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Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley has a problem with the little loophole Yellowknifers have found within the federal government's recreational lease policy that allows them to build cabins.

While new cabin leases from the territorial government are locked up tighter than Fort Knox, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development has been quietly handing out "hunting and fishing" cabin leases - 33 of them in the Yellowknife area since 2008.

The leases allow successful applicants to build cabins two storeys in height with a not-at-all ungenerous maximum footprint of 100 square metres. The leases are renewable every five years to a maximum of 30 years.

Bromley, no stranger to overheated rhetoric (see "crimes against humanity" outburst in 2011 while referring to GNWT inaction on climate change), called the federal government's lease handout "a highly-suspect, game-changing lease rampage."

Yellowknifer agrees with the MLA that Walsh Lake - where some of these leases were allocated - is a laughable location for a "hunting and fishing cabin." With the number of existing cabins already built, the federal government might as well give out hunting and fishing leases at Frame Lake next door to the legislative assembly. But if anyone thinks Walsh and Banting lakes have too many cabins on them then they haven't spent much time in Ontario's Muskoka district or Kananaskis in Alberta. In the great scheme of things, Walsh and Banting lakes are still relatively undeveloped. It's cabin country and it's where cabins belong.

At least some order of government recognizes the need to open more land for cottage development. While the GNWT's Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) slumbers through yet another density study on cabin leases around Yellowknife, residents have been taking matters into their own hands.

The department claims it's actively pursuing squatters but one doesn't need to snowmobile far off the Ingraham Trail or boat into the North Arm for very long to get some inkling of what's actually going on as MACA's moratorium on new cabin leases enters its fourth year. Take a look at the picture of the houseboat accompanying this editorial. It's on David Lake, a short hike from the Vee Lake Road. It wasn't there last year, just as there wasn't a burgeoning houseboat community at the Giant Mine boat launch a few years ago. No one seems able to stop this relentless encroachment of unregulated development into our wilderness areas and on our shores.

It is concerning the federal government did not communicate with its territorial counterparts on the leasing issue, particularly on the eve of a devolution agreement on lands and resources. But it's the territorial government's own inaction that has led us down this road.

The price paid for this moratorium on cabins is more squatters hauling lumber into the bush.

Northern literary culture has a growing number of well-developed characters and a plot that leaves Yellowknife residents wanting more after each new chapter.

Last week, NorthWords NWT turned the page on its eighth annual NorthWords Writers Festival, a well-attended three-day event that bound established authors together with emerging writers and literary enthusiasts. Prominent protagonists included B.C.-based novelist Douglas Coupland, Fort Smith storytellers Reneltta Arluk and Richard Van Camp, and Yellowknife's own Cathy Jewison and Jamie Bastedo, to name but a few.

The festival has come a long way since readers and writers first gathered for open mic nights at Javaroma and the Wildcat Cafe in 2006. This year the festival reached out to Fort Smith, drawing what was a capital-city event closer to a territory-wide phenomenon.

The organization behind the festival has also matured in eight years, stretching its mandate beyond planning a single annual event. The group presents numerous writers workshops, readings, contests and guest speakers throughout the year.

Last year, NorthWords NWT launched Coming Home: Stories from the Northwest Territories, an anthology featuring original work by 17 promising NWT writers. Stories by several Yellowknife writers were included.

Through hard work and keen forward vision, past and present NorthWords boards have penned a new identity for Northern writers. Rather than lone voices in the wilderness, literally, Northern writers recognize they are now part of a unique literary community.

Gone are the days when southerners were left to tell Northerners' stories from afar. A new generation of writers, nurtured if not co-authored by NorthWords, has a voice and is ready to be heard.

Spring is a time for graduations.

As the school year comes to a close, students at a variety of different levels don gowns and mortar boards. Students in preschool programs prepare for kindergarten, kindergarten students prepare for Grade 1, in some schools Grade 6 students prepare for junior high, and high school students prepare for post-secondary education or the work force.

Graduations, no matter what level they are, are always joyous affairs. Parents, family members and friends beam from the audience and students quietly beam back from the front of the room. There are speeches given praising the graduates' achievements and presents are often offered.

