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The beloved Yellowknife dump is a popular destination for many residents, whether it be to purge household detritus, drop off compostables, empty recycling bins or browse for salvage. Sometimes, Sunday is the only day of the week hardworking folks can make the trip.

It's on their behalf that Coun. Bob Brooks turned his nose up last week at the suggestion by facility superintendent Peter Houweling, and echoed by solid waste management committee chair Rebecca Alty, to close the dump on Sundays from Sept. 3 to April 3 in order to staunch an almost $25,000 annual deficit. The lost day would be offset, Houweling suggested, by keeping the dump open an extra 15 minutes per day throughout the rest of the week.

Houweling said the dump loses that amount by opening on Sundays, largely due to double overtime paid to unionized staff. Most of the Sunday losses accrue from fall to spring. By comparison, he pointed to more than $30,000 in revenue collected on Saturdays.

This penny-pinching math should be scrapped, however, given that residents are already doing their part by paying $9 tipping fees, up from no fees in 2005, and homeowners are paying a $16.50 solid waste levy every month, up from $10 in 2005. Meanwhile, the city is asking residents to help make waste collection more efficient after it reduced the bag limit for garbage pick-up to two bags from three last year.

If households are expected to separate organic matter for compost, recyclables and waste to help the environment and cut municipal costs, while paying substantial fees to the city for collection and disposal, dump services should remain as accessible as possible.

A compromise by Brooks to reduce hours on Saturdays and Sundays may be acceptable, but reducing dump hours is a slippery slope that should be entertained cautiously. Besides, if the dump is collecting revenue on Saturdays, why reduce hours?

If the prospect of reduced winter Sunday hours is palatable to taxpayers, then the city should proceed gently. However, the dump should remain open seven days a week all year for public convenience, and because the public is paying for this access, instead of shutting down service for the day to beautify the bottom line.

Last week, the city decided to cut the length of time it will allow the Yellowknife Slopitch Association to serve beer at its events. The change reduces the hours of beer gardens to 8 p.m. instead of 10 p.m.

Sparking the change were issues raised over time concerning unruly behaviour occurring during the beer gardens that were causing a disturbance.

Just as bars are responsible for their patrons potentially being a problem, so should the organizers of the beer gardens at these sorts of events.

The city's ball diamonds are in the middle of residential areas, meaning that the rights of the neighbourhood should be taken into consideration. Remember, the people that live in the homes nearby may not want to revel in the celebrations as well.

A quick social media search of the Suds Cup brings up images of alcohol-fueled revelry, which is all fine and fun when kept contained. A bar keeps the party within its doors, so beer gardens should be expected to do the same, with proper controls in place by organizers to ensure ensuing partying is done in a respectful manner.

In the end, the beer garden hours were shortened. With some advertisements reading "all day beer gardens," the loss of a couple of hours doesn't kill the fundraising potential granted by a liquor licence but it does serve as a strong warning.

If future softball events keep the party within the diamond and respect their neighbours, then there shouldn't be any more penalizing changes. But if the complaints continue and nothing is done, don't be surprised if future events become dry.

Bison, may be fun for tourists to look at, but they don't make good neighbours.

Once again, some residents and hamlet officials in Fort Liard are complaining and raising concerns about the presence of bison in the community. The litany of bison causes damage, including trampled lawns, broken trees, destroyed gardens and damaged vehicles, among others things.

There are also concerns these large animals could eventually seriously injure a human, potentially one of the community's youth who are known to harass the animals from time to time.

These complaints are nothing new. In fact, some residents say the problem goes back as far as the creation of the Nahanni wood bison population, 33 years ago. The population was established in 1980 when 28 wood bison from Elk Island National Park were released near Nahanni Butte.

The numbers were buoyed by a total of 71 imported bison, released in 1989 and 1998. The population has been holding stable in recent years, with an estimated 400 animals as of March 2011.

It's easy to understand the frustration of Fort Liard residents. Anyone who has ever seen a bison up close or driven past one on an NWT highway knows how large they can be.

