children who are born today. When Pauline was a child, who could have foreseen iPods, iPads and iPhones and the way devices such as those are changing our lives and the way we interact with each other.

Pauline has seen drastic changes sweep through the Deh Cho and undoubtedly there will be many more changes to come. The Deh Cho in 100 years may barely be recognizable to its current residents.

There's a brave new world ahead and it will only be with concerted effort that we will be able to shape it in a way that will benefit the coming generations who will call the Deh Cho home.

Like most people last week, I was greatly saddened by the sudden passing of Stompin' Tom Connors.

I don't know whether he played in or visited around Inuvik. I do know the Mukluk Shoe song though, and its references to Tuktoyaktuk.

Now let me make myself clear. As I grew up, the music of Stompin' Tom didn't exactly run to my taste. Like many Canadians, I found his repertoire almost embarrassing, even as it took root at some elusive, almost fundamental level.

It's only been in the last decade or two, largely because Stompin' Tom is a favourite of my wife Charlene, that I've gotten over that aversion to his music and can enthusiastically indulge in it. If I had to be honest, though, my conversion started on the long ride from Moosonee to Cochrane in Ontario, on the legendary Polar Bear Express back in the late 1990s.

A piano player was in the entertainment coach, and he knew a wide variety of the man's songs. A rollicking ride through the endless miles of black spruce forest seemed the perfect backdrop to that evening, and it's one I've never forgotten.

Since then I've travelled a fair bit across Canada, seeing many of the sights mentioned in his songs. That's given me new appreciation for the music I now find poignant.

Yet even in those years where I avoided his music I had a huge and abiding respect for the man for a few simple reasons: the sheer ferocity of his individualism, his refusal to compromise his intrinsic non-conformity, his scorn of walking any company or mainstream line, and his rousing passion for all things Canadian. These things poke to me at some elemental depth.

Here was a man who didn't let self-doubt and concerns about what others thought of him cloud his judgment or alter his behaviour. I cheered back in 1978, when I was barely aware of the Juno awards, as he handed back his trophies instead of shutting up and compromising his principles.

Stompin' Tom might well have been, to use the now-overworked phrase, the most "authentic" person we will ever see in Canadian public life.

We may never see another like him, and that's the real tragedy in his passing. To quote another, albeit much-scorned, Canadian musical success story, Nickelback: "against the grain should be a way of life."

While I'm not a particularly religious person, I take delight in picturing him haranguing God and the apostles in the middle of stomping some heavenly plywood. And if he's gone to the other place, I can picture the devil playing in his backup band and enjoying every minute of it.

Farewell, Tom. Now you've been everywhere.

There was evidence of some right-headed thinking and some wrong-headed thinking at the city's municipal services committee meeting March 4.

City councillors were talking about a proposal by administration to spend $40,000 on an economic development plan when councillor Rebecca Alty suggested the city wait until the territorial government's Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment completes an economic development strategy, which is currently underway.

"I don't know how many reports I have seen done by one department and then done by another department with the first department not knowing about the other's report because nobody talks to anybody," Alty said. She was supported by Couns. Dan Wong and Linda Bussey.

That's an example of right-headed thinking.

The last economic development plan was completed by a consultant for the city in 2006. The New Paradigm for Economic Growth plan called for the city to work toward becoming a cold weather testing centre, research geothermal energy, and develop a diamond and jewelry manufacturing industry.

That's an example of wrong-headed thinking.

We suggest the city can play only a limited role in the development of a diamond and jewelry manufacturing industry, or lure automobile manufacturers to the city to do cold weather testing. And everyone knows what happened to the idea of geothermal energy. It went nowhere.

We're dismayed when we see city council look at problems that are really outside its jurisdiction, decide that they don't have the desired answers and, as a result, hire a consultant to prepare a report that says any action that can be taken is either too expensive or exclusively involve other levels of government.

We'd prefer to see the city play to its strengths. It has established a communications and economic development department, which recently hired a new staff person and wants to develop a five-year plan that will express a vision for tourism, marketing and economic growth. A majority of council support this idea.

That's an example of right-headed thinking.

The city can be effective as a promoter of the things which make it unique - the lakes, the Northern lights, Snowking Festival, Long John Jamboree, Folk on the Rocks and its success in hosting major events like last year's Canadian Medical Association conference.