Graduations, particularly at the high school level, however, also bring with them a tinge of sadness.

Classmates who have been together for years, perhaps since kindergarten, are about to go their separate ways. Some may rarely see each other again.

In the Deh Cho, high school graduation also usually means a separation from family for those students who want to continue their studies. Some students only have to go as far as Fort Smith or Yellowknife for Aurora College, but many choose to attend colleges and universities in other provinces.

While many students are focused on graduating from high school and moving on to bigger centres, what happens next is of equal importance. Chief Stan Sanguez of Jean Marie River said it well when he addressed the graduating class at Thomas Simpson School. Sanguez congratulated the graduates on their achievements, urged them to follow their dreams, but also asked them to return to the Deh Cho after they have finished additional schooling.

"Bring your ambitions and your hearts back to us," Sanguez said.

The future of the region depends heavily on youth achieving success whether in the trades or in degree programs, and then returning to the Deh Cho. Of course people from other regions in Canada or the world can come and work and contribute to the region, but they will never quite have the same connection or the same amount invested in the success of the region.

As Sanguez said, the Deh Cho needs lawyers, doctors, nurses, people to address devolution and so many other skilled workers and professionals. It is good for youth to get out and see the wider world, but it is with their return that everyone in the Deh Cho will benefit.

Summertime is when my thoughts turn to daydreams of paddling, hiking and camping.

That's what led me recently to seek some information on various outdoor activities around the region from the Department of Industry, Trade and Investment.

I sought out Judith Venaas, who is spokesperson for pretty much anything to do with town parks, eager to find some maps and lists of hiking trails.

Not entirely to my surprise, I discovered the kind of information I was after isn't readily available.

In the few months I've been here, I've come to recognize that walking and hiking isn't much of a priority. My walking habits have evidently been noticed around town, because many people I stop to chat will say, "I hear you walk a lot."

If I wasn't already known as "The Drum Guy," I think I might have a T-shirt made up with the logo "The Walking Dude."

I think people find my favourite form of getting around even more puzzling because they know I have access to a vehicle that remains parked most of the time.

I was a bit surprised to find out there wasn't a map showing the trails at Jak Park, or at the Gwich'in Territorial Park. I was particularly interested in that one because of a reference to limestone cliffs being a major natural feature at the park.

Coming from Niagara Escarpment region of southern Ontario, all you have to do is mention limestone and cliffs in the same sentence and you'll get my attention.

Likewise, I was a little startled to find out there isn't any kind of a list of snowmobile trails in the region.

I love studying maps, both traditional paper ones and online versions, and I've been able to see a veritable spider's web of snowmobile trails and logging roads snaking through the area, all tempting me to explore them.

As a longtime solo hiker though, I'm rather cautious about hitting new trails without at least a reasonable understanding of where I'm going.

I won't say that I've been totally lost, but there have definitely been occasions where I wasn't entirely sure of where I was.

Being a newcomer to this area, I'm doubly wary about venturing too far into the bush.

That's why I heartily endorse Venaas's idea that putting together a master database and maps of trails would be an excellent project.

I think there's some major potential to attract hikers to this area, which would add an extra dimension to the tourism market.

I wonder if anyone in the GNWT is listening?

There is little doubt that there is a lot of excitement and energy surrounding Yellowknife's burgeoning farmers market scene.

The first one was held last night at Somba K'e Civic Plaza, and although crops of locally-produced beans and carrots are bound to be sparse this early into our Northern summer, there will surely be some good stuff filling the merchants' stalls as the season progresses.

The excitement, however, appears to have overburdened the good judgement of city administration, which last week recommended city council offer up 720-square metres of public park space in Frame Lake South's Parker Park so a group of hobby farmers could have space to grow herbs and vegetables, which they could then sell to the public.

The proposal included a greatly reduced lease fee of $100 a year for five years - it would be $3,920 a year without the rebate - and a declining property tax abatement over the same period of 20 per cent each year, with the first year's taxation amount of $1,030 a gift. The city also proposed installing additional water lines going to the park at a cost of $7,000.

