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There's a new sheriff in town, and this one doesn't at all see eye-to-eye with the previous city council when it comes to the full-cost recovery bylaw on residential homes approved in 2010.

When Homes North asked for a $3.8 million subsidy in October of 2011 to help pay for infrastructure such as water and sewer, power lines, and asphalt at its 178-lot Block 501 property at Kam Lake, Yellowknifer argued council had no choice but to reject it because they were already committed to full-cost recovery. Proponents argue, and not without some justification, that it is not fair to subsidize residential lots with taxpayers' money.

Residential developments in Yellowknife have long been built with financial help from the city, but when Condominium builders Highstreet Ventures Inc. began construction on its Copper Sky and Niven Heights projects in 2010 they were under the new rules. And rules are rules. It would have been highly hypocritical of council to offer Homes North a break not given to other developers only a year after deciding subsidies were no longer acceptable.

But last fall's municipal election has created a new playing field. Voters in their wisdom elected a city council including four municipal politicians who were involved in one way or another in their day jobs with the home retail and construction industry -- Couns. Cory Vanthuyne, Adrian Bell, Niels Konge and Phil Moon Son.

Most of this new council appears not to support full-cost recovery on the basis that it makes it more difficult to get shovels in the ground and adds to the already high cost of buying a home in this city. It could also be argued that while it would have been the height of hypocrisy for the previous council to award a subsidy to Homes North when Highstreet didn't get one, the optics were already bad after council in 2008 had offered a 12 per cent subsidy on 31 phase VII lots at Niven Lake that the city itself had put up for sale.

This council appears set to do away with full-cost recovery and offer Homes North a 12 per cent subsidy on Block 501. Fair enough. Many of them campaigned against it during the election.

We can only hope this time it remains consistent.

The big melt has begun, and no doubt we won't like everything we see once the snow is gone.

Melting snow has revealed all sorts of nasty surprises, ranging from discarded garbage, dog poop to broken bottles.

Perhaps more distressing, however, was the recent discovery by a Yellowknife family of a metal snare tightly wound around the throat of their pet black Labrador dog. The animal somehow got caught in the trap in the Kam Lake area of the city after it was let outside. Dr. Michael Hughes, the veterinarian who broke one pair of snippers while freeing the young dog from the metal snare, said the cherished pet could have died from the ordeal and suggested the incident should raise awareness about dangers hidden in the bush.

While setting traps in the city is against the law, there are people foolish enough to set them, including a man who set a quick-kill trap in a wooded area near Sir John Franklin High School several years ago with the intention of protecting his dog from foxes. Instead, it caught the neighbour's pet dog, who died from its head injuries.

The change of seasons is welcome in the North. Longer days, warmer temperatures and the melting snow encourage people to spend more time outdoors. We suggest residents, especially families with children and pets, to be aware that danger lurks in the less-travelled areas and to be vigilant while embarking on adventures.

Weather, it's one of the ties that bind.

Casual conversations between people who don't know each other will often involve a mention of the weather. It's an easy topic to grasp because weather affects everyone and, therefore, everyone can manage at least a sentence or two about the current state of things outdoors.

For more involved conversations, the current weather often gets compared to the memory of weather past. For example, "Look at that snow coming down out there, have you ever seen a snowstorm like this in April?" Openings like this are generally grasped by someone who is just waiting to say something like, "What? This is nothing, I remember this one time, back in...", and then suddenly you are listening to a novella-length tale of the largest snowstorm that ever was – at least according to the teller.

That's the thing about weather, record-size fish catches and other important events in a person's life: somehow over time the memory becomes more dramatic. Winters get colder, fish get bigger and trips get more exciting.

This winter in the Deh Cho, however, needs little exaggeration. A look at the data gathered at weather stations shows that the region's residents legitimately have something to brag about.

It has, without a doubt, snowed a lot in the Deh Cho this year.

Fort Simpson residents have the ultimate bragging rights because well-established records show that the village received 280 cm of snow throughout the winter, 24 cm more than the previous record set in 1998-99, with the next snowiest winter dating back to 1916-17.

People who were out shovelling would have gotten a workout in February when 50.4 cm of snow fell from the sky.

Other Deh Cho communities may have gotten even more snow throughout the winter, although it is hard to tell because of a lack of data.

Forevermore, when a Deh Cho resident is at the post office, or bar or gas station, and someone starts in about the weather, they will be able to describe the great, white winter of 2012-2013.

