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Last week, city council grappled over possible locations for bike lanes in the city. Councillor Dan Wong proposed seasonal lanes from Latham Island to the Multiplex, along Franklin Avenue - the city's main drag.

However, other councillors took issue with lanes going on the busy street, pointing to the potential cost of removing parking meter areas to allow space for the bike paths. The cut to parking on Franklin Avenue would add yet another nail in the coffin of the deteriorating downtown shopping district, where business after business have been closing their doors -- many moving uptown away from loiterers and towards bountiful parking spaces.

This isn't the first time bike lanes have been brought forward at council. Last summer, Ecology North brought forward a pilot project for bike lanes on Franklin Avenue which was shot down. There were also reports in 2007 and 2008 recommending more bike lanes in the city.

Cycling as a mode of transportation has grown in popularity. It has environment benefits through reduced emissions and economic benefits to the commuter when the car is parked at home, not too mention it is good exercise.

Top reasons people opt not to bike is because they feel it is unsafe or the distance to travel is too far, according to a 2008 Montreal transportation plan. In this city, distance is rarely a deterrent when it comes to cycling. However, Franklin is an often intimidating road to bike on and that won't change with bike lanes.

City council should avoid Franklin Avenue in its plans for a more bike-friendly city. The thoroughfare was not built to accommodate this type of traffic, and the focus should be on the side streets. Councillors point to 52 Avenue and Veterans Memorial Drive, which leads to McMahon Frame Lake Trail, as possible bike lane areas. This option would provide a cycling link from one end of the city to the other.

While Wong argued cyclists use the city's main artery to get around, balancing the needs of motorists, cyclists and the revitalization of downtown - which includes a need to continue to allow parking on main street - means bike lanes off Franklin would benefit everyone.

Second chances are rare in business and politics but the GNWT has a shot at redemption with the impending re-emergence of Yellowknife's secondary diamond industry.

Diamond cutting and polishing factories tumbled like dominoes earlier this decade. The city went from four plants employing about 200 workers and contributing approximately 65 per cent of the NWT's manufacturing exports in 2006, to merely one operation - HRA Group's Crossworks International, in 2009.

Now that Deepak International Ltd. is preparing to open two diamond cutting and polishing plants in buildings formerly occupied by Arslanian Cutting Works and Polar Ice Diamonds at the Yellowknife Airport, the territory and the capital have an opportunity to rebuild the secondary diamond industry in combination with the still-operating Crossworks facility.

Range Lake MLA Daryl Dolynny's call for the GNWT to expedite its economic strategy to help reboot the industry should be heeded. Dolynny's motion, supported by a majority of regular members, seeks to keep rough diamonds, and thus sorting and polishing jobs, in the North while improving the marketing of the revived NWT's Polar Bear Diamond brand.

Diamonds from the NWT make up roughly 15 per cent of diamonds on the world market, and many of them are shipped to Europe for processing, which represents lost potential revenue for the territory.

The diamond mines, meanwhile, seem by reputation to be in a strong position to fuel the economic benefits of a Northern cutting and polishing industry. A recent report released by the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines characterizes the contribution of Ekati, Diavik and Snap Lake mines to Northern employment and aboriginal business development as well beyond expectations.

Under these conditions, and with the wisdom of its past failure, the GNWT should be prepared to articulate its vision for the continued growth and strengthening of NWT's cutting and polishing plants.

I've said before it's only a matter of time until another target is identified as the golden goose of tax revenues with tobacco products being at the tipping point of taxation on a legal product.

I've also suggested obesity and its related illnesses are the true number one drain on the Canadian healthcare system, and fast food or sugar would likely be the taxman's next target.

It's now reached the point where sugar lovers had better brace themselves for one heck of a rise in prices on the foods they love, coming in the notsodistant future.

And, let's be honest, we here in the Kivalliq love our sugar.

A growing number of scientists (they need funding from somewhere, right?) are jumping on the bandwagon to suggest it's time for sugar to be regulated like alcohol and tobacco and taxed accordingly.

Once that begins, it won't be long before said tax more closely resembles that of tobacco than alcohol.

If you're thinking of sugar substitutes as a way to beat the coming tax, you may not be adding a healthier choice into the mix.