The idea didn't sit well with at least one city councillor. Niels Konge quite rightly wondered about the wisdom of offering businesses - even co-op businesses - "subsidized land." It's one thing to set aside land for non-profit community garden plots for people without garden space at their homes - as the city is in the process of doing with two additional parcels of land at Moyle Drive and Trails End - but it's quite another to hive off public park space in the heart of suburbia and lease it out for a song - even if the people involved are not likely to get rich from it any time soon.

The sight of unhappy neighbours - most of whom expressed support for this new gardening enterprise, just not next to them - was enough to scare off the rest of city council.

Mayor Mark Heyck vowed the city would help the Yellowknife Commons Collective Ltd., as the group is called, find a new location. In this endeavour, Yellowknifer supports him. But we suggest avoiding the residential areas that are bound to breed conflict.

There is a whole swath of vacant land along the Engle Business District corridor the city has been thus far unable to sell. It would seem much more palatable to offer the garden collective land at a reduced rate there than trying to convince neighbours of the public good such a venture would create within public green space.

A commercial garden in the Engle Business District might actually attract other businesses to set up shop there. Talk about a win-win situation: a greener city and more tax dollar greens in city coffers.

It's amazing to think, at this time of the year, so many folks across the Kivalliq would e-mail or phone me to discuss or ask questions about a hockey-related issue.

Yet, in they came after Hockey Canada announced the ban of bodychecking at the peewee level this past month.

To anyone else wondering if that actually means there can be no hitting at the peewee level in the Kivalliq, especially at the Powerful Peewees event in Rankin Inlet, that's exactly what it means!

The only way you could hold a peewee tourney now with bodychecking would be to go the outlaw route, with no sanction permit issued from Hockey Canada.

And, believe me, you don't want to do that.

The funny thing is, up until about the past five or six years, I would have also been upset by the ban on bodychecking at the peewee level.

But, I have come to change my mind on that for two reasons and now agree, emphatically, with Hockey Canada's decision.

First, as a Level 4 official and Branch Referee-In-Chief for Hockey North, I've really come to notice a big size difference between a lot of kids at the peewee level.

Skilled at the art of bodychecking or not, it's near impossible for a kid giving up six inches and 70 pounds to another player to be able to absorb even a clean hit without being hurt.

Add in the number of players - albeit a small number - at that age who get "hitting fever" and are trying to hurt the players they check, and it's a recipe for disaster.

The second reason is the number of atom players who've been on the ice during peewee tourneys the past few years in Rankin (yes coaches and organizers, we zebras do notice when you do that).

I've often been plagued with guilt during a tournament that allows bodychecking with peewees and atoms both on the ice, and thank the hockey gods no atom player was seriously injured during games I officiated against my better judgment.

I'm glad to be done with the whole situation.

My only reason for pause on the decision comes from the numerous comments left on hockey website chat boards or at the bottom of numerous news stories on the ban.

Many remarks were left by people in the medical profession along the lines of checking isn't safe at any level, it's a start and there's still a ways to go.

The thought of banning bodychecking at every level up to junior is, in my opinion as a guy who's been around hockey for half a century, a ridiculous notion.

It will eliminate the late bloomers from elite play, and further alienate young athletes who are attracted to the physical side of hockey.

I'm still waiting to see this, supposed, huge spike in the number of kids playing minor hockey as a result of lowering the physical aspect of the game and starting streams of no-contact play.

The number of peewee-aged kids who stated on the record the decision "sucks," should be a big red flag for those who think also eliminating it in bantam and midget will get more kids playing this new hybrid version of what used to be hockey.

But, for now, the decision to ban bodychecking from peewee is a good one.

For the sake of the game, let's hope that's where it ends.

No one can say relations between the GNWT and aboriginal groups have been stagnant since Bob McLeod was voted in as premier in October 2011. The most recent in a string of mended ties comes in the form of an agreement signed between the Akaitcho Territory Dene First Nations chiefs and the GNWT two weeks ago.

The intergovernmental agreement outlines a working relationship between the two governments into the future. McLeod said the memorandum of understanding is a "new approach to building partnerships ... with a spirit of respect, recognition and responsibility."