Of course, as time passes and memories grow more vague, the amount of snow that fell this winter will truly reach epic proportions. It will become the winter where people stepped off of trails into snow so deep they were never seen again, or maybe it will be the winter people developed arms like Popeye from all the shovelling they did.

It can be a difficult thing to straddle the line between tradition and progress. We saw some evidence of that over the weekend at the Muskrat Jamboree.

On the afternoon of April 16 the Mary Firth Memorial race had to be cancelled due to a lack of participants. This was one of two dogsled races with traditional toboggans rather than an open class race using modern basket sleds.

On April 8, the Isaac Simon Memorial race was converted to an open-class race and four teams entered.

I heard there could be problems with the races about a month ago when a representative of the local sledders mentioned they were at loggerheads with the organizing committee over the races.

The dog races are one of the major attractions of the jamboree season, along with snowmobile races. So I found the wrangling over such a relatively minor issue about the type of dogsled to be almost laughable.

With the cancellation of the Mary Firth race and the last minute changes to the Isaac Simon race, I'm not laughing.

I don't have a huge background in dogsledding. What I know about running dogs I learned from a friend who began with Eskimo sled dogs, a breed born and bred here in the North. That friend also ran the dogs in more or less traditional style. He had no particular interest in racing. Instead he ran commercial tours.

I pay some attention to racing, but I don't have a huge interest in it or the mixed-breed huskies that now dominate it. My interests in sledding are, frankly, traditional.

I don't understand why the sledders are resisting the chance to run in traditional races. Some of these people race only in the jamborees, which means they have advance warning some of the races will be traditional. Surely racing traditionally a handful of times over the course of a long winter season isn't going to be a huge burden for them.

That means if they don't have the equipment, they certainly have a chance to acquire it ahead of time.

As for the jamboree organizers, perhaps it's time to re-think the way the registration process is carried out. If a minimum number of teams is needed, establish a cutoff time a week or two ahead. Cancel it ahead of time if the minimum isn't met so the mushers don't have to try to scramble to make impromptu changes at the last moment.

It's about time for these two forces to sort it out. I'm all for seeing traditional races continue. It's a mark of respect for the rich heritage of the sport, and to the public that supports it.

Farmers markets are as much a part of Canada's subarctic history as gold mines and dogsleds. Some residents with green thumbs plan to replant this homegrown tradition this summer in the form of the Yellowknife Commons Co-operative farmers market.

According to co-organizer Amy Lizotte, 15 vendors have signed on to the project so far. Lizotte also surveyed 450 residents to gauge their appetite for locally-grown produce and 96 per cent responded positively to the notion of a farmers market, she said.

Members of the Territorial Farmers Association began planting seedlings in greenhouses earlier this month in preparation for the market, which will also feature locally-harvested fish, wild berries and homemade products such as jams, breads and even ice cream.

But agriculture is not a spectator sport. The organizers of the farmers market, along with members of the Yellowknife Community Garden Collective and other like-minded organizations, are encouraging residents to get involved either by growing their own food or by lending unused land to other growers.

A joint $6 million agriculture investment from the GNWT and the federal government as part of the Growing Forward 2 program offers support to local growers over the next five years, which is even more incentive for residents to dig in the dirt.

The re-emergence of a local-food-production system can help bring neighbours together in the pursuit of a healthy common goal, while saving money and the environment. Shipping costs take a toll on families' grocery bills while trucks filled with lettuce and potatoes needlessly pollute the environment.

This fertile idea has already planted roots in the community. With a bit more tender loving care, Yellowknife's food-production system can catch up to more mature growing operations in the South Slave and Inuvik.

Privacy and information commissioner Elaine Keenan Bengts brings up some good points in her highly-critical report on the expanding role of digital medical records in the NWT.

For instance, is it really appropriate for the Department of Health and Social Services' director of social programs to have high-level access to people's personal medical records? Who should have access to extremely sensitive personal information which, according to Keenan Bengts, currently includes everyone from physicians to billing clerks - 150 employees in Yellowknife's two primary health care clinics.

Access to the system is controlled by a "role-based" hierarchy which limits the electronic records available depending on the employee's clearance level. But all 150 workers can access "encounter records" summarizing the nature of a patient's visits to the clinic. This can be anything from inquiries about screening for sexually transmitted diseases to psychiatric diagnoses.

Naturally, with so many employees viewing the records, the temptation to gossip about some of this information might be too much for some people, especially in a city as small as Yellowknife.

The Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority appears to have recognized this might be a problem. It has ordered all employees to sign a confidentiality agreement, and all log-ins are recorded to identify the employees accessing the files. The system is also audited once a week for inappropriate access.

People close to the electronic medical system, including Yellowknife physician Dr. Ewan Affleck, have offered impassioned defences of it. He argues the system protects patients by providing immediate up-to-date information when a patient's life depends on it.

No doubt the health authority has the public's best interest at heart. The problem will come should a breach of privacy goes public, such as when medical records were accidentally faxed to a city media outlet on numerous occasions in 2010 and then again in July 2012.

A serious breach such as that will make it extremely difficult for the gatekeepers of the electronic medical system to regain the public's confidence in this system.

When it comes to many true Kivalliq hockey fans, the NHL's trade deadline day is kind of like an official holiday in the region.

Some use sick days, some lieu time, and others bite the bullet and use an annual day to stay home, glued to the TV set, and follow the day's proceedings.

No offence to basketball fans (when they start to allow clotheslines in the key I'm there), but, the funny part is, trade day is a lot like a basketball game in that you can often catch the last few minutes and not miss much.

TV coverage on trade day has gone insane these days, beginning around 8 a.m. and going right through until a little after the deadline at 3 p.m. Eastern (can't miss any late deals caught in a fax machine).

And, you can bet your bottom dollar those hockey fans who did go to work immediately set their computer, cellphone or iPad to a website that runs up-to-the-minute tracking all day.

It really is quite impressive when you think about it, whether you're a hockey fan or not.

Many of those watching at home spent much of the previous two or three days scouring Internet rumour sites to get the lowdown from those claiming to be "connected" on what deals are being discussed by what teams.

But, the vast majority of the time, the rumours are just that - rumours.

Only on rare occasions do the names of players truly being discussed in trade talks by rival general managers (GM) get leaked to anyone.

There's nothing that will alienate a player from the team he's playing for quicker then to find out his GM has been trying to move him.

It's that whole being-made-to feel-wanted routine.

While there are a fair number of Canucks, Oilers, Flames, Senators and Jets fans in the Kivalliq, they pale significantly in comparison to the number of Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens fans.

They were among the most disappointed of all fans on trade day, with neither club doing much of any significance other than the Leafs picking up stay-at-home defenceman Ryan O'Byrne from the Colorado Avalanche.

In fact, more than a few probably wished they had their sick day back after Nick Kypreos cracked his 100th, and final, lame joke of the day to help fill the time.

But, rest assured, Kivalliq hockey fans are a passionate bunch and a good number of them will come down with a severe bout of the trade-day flu in 2014, once again.

It's that passion and dedication to the game that makes Kivalliq hockey so special, and why so many visiting players, coaches and officials leave here so impressed when they get to attend one of our major tournaments.

While there's a lot more to life than hockey, there's really not a heck of a lot more that can leave such a lasting impression on a group of visitors in such a short period of time.

And on a consistent basis!

That probably doesn't sit too well with those in the Kivalliq who, for whatever reason, think there's too much emphasis put on the game here, but that doesn't change the reality of the situation.

Just ask the numerous office managers who were answering their own phones this past trade day!

If a picture is truly worth 1,000 words then the Frozen Eyes Photographic Society has created enough stories to fill libraries.

Each tale is told from the perspective of our communities' youth. Few programs in the NWT can boast they have travelled to every community in the NWT but Frozen Eyes Photographic Society's workshops are nearing that landmark. In their wake are mountains of photographs depicting community life from the lens of some of our youngest citizens. More importantly, the workshops have helped to boost self-esteem and foster leadership skills with our young people by allowing them an outlet to express their creativity. They have also, to some extent, taught them a marketable skill.

Frozen Eyes members most recently travelled to the Beaufort Delta communities of Paulatuk and Ulukhaktok which were followed by exhibits of the students' work, featuring hundreds of photographs. Teachers and students alike praised the workshops and the facilitators for a top-notch experience.

A not-for-profit society, Frozen Eyes operates on the whim of government grants, community fundraising and corporate donations. A big chunk of its funding - approximately $300,000 - from Canadian Heritage went to the society's Youth Take Charge Program. Through the initiative, aspiring photographers hone their skills, develop as leaders and then offer workshops to their peers around the territory. It is a combination that truly makes Frozen Eyes a unique and valuable organization.