If you decide to go this route, research before buying those pretty packets.

Many researchers advise consumers to stay away from the few remaining products with the original artificial sweetener, saccharin, and its highly controversial past that once saw it banned or sold with warning stickers, only to be reinstated with the stickers taken off (conflicting science, go figure!).

Many researchers also give aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal, etc.) thumbs down, while ranking sucralose (Splenda) as the best choice.

While it must be said scientific studies to date appear inconclusive, aspartame accounts for about 70 per cent of all complaints concerning artificial sweeteners.

Critics of the sweetener, which has two amino acids, have grave concerns about these amino acids because, on their own, they enter the central nervous system in very high concentrations, unlike the many amino acids naturally consumed in food that cancel out negative effects.

And a full 10 per cent of aspartame is absorbed into the blood stream as wood alcohol. The recommended daily limit of wood alcohol (methanol) is about 7.8 milligrams. A onelitre beverage containing aspartame has about eight times the recommended amount.

Sucralose is 600 times as sweet as sugar, calorie free, doesn't increase one's blood sugar nor promote tooth decay, and it's safe to use during pregnancy.

As a bonus, unlike the vast majority of artificial sweeteners, you can even bake nicely with it.

And, to date, there are far fewer concerns linked to sucralose than its rivals.

Artificial sweeteners are complex subjects.

In a study done at Purdue University in the U.S., lab animals given foods with an artificial sweetener gained more weight than those that consumed sugar.

As any addicted smoker will tell you, our body learns to expect certain things, including a blast of calories when it tastes something sweet.

When the blast isn't there, the body makes you hungry to get you to eat more.

At the end of the day, while the product Kivalliqmiut choose may be artificial, you can bet your doughnut the tax looming ahead won't be.

The newly-developed Northern Farm Training Institute is something sorely needed in the territory and has been delivered thanks to the passionate work of the Territorial Farmers' Association.

The pilot year of the project is taking off with seven three-day training workshops focusing on sustainable food production starting next month in Hay River - which has been a hub of food production through farmers' markets and, most recently, the launching of the Polar Eggs brand from Hay River Poultry Farms Ltd.

The hands-on training provided by the institute will allow people from all over the territory interested in prepping and maintaining gardens, planting, food harvest, storage and even breeding and raising livestock to share knowledge, acquire new skills and head back to their communities to experiment.

Similar to a good garden, the institute is being nurtured from a number of sources including resources from the farmer's association, classroom space from Aurora College and a funding commitment from the territorial government. With that kind of support it won't be long before growing sustainable food in the North will blossom from theory in a classroom to practice in the communities.

The stereotype of the North as a barren land has been quashed time and time again. From potato farms in the Sahtu to apple trees and grain in Fort Simpson, the Northern climate can support food production.

The Northern Farm Training Institute is helping students from across the territory attend the workshops by offering financial support for travel, accommodations and meals. There is no excuse why any Northerner itching to grow a green thumb wouldn't jump at the opportunity to learn.

Congratulations to the Territorial Farmers' Association for believing that this institute was possible and for building up a project that focuses on renewable resources and sustainable nutrition.

Earlier this month, another milestone toward the devolution destination was reached.

The territory announced the draft devolution final agreement was signed by all consenting parties, bringing an end to the negotiation process.

All that remains in the process are a couple of months for consultations with the public which includes meetings with aboriginal groups who have not yet signed the deal.

The Akaitcho and Dehcho are the final holdouts. The transfer of land and resource powers from the federal to the territorial government is coming and other aboriginal groups have seen the writing on the wall.

One by one they have observed the situation, conferred with their people, and decided to be a part of the process as it moves forward, not wait on the sidelines.

Between January 2011 and March 2013, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the NWT Metis Nation, the Sahtu Secretariat Inc., the Gwich'in and the Tlicho Government have come on board.

Now it is time to make a deal. Like it or not, devolution is moving forward and it's better to be a part of it and possibly influence improvements down the road than be on the sidelines.

To the Dehcho and Akaitcho: use the leverage that you have now because when the deal is done, you'll be on your own.

The resource revenue sharing agreement with the aboriginal government partnerships has not been finalized, Premier Bob McLeod has said, but there will be a time when the door will be closed.