It can develop promotional materials and reach out to people in regions surrounding the capital, like the Kitikmeot, whose residents already use Yellowknife as a shopping hub, to the rest of Canada, where NWT Tourism says the bulk of the city's tourists originate, to the United States and abroad, to Japan and other Asian countries where many aurora viewers already come from.

The new city council should stick to common sense solutions and put its energy, and taxpayers' money, in areas where it can make a difference.

Judging by the hustle and bustle taking place on Yellowknife Bay over the weekend, the sophomore return of Long John Jamboree appears set for another successful run this weekend.

Trucks and heavy machinery were seen hauling giant blocks of ice from the lake for the ice carving competition; a giant wall of wooden pallets stands ready to burn for the "biggest bonfire North of 60;" next door to the Snowking Winter Festival, an immense clearing on the ice awaits the raising of tents and cook shacks, and the hundreds of vehicles that will be parked as Yellowknifers come for what is hoped to be a long-running event.

The Long John Jamboree rose phoenix-like out of the ashes of Caribou Carnival, the 55-year-old Yellowknife spring festival that ran out of steam for good in 2010 - the same year the long-standing summer tradition of Raven Mad Daze made its pathetic last stand.

The Jamboree can count a good part of its success on its energetic and well-connected team of organizers, led by its president, city councillor Adrian Bell. This is something that Caribou Carnival and Raven Mad Daze didn't have in their final years. The challenge to ensuring the Jamboree has a long-lasting and successful future is making sure the baton is passed to an equally energetic group when the current crop of organizers inevitably tire and move onto other things.

Organizations such as Folk on the Rocks have been managing to do this for more than 30 years.

The key is keeping up the interest - from sponsors and the public.

Canada lost a true iconic performer on March 6 with the death of Stompin' Tom Connors at the age of 77.

The legendary singer was a proud Canadian who penned more than 300 songs during his career, the vast majority of which had distinctly Canadian subjects.

Connors became an icon in this country for the pure Canadiana of songs such as Bud The Spud, The Hockey Song and A Sudbury Saturday Night, among many others.

He never forgot the North, and had a hit song with the Ballad of Muk Tuk Annie, featuring a heroine from then Frobisher Bay.

Pangnirtung was Annie's home in the poem of the same name by Eric Linden.

When heading out on tour, Connors would ask but one question to any artist hoping to be his opening act. If the answer to whether they liked beer was anything less than unbridled enthusiasm to the affirmative, they never landed the gig.

Connors was also an advocate for Canadian artists before the country's radio stations were truly willing to play a fixed percentage of Canadian content.

The MAPL (music, artist, performer and lyrics) system was introduced in 1971, with radio stations being mandated to air Canadian content 25 per cent of their broadcast day.

By 1999, it had increased to 35 per cent.

Many stations tried to circumvent the mandate by airing most Canadian content during off-peak hours, until further regulation made them play Canadian artists between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

At about the same time, in 1971, the Juno Awards were introduced and were to begin being broadcast across the country on TV in 1975.

A scant three years later, in 1978, Connors had enough of how the Canadian recording industry treated its artists and took a stand.

Stompin' Tom was frustrated over the fact Canadian radio stations didn't really want to play Canadian music, and too many Juno Awards were being given to performers who had left their country to work abroad, most notably in the United States.

Connors removed his name from the Country Male Vocalist Of The Year category and, days later, returned six Junos he had previously won. Many Canadian artists, who made it big in their own country in the years to follow, owe a great deal to Connors for drawing attention to the plight of Canadian talent.

I had a chance to meet Connors while writing a feature article on his return to the land of the bright red mud for a tribute to him at Johnny Reid's famous JR's Bar about 20 years ago.

I met him at the airport and he agreed to answer as many questions as I could ask during the time it took us to walk to his vehicle, as long as I carried the luggage.

In the brief time I had the legend to myself, I was impressed by his candour, sincerity and biting humour. In fact, Connors was one of the few celebrities I've interviewed who was all I expected and more.

He was tickled pink to realize I was little more than a cub reporter trying to make a name for myself at the time.

As I packed the luggage into his rent-a-car, while trying to get in one last question, he remarked this was one so-called celebrity I wasn't likely to soon forget.

Hopefully, at the end of the day, Stompin' Tom is one so-called celebrity an entire nation will never forget!

