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Earlier this month Catholic bishops in Alberta and the NWT joined forces to issue an apology to the survivors of residential schools.

Although the Catholic Diocese in the NWT had already extended such a gesture two years ago, it lent its support to Alberta which became the last Catholic jurisdiction in Canada to issue such a sentiment. The apology came in advance to the finale of a national series of Residential School Truth and Reconciliation conferences to be held in Edmonton.

As far as apologies go, Canadian bishops have gone so far as to admit their part in the horrors that some aboriginal people experienced while attending the church-run government institutions. The public letter expresses regret, sympathy and accountability for the actions of the church.

That is a good first step and residential school survivors such as David Poitras said for many that goes a long way toward healing. The validation that the hurt survivors are feeling is a burden lifted.

However, there are still those who suffer and will continue to suffer because they have become trapped in a cycle of hurt, often involving addictions and mental illness. Many of these people have found themselves living on the streets unable to support themselves.

It is them, Poitras says, who are in the need of the most help and it will take more than an apology to free them from despair. Although Poitras said healing starts with an individual will, as his did, some of the most hurt and marginalized need more help to find the path.

Which is why the apology should come with more action. The Catholic Church has substantial resources at its disposal and those should be brought to bear on the residential school issue. Some money to support programs to help people enter healing programs, targeting the hard to reach population who are most in need would be a good start. Retreats have been held in the past by the church, but those are only effective for those who have begun the healing journey and choose to go.

There was a time when the Catholic Church was heavily involved in everyday life. Some of that involvement, one could argue, led to the residential school disaster. Now, perhaps, it is time for it to renew a portion of that involvement to directly help those it hurt in the past.

The community of Deline is on the verge of possibly making history. This week, community members and land claim beneficiaries will vote on whether to accept a land claim that would ratify the first such community-based agreement.

While previous land claims have been regionally based, Deline could be the first to gain a distinct level of autonomy to govern in its own affairs.

The move will come with a host of opportunities and challenges but could pave the way and serve as an example for other groups negotiating the same type of deal.

However, before history can be made, the votes must be cast. This might be the single most important ballot ever cast by the people of Deline.

Not only will it forge the foundation for the community's future, it also requires nearly all eligible voters to participate. Unlike other voting scenarios where majority of voters rule, this vote is formatted so everyone is counted, regardless of votes cast. If you don't vote, not only are you removing yourself from a chance to participate in history, you are being counted as opposed to the land claim.

We encourage all eligible voters to cast a ballot, whether that is for or against. Every voice in Deline deserves to be heard on this issue and the final results should not fall into question because of poor turnout.

Hunters and fishers becoming stranded while out on the land because of bad weather is nothing new to Nunavummiut. It is common that blizzards hit vast expanses of land across the Arctic, bringing heavy snowfall and fierce wind which results in almost zero visibility.

Traditionally, hunters will pack a qamutik with supplies adequate enough for a man to survive in bad weather for several days. The past reality, and still even today in many communities, is that hunters had to go out on the land to sustain themselves and their families. They were prepared to be stranded and self sufficient enough to survive should they have to burrow down with their dog team and wait out the storm. Friends and relatives left behind in the community could do little except wait, hope and pray for the hunter's safe return.

The new reality is hunters and fishers not only prepare the qamutik with all the necessary equipment and supplies, but they also leave a travel plan by telling friends and relatives where they are planning to go and when they expect to return. In the event of a severe storm, and after the hunter or hunters fail to return when expected, a search-and-rescue goes out to look, hoping to offer assistance and return those involved safely home.

The problem with this new reality is that hunters today rely on snowmobiles rather than dog teams. And, since snowmobiles are mechanical and require fuel, they break down. It is one thing to be stranded until a storm passes and quite another to be stranded with no means of transportation. Volunteer members of the search-and-rescue team are putting themselves at risk while they go out on the land to help others. Some may say that is part of their job and, by joining the team, they accept the risk. That would be acceptable if the risk can't be lessened.

That's where the life-saving modern technology can be put to use. A SPOT satellite messenger is a GPS (global positioning system) device which uses the Globalstar satellite network to detect its position and transmit the coordinates. If activated by a person stranded on the land, those coordinates show the location of the device with pinpoint accuracy, often within one metre.

Nunavut's Protection Services department is very concerned that the number of search-and-rescue operations is increasing at a rate of 10 to 15 per cent per year. An education campaign is being undertaken in an effort to decrease the number of operations. Search-and-rescue team members in places like Pond Inlet are going on community radio to educate young hunters. Also in Pond Inlet, the hamlet has 15 SPOT devices available for hunters to borrow and sometimes all of them are checked out.