Shear Diamonds Ltd. remains missing-in-action, the Jericho diamond mine sits at the mercy of the elements and, as it turns out, security payments for the project were never made.

It's situations such as this that breed cynicism and distrust of government. If government and industry are touting a new age of responsible resource development, how can mine owners skulk off leaving their mess behind?

The blame can be pointed in many directions. The Nunavut Impact Review Board is responsible for taking into account whether performance bonds have been posted when conducting its reviews, according to the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada should have been more forceful in collecting the securities. The Kitikmeot Inuit Association had the right, according to the NLCA, to take Shear to court over any unfulfilled requirements.

Of course, the blame for this mess is mostly on the shoulders of Shear, but the governments and agencies in charge of oversight should not have been caught unaware.

Obviously the system didn't work here, and must be improved. The responsibility for strengthening legislation sits with the federal government.

These payments must be collected before companies are allowed to start development.

The feds state that the project's status is still "temporarily closed for the winter" and shear remains responsible for safety at the site during its closure.

However, the company has taken down its website, cut its phone lines and effectively disappeared.

If the Shear doesn't conduct an inspection on the site before spring, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada will take control to prevent environmental harm, according to department spokesperson Genevieve Guibert. That would put maintaining this abandoned site on the backs of taxpayers.

Perhaps Shear returns from the abyss with bags of money, pays its securities and begins a successful mining operation with many Nunavummiut on staff. Perhaps the site stays empty and taxpayers have to foot the clean-up bill. The one thing we can say for sure is we shouldn't be caught in this limbo. Nunavummiut must demand strong legislation that holds industry accountable.

Natural resources are a key industry in Nunavut's quests for a viable, independent economy. No one wants the money earned from resource development spent on cleaning up after a company that decides to cut its losses and run.

Five years ago, an Alberta educator shocked a roomful of Catholic school parents after proclaiming to one of them that he would hire his son "and get him a secretary, too," should the student graduate high school without knowing how to spell.

It was a poorly considered statement, surely not one that reflects the true quality of education at Yellowknife Catholic Schools. But it was instructive. Parents are increasingly bewildered by, what seems to them, an almost heretical capsizing of long-held beliefs about what it takes to get a good education.

Homework, timed exams, deadlines for school assignments - many of these and more are on the chopping block as educators increasingly insist that these time-honoured methods don't work. The territory's social passing policy also means students are not at risk of being held back a grade until they reach high school. Parents who grew up with homework, risked getting a zero if they didn't complete it, and repeated grades when their performance was poor, are left scratching their heads.

Homework is still standard practice at Yellowknife Education District No. 1, but parents there are no less concerned.

"I can't understand the report cards," complained Jill Hebert during a Yk1 town hall meeting held earlier this month.

As it turns out, a format glitch led to incomplete statements appearing on some report cards handed out earlier this year, but Hebert and other parents were referring more specifically to the information offered to them in report cards and the state of education in general. Just how are the kids doing in school and are they learning what they need to succeed?

Parents in Yellowknife have reason to be wary. During last year's Alberta Student Achievement Tests, Yellowknife students in grades 3, 6 and 9 fared better than other students in the territory in math and English but consistently ranked below their counterparts in Alberta. The results were further skewed by the revelation that up to 21 per cent of Yellowknife students were exempt from some exams because they were either two grades behind or in a special needs program.

A Yk1 official said Yellowknife's highly transient population was one of the reasons for the poorer results. But this can't possibly be the only reason why many students in this city struggle.

Yk1 should be given credit for holding these town hall meetings. Communication with parents is even more vital in this age of changing education methods. But the question begs, are they listening?

By her own account, Miranda Currie is "a pretty smart cat," with a good education and a strong support network in her corner. However, her talents and resources couldn't spare her from the frustration caused by callous treatment at the hands of the territory's Income Assistance bureaucracy.

After suffering a series of concussions in late 2011 that now cause her physical and mental hardship, the 32-year-old entrepreneur, musician and athlete sought income and assistance from the government agency in January 2012. The income arrived about four months late and the assistance was nowhere to be found.

Her first cheque finally arrived in April, requiring her to depend on friends and family to help her cover expenses in the meantime. Currie said she was met with rude and demeaning behaviour whenever she inquired about the delays, bringing her to tears on numerous occasions.