It is not the first outstretched hand McLeod has extended. He has also assuaged concerns about the devolution process with the Gwich'in Tribal Council (GTC), which could have boiled over into the courts. The council launched a court case against the GNWT last year over what members called a lack of consultation on the issue. But the situation calmed in September of last year when the GTC signed the Devolution Agreement-in-Principle. In December, McLeod met with the council to discuss issues affecting its people - a result of an intergovernmental agreement between the GTC and the GNWT.

McLeod has done more than any premier has to strengthen ties with the aboriginal governments in the territory and inform the public about his magnum opus known as devolution.

While these new relationships should be expanded to include legislative components, the partnership between the GNWT and aboriginal governments are growing relationships that can only help to strengthen the territory for all who live here. It should also be noted that any sort of negotiations travel along a two-way street and one entity cannot be expected to carry the responsibility alone.

The GNWT's efforts to engage aboriginal groups is commendable and is obviously being received well.

At the beginning of this current government's sitting in 2011, aboriginal leaders expressed relations with the GNWT were strained. The tides are turning and where this newly-fostered relationship will go, we will have to wait and see.

From the sound of concerns coming from Ulukhaktok's health centre, one could be led to believe residents were requesting translator services in Mandarin.

Currently, there are elders who are being left in the dark when it comes to their medical care, due to the fact they speak Inuinnaqtun. The health centre's interpreter retired about two years ago after 30 years of service and now no one on staff is able to properly communicate important health information to unilingual elders.

Inuinnaqtun is an official language of the NWT. One of 11, actually, including English and French. According to the Official Languages Act, the public has a right to communicate and receive services in an official language spoken in that region of the territory if there is a "significant demand" for it. It also points to situations involving health care as reasonable circumstances to provide service in an official language outside of English or French.

If there was a lack of translator services in French throughout Canada, the government would be taken to court. It is the people's legal right to acquire information in a location's official languages.

The GNWT touts the importance of invigorating aboriginal languages in the territory, by providing programs in schools and developing apps for smartphones, meanwhile elders in a small community are so stressed that they are avoiding going to the health centre at all.

The Ulukhaktok Community Corporation has sent multiple letters pleading for support to the Beaufort Delta Health and Social Services Authority, the territorial health minister and the region's elected official, and the responses the corporation receives are in the form of empty promises.

The issue at hand has been mulling around reports for years, with no progress made. How many more letters crying for help must the community write before the elders feel they can explain their health concerns and get the help they need?

It has been a long time in coming, five years to be exact, but a master plan for Nunavummiut to make the most of the tourist market is finally ready.

Tunngasaiji: A Tourism Strategy for Nunavummiut was tabled in the legislative assembly last month after extensive work by at least six organizations, including the territorial and federal governments, representatives of Inuit beneficiaries and special interest groups, including Nunavut Tourism.

Besides improved communication between the six primary organizations involved in the tourism industry, the strategy calls for legislative and regulatory renewal, including creating a tourism act for Nunavut.

However, of more importance is the realization that, in the five years the strategy was being developed, there has been a marked increase in the number of cruise ships and privately owned yachts visiting coastal communities.

The large boats are coming North because there is more open water, the ice breaks up earlier and more people have an interest in seeing the Northwest Passage, once beyond the reach of ordinary people.

We see a huge potential for communities along the Nunavut coast to take advantage of opportunities presented by these visitors.

Tourists not only want to view the rich scenery and experience the long hours of daylight, they also want exposure to the culture and traditional lifestyle of Inuit.

That's why the fourth pillar of the strategy is so important. It calls for education and training initiatives.

Part of the reason for the success of the Arviat Community Ecotourism Initiative to date has been a result of the advance effort to organize cultural performers and train people in the community to create a program for tourists.

Make no mistake, providing a happy experience for tourists takes special training and special people. It's not something everyone can do. It requires a firm grasp of both human nature and Inuit culture, along with patience and diplomacy.

Many Nunavummiut have such traits but they also need to be educated about what tourists expect and how the Nunavut experience should be delivered for maximum profit.

As the five-year Nunavut tourism plan moves forward, we see rich rewards, particularly through the growth and development of attractions, products and services, to improve the quality and quantity of the Nunavut experience.

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