It is vital that, in this day and age, hunters take a SPOT device with them every time they go out on the land. Avid hunters should consider buying their own. Hamlets and hunters and trappers associations in other communities should have SPOT devices available for hunters to borrow.

Because accidents happen, storms and blizzards occur and hunters face difficult weather conditions and terrain, why wouldn't they want to be as safe as possible?

At the end of the day it is a matter of survival not only for the person who is stranded, but also for the search-and-rescue volunteers who are risking their lives to help others. In a life-and-death situation, knowing that someone knows where you are makes all the difference.

Cleaning up after a party is the inevitable flip-side to fun. But unless you want to hop over beer-stained linoleum and crush chips into the carpet with your feet the next day, you need to plan ahead for the cleanup and ensure the resources are available to do so.

But when the party is the excavation of diamonds, the required resources are a bit more lofty than setting aside 45 minutes in the morning after rolling out of bed.

In the case of the Ekati Diamond Mine - the largest mine in the North - Yellowknifer reported last week, those resources are not yet entirely in place.

The amount of clean-up money required is assessed at $263 million, but the Dominion Diamond Corporation, which owns the mine, has provided less than half of that - $127 million - to the federal government, which is the responsible parent of the deal. Should the company go bankrupt or abandon the site, the liability for cleanup is transferred to the federal government.

That is, until April 1.

When the signed devolution agreement snaps into place - poof - the feds relinquish the responsible parent role to the GNWT, along with ultimate financial responsibility.

This is not to presume Dominion won't be a good host and clean up after its own party, but it is crucial MLAs in the legislative assembly becomes hyper-aware of the fine print in the situation it has signed onto.

Due to similar situations in which companies have not provided the full security amount for cleanups, the federal government is on the hook for $8 billion, Yellowknifer reported last week.

Ray Case, assistant deputy minister with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, told Yellowknifer the GNWT is "reviewing the status of these sites and ensuring that the securities ... are in place."

Through devolution, the GNWT takes on immediate responsibility for 12 other developed sites, including Diavik and Snap Lake diamond mines, and the Deh Cho Bridge. Within five years, it will take on the responsibility for an additional 1,000 sites.

Education is critical to understanding any burden this transfer may bring, before it comes into effect. And in the case of Ekati, the $136 million remains a gaping hole that needs to be filled with answers to guarantee it doesn't become the NWT's gaping hole to fill.

Yellowknife's hopes for hosting the Canada Winter Games in 2023 are high and the city is doing the smart thing by calling in experts to have serious discussions about what is expected.

Bringing the games to Yellowknife is an expensive proposition - at least $3 million just to host them, never mind the renovations that would be required to make Ruth Inch Memorial Pool game-ready to host synchronized swimming.

Fortunately, Yellowknife already has some great facilities in the Multiplex Arena and Fieldhouse, built at great expense for a city population that endures more than half a year of winter.

Another issue will be accommodations. There will be hundreds of athletes, coaches and supporters coming to the city. Hotel rooms are often at a premium during the winter, stuffed as they usually are at this time of the year with aurora tourists. Billeting competitors in people's homes is an option the city has used before for other major events, such as the Arctic Winter Games.

The city might as well showcase our excellent facilities and unique Northern character on the national stage - providing the games are planned carefully. Yellowknife doesn't have a wealth of taxpayers to draw on for financial support like past hosts Halifax, Grande Prairie, Alta., and next year's location, Prince George, B.C. But with nine years to go, the hurdles to hosting the games should not prove insurmountable, providing the federal and territorial governments do their part to help out.

Yellowknife certainly deserves the winter games and the spotlight such national attention would bring.

To that end, the Canada Games Council was invited to Yellowknife by city officials to give them a realistic picture of the amount of planning needed to have a successful bid and prepare venues for the games.

It will take a great deal of work and co-ordination to have a successful games, but if done right, it will be a chance to show the nation what Yellowknife is all about and bring with them a much needed boost.

There are a few things that signal the impending end of winter in the Deh Cho.

Longer days when you no longer go to and return from work in the dark are always welcomed. Soon it seems like the dark days of the deep of winter never existed.

Although lengthening hours of sunlight are a reason to celebrate, in the Deh Cho there is something that is even more symbolic of the end of winter- the carnival season.

Spring carnivals are a sign that you have made it through the worst of the winter. Some storms may still be on their way and temperatures may still dip into the -30 Cs or below, but spring is just around the corner.

And what a way to celebrate! Carnivals bring communities together.