By virtue of their sheer immense size and habits, they damage things wherever they go. Anyone who watched their carefully-planted trees snapped off at the base by a bison with an itch or saw their garden trampled and eaten would be upset.

The problem is that, short of destroying all the bison or encircling Fort Liard with a very sturdy wall, neither of which are very practical ideas, the issue won't be going away. In fact, if the size of the herd increases, it may well get worse.

What's needed is some better coping strategies.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) needs to devote more resources to deterring bison from entering the hamlet and herding them out as quickly as possible. This could involve the hiring of more staff and the creation of a dedicated bison hotline that could be called whenever an animal is spotted.

The department should also assist residents in building barriers that would help keep bison away from more sensitive areas such as gardens. As for residents, unfortunately there is little they can do except continue to press for more assistance from ENR, call ENR staff whenever bison are spotted in the community and resign themselves to the fact that the bison and the damage they create will never fully go away.

It was fascinating to watch and compare the Dene National Assembly held in town last week and contrast it to the typical provincial and federal adversarial style of government.

Without the antics, partisanship and opposition for the sake of opposition, the Dene assembly saw some thoughtful and respectful debate, all of it done in a civil, polite manner.

It's an incredible contrast to what political junkies see regularly at other levels of government, particularly the federal level, where the volume of noise always seem to top thinking and intellectual sparring.

At first glance, a deliberation like the Dene assembly might seem dull by comparison, and it certainly seemed to move a little more slowly. Still, it was a breath of fresh air.

I had a very interesting conversation with Inuvik Tribal Council Chief Herbert Blake about that on the last day of the assembly.

"This must look really interesting to you," he said. "And thank you for making an effort at attending the assembly events. It's been noticed."

I explained to him that as a political junkie, with two degrees in political science, it was an eyeopener for me to watch this. As a student, I learned virtually nothing about government in the North, and had wrongly assumed it was fairly comparable to the standard Canadian model.

I had never really been aware of how the NWT works with a consensus government, much less of the importance of the various aboriginal governments.

I was certainly appreciative of the respect that the various chiefs treated each other with during the assembly.

National Chief Bill Erasmus had to deliver a low admonishment during one session I attended regarding stopping background conversations while a speaker had the floor. Occasionally, he would remind speakers and presenters to keep their comments as short as possible in the interest of finishing on time.

That, however, was the extent of the "bad behaviour" I saw. In general, while the assembly was informal, the members treated each other with great respect and dignity that seems wholly out of place in the political sphere these days.

However, I think it's also what more people want to see. The deliberations were much like what the Canadian Senate is supposed to provide, that being sober second thought. That's something lacking most of the time in both the provincial and federal legislatures.

Several federal politicians were also on hand for the proceedings,

I was idly tempted to ask them if they were learning anything about how a government that values civility could operate, but decided not to stir that pot because it's likely pointless.

Still, it would be nice if they took some of those lessons back to work with them.

When it comes to Aurora College's housing policy, only a lawyer employed by the territorial Department of Justice could declare with a straight face there is no blatant discrimination against Yellowknife students.

Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro raised the issue of unfairness in the legislative assembly during the spring session. Constituents were telling her that Yellowknife students were put at the bottom of the list for scarce college housing.

Consider the top item on the list of the grounds for discrimination enshrined in the NWT Human Rights Act: race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, ethnic origin, and nationality.

Then consider the specifics of the Student Accommodations Evaluation Procedures that determines which students get subsidized housing.

We will refer to a nursing student because Bisaro did, but the policies apply to Yellowknife students for any program. Bear with us, it's complicated.

There are four categories: Category one puts NWT applicants at the top of the housing list for a priority program, such as nursing, who live in communities outside Yellowknife.

Second on the list are NWT applicants from outside Yellowknife not in a priority program.

Third on the list are applicants from outside Yellowknife who could take a priority program, not including nursing, in their community.

Fourth on the list are applicants outside Yellowknife for a non-priority program that is offered in their home community, or applicants for a non-priority program who are not an NWT resident.