With its Canadian Heritage funding set to expire, the society is in the process of applying for future grants and is exploring what its direction will be in the future, according to society president Hillary Bird.

In years to come we hope to see the skills imparted by Frozen Eyes put to good use, as it helps to develop the next generation of artists, photojournalists and community documentarians, who will undoubtedly play a major role in showcasing the North and its people to the rest of the world.

Considering its past success and the contributions Frozen Eyes has made to NWT youth, we hope potential funders see the value of the organization and open their wallets to support its future endeavours.

Aboriginal languages have been steadily declining over the years, but new technology and curriculum have positioned some of our nation's oldest tongues for their best chance at revival. The number of individuals who identified an aboriginal language as their mother tongue declined by four per cent in 2011, according to the NWT Bureau of Statistics.

However, over the past few years the number of traditional language resources - for the NWT's nine official aboriginal languages -- has soared with the advent of electronic apps for languages such Tlicho and Dene Zhatie and online dictionaries for Inuktitut, Chipewyan, Cree and more. There are also hundreds of children's books available in a variety of aboriginal languages - nearly 200 of them available on the South Slave Divisional Education Council's website.

Schools and communities are also starting to get on board with traditional language curricula and language immersion programs such as the one implemented by the Tlicho Government for kindergarten students.

Having the resources is one thing, using them to their fullest extent is another. Traditional languages will always be under constant threat from the inundation of English which is the predominant language in the media, at home and in business.

A lot of work has been done to develop language resources and now saving traditional languages is in the hands of the individual. People need to find ways to speak traditional languages at home.

A tactic for achieving this goal might be to copy a strategy used by English parents with children in French immersion. A speaker in Hay River recently described creating a place in the home referred to as the francozone - a place where French is the language of choice. Perhaps other households in the NWT should adapt the idea to create a similar zone for other languages - such as a Tlichozone or Creezone, etc.

The beautiful spring and summer seasons might not immediately jump to mind for a southerner considering an Arctic vacation, but a good marketing plan can change that.

The harsh environment of the Arctic is both a point of pride for its inhabitants and a draw for a particular type of traveller, but perhaps not tourists looking for a relaxing vacation.

Tourism operators Nunavut News/North spoke with late last month are finding the late-spring, early-summer is a perfect time for visitors looking to comfortably enjoy the midnight sun and the North's flora and fauna and beautiful landscapes - and they can still snowmobile onto the Arctic sea ice ("Floe edge tourism tip of iceberg," April 1). At the edge of the sea ice lay other attractions. Visitors might catch glimpses of narwhals, seals and polar bears.

This is a great example of tourism operators, in this case Arctic Kingdom and Polar Sea/Black Feather, honing in on the most marketable aspects of the North. What should be paired with this, under the leadership of Nunavut Tourism, is a TV advertising campaign, like Newfoundland's beautiful, sweeping and award-winning 30-second spots.

It wouldn't hurt either to make sure its online marketing is up to snuff too. The Nunavut Parks website has been partially disabled by a technical issue for weeks - not the kind of thing potential tourists want to see.

The Arctic landscape is like no other. The mountains, the rolling tundra, the sea ice and the ocean, the animals - all this beauty can't just be left to the tourist's imagination. It should be on their TVs, their newspapers, and on the Internet as a constant, beckoning reminder.

A strong marketing campaign, paired with creative tourism packages and excellent customer service, can draw a national and international crowd. It should incorporate the wintery mystique - that's a huge part of the region's character - but it should also show people the summer side of the North.

Although Baffinland's scaling down and re-entering the regulatory review phase, and Shear Diamonds Ltd. has fled the scene, things are still looking good for Nunavut's resource development industry.

As highlighted in the Nunavut Mining supplement, tucked into last week's newspaper, close to $427 million was spent on exploration in the territory last year.

This is the groundwork for a strong industry in the future.

Projects like Baffinland in the Qikiqtani, once it finally starts up, Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd.'s Meadowbank and proposed Meliadine projects in the Kivalliq, and the Lupin gold project in the Kitikmeot region, which owner Elgin Mining Ltd. hopes to start back up in 2015, could give Nunavummiut the experience necessary to take hold of the territorial industry in the future.

Use these opportunities for training with ambition and foresight. Multinational companies are bringing their mining experience, personnel, and cash backing to the North to conduct these operations. The more Nunavummiut that climb the ranks in these companies, the more likely mining will be conducted responsibly in the territory with maximized benefits to Inuit.

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