The events seem to draw people out of their winter blues and their hibernation. Neighbors you may not have seen in months suddenly appear at crib tournaments or at pancake breakfasts.

The carnivals across the Deh Cho are about having fun, something that can be sorely needed after a long winter. The corporate challenge at the Beavertail Jamboree is a great example. Teams compete in a number of events earning points along the way.

A crowd favourite is the dizzy stick relay. Spectators find no end of amusement in watching competitors who have just spun around and around multiple times suddenly straighten up and try to make their way to a table to collect an egg and spoon for the next portion of the race. It's comic gold as people zig-zag back and forth, unable to walk in a straight line.

In Fort Providence at the Deh Cho Bison Jamboree, the animal calling contest at the talent show can garner a lot of laughs. Some people's earnest moose calls apparently just sound funny, while others go up with a comic intention in mind.

The carnivals are also about supporting community members.

The talent shows are a case in point. Youth often get a boost of confidence after they are applauded no matter how their rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star sounded. At the adult talent shows, it is often the performers who are the most nervous and who sometimes have to stop and start all over again, who get the most enthusiastic applause. Singing a country tunes favorite doesn't hurt either.

So as the carnivals start to roll out across the region, beginning this week in Fort Simpson with the Beavertail Jamboree, be sure to get out and enjoy them. They can be one of the highlights of the year in a community and a reward for toughing out yet another winter.

An opportunity to send a message against bullying came and went without even so much as public whimper in Inuvik last week.

Feb. 26 marked Pink Shirt Day in opposition to bullying.

There were no classes at either East Three Elementary and secondary schools because it was in the midst of professional development days, so no one had a chance to mark it there. East Three Elementary School vice-principal Jason Dayman said the school would have held an event otherwise.

In 2013, Inuvik union officials led by David Bob tried to mark the day by asking school and college students and staff to attend a rally at the GNWT building on Veteran's Way. No one showed up to the rally.

Bob said that's why union officials didn't make plans to mark the day this year. He was disappointed with the failure of last year's rally, although he considers bullying to be a major problem in Inuvik.

Those problems range from the usual school bullying, the kind that anti-bullying programs in the schools try to address, to workplace bullying between adults as well as cyber-bullying.

As I alluded to in a previous column, bullying is all too common here. That can be said of almost any community, but I've heard from multiple sources and seen more than enough of it to know Inuvik has a rather vigorous, if small, segment of bullies.

I believe some of the rage and venom flowing from them is at least partly due to frustration with the local declining economy. But that doesn't excuse any of it, particularly the outright maliciousness that is manifested at times.

Recently, I've been reading an ongoing influx of articles about bullying on the Internet, particularly cyber-bullying, with a great deal of interest. It's particularly fascinating – but not surprising – how the characteristics of cyber-bullies – so-called trolls – align with a "dark tetrad" of personality traits that include sadism and manipulation.

Considering the rather widespread acknowledgement of bullying here and in the NWT – which is why new anti-bullying legislation is in the works for schools – I find it perplexing to think of the outright indifference toward making a statement that bullying won't be tolerated.

I hope that's because Inuvik residents feel they know how to handle the bullies in society, and not because of apathy, but I'm not totally convinced.

Bullying is not something that should be a normal part of growing up, nor is it remotely acceptable in the workplace or in social interactions.

Nor is it really a question of freedom of speech or expression. That's a convenient curtain to hide behind, which makes it appealing to most bullies, who don't like their putrid nastiness brought out into the daylight to be examined.

That's why public days like Pink Shirt Day are important and need to be recognized. That's something to think about for next year.

Eight months after seven-year-old Lodune Shelley drowned at the unsupervised Long Lake Beach, little appears to have been done that promises to actually make the beach safer.

There has been a report - an exhaustive one by the Lifesaving Society of Alberta and the NWT - that chooses, as its first topic of discussion, the timeliness of testing for E.coli bacteria. And last week, the NWT Coroner's Office issued a report on Shelley's death that likewise failed to illuminate on the two main safety issues facing the beach at Fred Henne Territorial Park - the lack of lifeguards and the presence of hazardous deep-water holes that threaten to swallow unwary bathers, especially children who can't swim.

The coroner's report proposes to close the beach to unsupervised children - not an issue in Shelley's death - and otherwise places the onus on the beach-going public to be better "educated" on being safe. Two lonely words - "bottom terrain" - are dedicated to the periodically shifting, underwater holes inside the swimming area perimeter where unsuspecting waders risk treading into depths of six feet or more, with the depth of the surrounding water at less than three feet.