Students from Yellowknife are mentioned in category three and four, labelled as "in-town residents." Before they can get even temporary housing, Yellowknife students must present "extenuating circumstances" which Aurora College president Jane Arychuk made clear doesn't include an inability to afford housing. Worse, and more indefensible, each reference to Yellowknife students is followed by brackets containing the warning their housing needs are only (to be considered on a yearly, case by case basis).

That means the policy-chosen students, even those from outside the NWT, once accepted are guaranteed housing for the life of their program. Yellowknife students, if granted housing, are not. They must reapply each year and could be out on the street in year two, three or four, presuming they get housing for the first year, which they probably won't.

If this is not discrimination based upon place of origin, what is it? Gross unfairness? Bureaucratic blindness? Political bias?

That Arychuk defends such a policy suggests more a desire to toe the government line rather than providing proper access to higher education for all Northerners, regardless of where they live. Her comment that the circumstance of Yellowknife students being unable the afford the city's high rent scale is "the same for every student in the world" is simply short-sighted.

Aside from the fact that $300,000 trailers are unique to the Yellowknife housing market, southern colleges, universities and their government masters generally provide subsidized housing for students. There are more than 1,000 students attending Aurora College, with 64 housing units reserved for out-of-town students, a pitiful amount. Arychuk should be fighting to increase housing options for all students, not defending a deeply flawed policy and accepting a dismal lack of housing.

We hope Bisaro continues the battle on behalf of Yellowknife students and we encourage other Yellowknife MLAs to jump in. Committed politicians can change bad government policy.

Past Yellowknifer editorials have vigorously supported a new, expanded stand-alone campus for Aurora College. How strong will the support of Yellowknifers be in the face of such obvious discrimination?

In August a luxury cruise ship will be dropping anchor near Arviat and hundreds of tourists will be brought to land to visit.

The first group is set to arrive Aug. 23, followed by a second group on Aug. 27.

On each visit, about 130 guests are expected to take in the sights.

The ship's arrival will bring temporary jobs for some and potential sales for artists.

Residents are certain to bring home a few extra dollars from the experience, but at this point there is no telling exactly how much Arviat will benefit.

If the trips go well for both parties it would be a great validation for the community's ecotourism initiative, which was implemented a few years ago.

However, Pond Inlet's community economic development officer has a cautionary tale about the business.

Colin Saunders told News/North that visitors started spending less in his community following the economic downturn.

There was a time when it wasn't unusual to have tourists drop $40,000 on goods in Pond Inlet in just a few hours.

The visitors they get these days, however, are usually retirees who have saved every nickel and dime to pay for the cruise.

As a result, they are more stingy with their spending money.

Furthermore, other communities have reported fluctuations in the number of visits from cruise ships each year.

For instance, in 2011 Cambridge Bay was expecting fewer ships after companies sent ships to Kugluktuk and Gjoa Haven instead.

For these reasons, Arviat needs to ensure that it puts on the best presentation possible.

Fortunately, Olivia Tagalik, the hamlet's tourism co-ordinator, has already planned a schedule for the participants so everyone should be well prepared.

However, the community needs to also consider ways to distinguish Arviat from the other Northern stops.

The first visitors to the community will have already been to more than a dozen spots.

They will have seen and bought lots of carvings, jewelry, clothing and paintings. This means they're less likely to be in the souvenir-buying mode. If they are going to purchase something it may be because it's unique.

At this point, they will also have taken in a variety of cultures and sights.

The best way to make them remember Arviat is to make them feel a part of the community.

Connect to them through a personal story or by sharing the significance of an area.

People want to be able to hold up a picture and say something more than just, "this is one of the residents" or, "this an inukshuk."

They want something meaningful to share.

• Miranda Scotland is interim editor of Kivalliq News while editor Darrell Greer is on vacation

There is a beacon of hope in the distance for resident hunters of the NWT.

Earlier this month, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources announced it is considering a limited harvest of the Bluenose-East, Beverly and Ahiak caribou herds for resident, non-aboriginal hunters for the 2013-14 hunting season.

The proposal should be given the green light. The herds are healthy enough to sustain it, as ENR's research has shown, or this proposal wouldn't have materialized.