There's no question that after decades of discussion, the transfer of authority over public lands, natural resources and onshore waterways from the federal government to the GNWT is closer with the signing of the draft devolution agreement March 11.

The recent negotiations involved the federal and territorial governments, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the Northwest Territories Metis Nation, the Sahtu Secretariat Inc., the Gwich'in Tribal Council and the Tlicho Government.

But as the government prepares for public "consultation" meetings, it's unclear whether changes can be made to the final agreement.

Premier Bob McLeod said in the legislative assembly that the agreement "is a take it or leave it," while the plain language summary of the deal offered online last week by the Office of Devolution states the agreement has not been formally approved and "may be subject to change before it is signed."

One issue both MLAs and residents have flagged is the federal government's continued control of the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board - choosing who sits on the board and administering environmental assessments. The territory will be liable for cleanup of new development waste sites after devolution. The federal government keeps the reins for approving projects but is devolving the clean up costs of bad decisions to the GNWT. That's a giant liability for the people of the NWT.

McLeod is firm that the purpose of the information sessions and engagement strategy is to explain the content of the devolution agreement before it is approved and signed. He insists this is a done deal and it's up to the federal government, the GNWT and the aboriginal parties who have signed on to make the final decision expected during the next sitting of the legislative assembly in May and June.

McLeod seems to be taking a page from Prime Minister Stephen Harper's hardline tactics. If the territory had party politics, the premier could easily tout his steadfastness to this immense transition of power. But, with the legislative assembly's consensus model, people may well get their backs up, regardless of the merits of the deal.

A motion in the legislative assembly by Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley asking for a plebiscite to decide if devolution should go to a public vote was defeated 14-2 with two MLAs absent. So it appears the majority of MLAs are backing McLeod's rigid stance - for now.

In the next couple of months, devolution and all it stands for will be brought forward and dissected.

It's up to the public to become informed and attend the upcoming information sessions. It is also the public's responsibility to tell MLAs if they don't agree with the devolution deal and pressure for changes and/or further negotiations.

The deal can only be signed if the majority of our MLAs agree. The people of the NWT must now be heard.

MLAs are duty bound to vote yes or no to the devolution deal according to the stated will of the voters.

While student success in Nunavut depends on co-operation between teacher, parents and students, it should be marks that decide whether a student will move on to the next academic grade.

In 2012, out of 565 Grade 12 students who could have graduated, only 228 did, according to the Nunavut Bureau of Statistics. We still haven't had a year in which at least 50 per cent of those enrolled in Grade 12 graduate, though we've come close.

Obviously the system has not yet figured out how to set Nunavummiut students up for success, and the policy of social promotion, brought about in 2008, has slashed the consequences for not completing, or mastering work or not showing up.

The policy, in place for students during grades one through nine, puts the decision of whether a student will go on to the next grade in the hands of teaching staff, district education authority officials and parents.

With so many involved in this one decision, a child's long-term welfare might not be everyone's goal. In some cases, a parent might not want their child to be stigmatized by having them fail - a stigma surely made worse in a system where hardly any students fail - or they might themselves feel embarrassment, as if their child's success is a reflection of their own parenting.

District education authority officials might feel pressure from the government to adhere to the policy of social promotion to keep failure rates low. Teachers might feel pressure from their employers to do the same, as South Baffin MLA Fred Schell mentioned when he brought this topic up in the legislative assembly earlier this month. Or perhaps teachers just want a problem student out of their class.

Responding to criticism of this policy in the National Post last week, Premier Eva Aariak wrote in a guest column that preference is given to passing the students and monitoring their progress.

Without a doubt there are excellent parents and teachers in Nunavut who are savvy to the needs of the children in their care, and are striving to help those children succeed. But expecting educational success based on the opinions of a committee rather than meeting recognized academic standards is dangerous.

The place for policies that stress flexibility should only exist in the methods of education, allowing individual strategies with the sole goal of helping students meet national education standards.

When not given the tools they need to succeed, and instead being passed through the system with no real consequences ever applied to not doing work or not showing up or not meeting national standards, students are being set up to fail.

In her National Post column, Aariak wrote time will tell as to whether this policy is working. Logic suggests that with the students of today being set up to fail, positive results won't be apparent until the next generation, if ever.

Hopefully our elected leaders will have the political drive and backbone to change this policy before then.

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