"Crying won't get you anywhere," she said she was told by one of the case workers.

The case worker may not have been moved by Currie's plight, but Education, Culture and Employment Minister Jackson Lafferty and the department's deputy minister Gabriela Eggenhofer were. The pair have offered empathy and promised to assist her after her story went public.

Currie rightly points out that not all income assistance clients have as much family support, self-confidence and education as she has.

Income Assistance staff must be trained to address their clients with respect and humanity.

No matter how prevalent or problematic fraudulent Income Assistance claims might be, agency staff must not lose sight of their role in the community.

While ferreting out fraudulent claims may be an important task, treating people with respect, sensitivity and compassion must also be part of the job description. Filling out forms must remain merely a means to extending a helping hand to vulnerable people looking for help in a difficult time of need, and not an end in itself.

It's great to see that the Fort Liard RCMP intercepted two shipments of alcohol that were being bootlegged into Fort Liard.

The news of the seizure, however, is yet another reminder of the troubled relationship that communities and people across the Deh Cho and the North have with alcohol. Not that we really need a reminder.

The history of alcohol has visible signs in every community. One of the most blatant are the people who are regularly seen unevenly walking the streets of their community in a state of inebriation.

Alcohol, often hard liquor, is frequently the catalyst for criminal activity. Often alcohol contributes to people becoming victims of the crimes, as well. The legacy of alcohol also includes broken families, children born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, and promising lives that are stunted. One of the tragedies is that too often the effects of the abuse of alcohol by one generation are felt by the next, which can lead to a continuing cycle of addictions.

Looking at the state of alcohol use in the Deh Cho and the North and evidence such as the alcohol that was seized going into Fort Liard, it's apparent that alcohol abuse and addiction is something that will continue to be dealt with for years and possibly decades to come. If there was an easy solution for how to stop alcohol abuse, someone would have discovered it already.

What is clear is that the issue will have to be continually addressed from a variety of angles. One of those angles was seen recently in Fort Simpson when the Grade 6 students at Bompas Elementary School graduated from the Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education program (DARE). Often the best way to confront any continuing social issue is to start by educating the young.

Programs and counselling offered by departments such as Dehcho Health and Social Services will also continue to be of primary importance.

Altering the patterns of alcohol use and abuse in the North may seem like a daunting challenge, and it is. The benefits that could be gained, however, are equally momentous and are what makes the challenge worth addressing.

With last week's announcement of the funding for the Inuvik-to-Tukoyaktuk Highway, I must doff my hat to both the federal and territorial governments.

You can say what you like about the economic logic of building a highway to service fewer than a thousand people on the Arctic Coast, but the project shows a bold vision that has to be given its due. You might even say it's a direct descendant of the decision to build the national rail line all those years ago.

A similar bold vision can be seen in the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Line project. Stuart Salter, the lead consultant on that project, summed up the need for this kind of project during a public information session in Inuvik:

"It doesn't make economic sense but it makes social sense," he said.

Not everything can be measured in terms of economic sense, nor should everything be reduced to that level. Nor should political decisions of this type be viewed strictly in cynical terms. The NWT has just one parliamentary riding, so investment isn't necessarily going to pay off politically come election time.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, to give him his due, has an affinity and interest in the North that belies those kind of pragmatic and strategic considerations. The $200 million the federal government has put into the pot for the highway construction is both a tribute and testament to his awareness of the North. It also shows a progressive attitude for which he's not often given credit.

The GNWT also deserves high praise for its willingness to jump into the fray, both for the highway and the fibre optic line. That's a bold statement of the importance with which it views the northwest end of the NWT, which has been suffering from economic stagnation.

The detractors can say what they want about the projects. Yes, many of the jobs might only be short-term construction work. Yes, the economic spinoffs are uncertain and rarely seem to come to fruition in the way the experts predict.

However, doing something is sometimes better than doing nothing, because action at least gives opportunity and hope for improvement and change. That hope is what the Mackenzie Valley and Beaufort Delta needs as much as anything to help rouse it from its economic slumber.

If nothing is done, nothing will change, and that's the bottom line.

To quote George H. W. Bush, that's the "vision thing." It's about time we've had a taste of it.

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