While the herds are open to aboriginal harvests, resident hunters have been left on the sidelines since 2009 for the Beverly and Ahiak caribou herds, and since 2006 for the Bluenose-East herd, when emergency conservation measures were put in place to allow the animals to increase their numbers.

Hunting is a territorial and traditional activity, a cross-cultural bridge, and those who enjoy it and do it for either enjoyment or sustenance may not stick around where they can't hunt. Those who know the rules, and responsibly carry them out while respecting the land and the animals, should be able to hunt. Drawing a line between those who can and cannot hunt creates a real divide.

The government has done its part by offering up a proposal to get resident hunters out hunting caribou. There is enough data to support proposing the hunt be open to more. It is now up to the renewable resources boards to review the idea, and make a decision that's best for the caribou and best for all people of the NWT.

Opening up the hunt to one bull per resident hunter on one of the herds is a reasonable compromise that shouldn't be lost in the politics.

There is no doubt Fort Smith was chomping at the bit to get its hands on the $25,000 prize money and a live broadcast of TSN's SportsCentre through the Kraft Celebration Tour. And it succeeded with flying colours.

It's quite the story of David and Goliath. The community of 2,500 raked in more than 250,000 online votes. Whitehorse, a city of 25,000 and Fort Smith's competition, only acquired about 35,000 votes.

The prize money of $25,000 will only be a drop in the bucket as the town focuses on picking up the pieces after a May 13 fire closed Centennial Arena, causing about $1.6 million in damages. But every little bit helps.

The real win here is the unity that is instilled when a community pulls together to get noticed, to work toward a common goal.

Whitehorse didn't see that community involvement. Why?

Perhaps its size worked against it. Perhaps its usage of the money was to be spread out too much, with the Yukon Curling Association hoping to put the prize toward a half-dozen clubs throughout northern British Columbia and the Yukon.

There are countless competitions asking communities to rally together to promote a project, and while the prize might not be big enough to make huge changes, the sense of community spirit generated is priceless.

It looks like taxpayers are on the hook for at least part of the cost of environmental cleanup at the Jericho diamond mine about 350 kilometres southwest of Cambridge Bay.

Things were looking good for its owner, Shear Diamond Corp., last spring when it began processing high-grade concentrate, recovering about 3,500 carats of rough diamonds from more than 350 metric tonnes of stockpiles in only 10 days. Then the price of diamonds sent to the company's Belgian marketing company decreased. In the ensuing months, Shear started to spiral downward.

By October, Shear announced it had temporarily suspended operations at Jericho. Then things went from bad to worse. The marketing company gave notice of the company's loan defaults and said it intended to enforce security to get repayment. The Alberta Securities Commission issued a cease trade order on Nov. 1.

The company did not respond to questions from the Nunavut Impact Review Board and this past spring the federal government took action, ordering the company to return employees to clean up tailings, fuel, hazardous waste and a big hole in the ground left at the mine site.

Shear management did nothing and now the federal government's Contaminated Sites Program has become involved. With Shear still owing $2.3 million in security to the federal government, we are wondering if about $8 million that was paid in security will be enough to fix the environmental damage.

What is frustrating is that recent changes to federal environmental legislation won't affect Shear Diamonds. Bill C-47 will require companies to clean up a site regardless of the costs but the new rules only apply to mining activity that begins after the bill is made into law at a yet to be determined future date.

One has only to look at the remediation of the Giant Mine site in the NWT to realize how much costs can add up. The latest estimate is $903 million to address the contamination from 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide used, discarded and stockpiled in the gold mining process.

Clearly, the mining industry is risky business, not only for shareholders but taxpayers. Canada made only $454 million from Giant - in 2002 dollars - in its 56 years of gold production, not counting the costs of forever maintaining the site.

For those reasons, we welcome the changes coming with Bill C-47. Placing responsibility solely on mine owners should have been done years ago.

There is an outside chance the company will face fines for violations of the Nunavut Surface Rights Tribunal Act but it seems likely that the federal government will be faced with millions of dollars in costs to address the mess Shear Diamond Corp. left behind. And that is outrageous.

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