Aside from the scant attention paid to bottom terrain, the coroner's report laughably recommends the Department of Industry, Tourism and Development, which runs the beach at Fred Henne, to inform beach-goers of the dangers of other water hazards, such as wind, temperature and marine life.

The report doesn't speculate on what led to Shelley's drowning, but it's a safe bet it had nothing to do with "marine life." In any event, it can only be hoped that the education of beach-goers on the hazards at Long Lake includes, at the very least, some buoys tied to rocks and placed over these holes so caregivers can at least see if their children are wandering too close to them.

The lack of interest and discussion to date by various bodies about these holes is puzzling. Their aversion to recommending lifeguards is not.

Clearly, no one wants to be held responsible should lifeguards return to Fred Henne after an 11-year absence and another drowning occurs. The territorial government estimates it would cost $120,000 to $150,000 annually to institute a summer lifeguard program at Long Lake - substantially higher than the $21,000 it would've cost in 2004 when the city and GNWT failed to come to an agreement over who would pay it, but presumably a much smaller figure than what would be sought in a negligence lawsuit.

It must be noted that the children who stumbled upon Shelley's lifeless body as it drifted in the water were unable to get anyone's attention when they went screaming back to shore seeking help. Would a professional lifeguard not have picked up on that? It raises the question of whether Shelley could have been saved had he been pulled from the water sooner by a professional trained in CPR.

David Ramsey, the minister responsible for territorial parks - no doubt feeling the conflicting pressures from residents who overwhelmingly want lifeguards to return and bureaucrats warning of liability - uttered his strongest pledge to date last week in the legislative assembly, saying, "If lifeguards at Fred Henne beach is going to make it safer, we'll try our best to put lifeguards there."

It boggles the mind to consider how Long Lake Beach wouldn't be safer with lifeguards. Ramsay promises yet another report on the matter from the Lifesaving Society within a few weeks which will make a recommendation one way or another.

One thing is for sure - with the petition from Shelley's grandfather calling for lifeguards growing by the day, the minister will be in a tough spot with the public should the report find a reason not to hire them.

It's been an interesting few weeks in the Kivalliq, listening to the vastly differing opinions people have on alcohol in our region.

Residents of Arviat and Chesterfield Inlet voted "no" to dropping restrictions on alcohol in their communities.

The results in the two communities really weren't close, especially in Arviat where "no" outnumbered "yes" almost two to one.

That's a huge gap, considering the "yes" side needs at least 60 per cent of the overall vote to carry the day.

In Coral Harbour, all sides have firmly dropped the cone of silence in place - people's right to know be damned - concerning members of the education community allegedly having alcohol in their homes.

I support free speech to the tune of 110 per cent.

I might not agree with what someone is saying, but I will defend to the death their right to say it.

Ditto, the democratic or voting process.

Regardless of how I may feel on a topic, we live in a country where majority rules and, while their voice may be open to scrutiny or debate, it is not open to change.

So state the rules of democracy, and long may that flag wave over this great nation of ours.

All that being said, I am concerned about the fact almost 100 per cent of the attention in Coral has been focused on teachers allegedly having alcohol in their homes and next to nothing is being said over the fact the alcohol was "confiscated" by youth breaking into their homes.

If some teachers did have alcohol in Coral, they should have known better and, no doubt, will be disciplined for their lack of judgement.

But, let's not be throwing rocks if we're living in a glass home of our own.

Breaking and entering into a home is a serious offence, and "they wouldn't have done it if there was no booze there" is a flimsy excuse.

Does the same excuse hold water if a person has a nice stereo or some other fancy electronic device?

The fact they're legal and booze isn't doesn't stand-up as a counter point because break and enter is always an illegal act, no matter what the person was after when they committed the crime.

If these teachers did have booze, let's not heap too much righteous indignation upon them.

There are bootleggers and people who sneak liquor into every dry or restricted community in our region - and we all know it!

If we're going to jump on a pedestal and demand punishment far beyond befitting the crime for these teachers - if they did do anything wrong - let's ask ourselves why.

Are we naive enough to believe bootleggers in our communities don't sell to youth?

Do we believe when someone we know brings booze into a community during a big event, they're giving it to people at actual cost out of the goodness of their hearts?

The majority of people in Coral Harbour don't want liquor in their community.

That is their right and anyone moving to, or visiting, that community, for whatever reasons, should respect that.

But, until we're ready to hold everyone accountable to that standard - friend, foe, acquaintance or stranger - let's not fall into the trap of removing the blindfold and tipping the scales of justice only when it suits our purpose.

That is not our right!

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