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Mistakes must be acknowledged, especially when the integrity of democracy is on the line.

The Lutsel K'e election committee did exactly that when they wrote up their report on the community's March 14 election.

Among other conclusions, they found one candidate withdrew from the race after deadline had passed.

Given that a recount ended in a tie, it called the validity of the election into question as "even a single vote for that nominee could have altered the outcome of the election," the report stated.

They had two choices: start from scratch with a new election or hold a run-off election to break a tie between front-runners Archie Catholique and Felix Lockhart. In choosing a fresh start, they chose democracy over convenience, giving candidates and voters the opportunity for a new election that can be seen to carry out their will.

This may not have been an easy call to make. According to their report, a band councillor directly connected to a candidate threatened legal action if the election results were overturned. But given the late withdrawal, there was sufficient doubt to call into question whether Catholique and Lockhart would have actually tied.

Whatever frustration candidates and the electorate may feel at the prospect of starting anew, it is important that the election clearly represent the will of the people.

The committee also shed light on other issues that will hopefully make the next election run more smoothly.

The committee recommended that the next election be held on a Saturday, when regular staff is not working at the band office.

There were concerns raised about candidates being related to band office staff. While the report states that having them handle ballots is not covered in the rules, it does affect the integrity of the system.

This too is a move in the right direction. Every effort must be made to ensure an election passes the smell test.

With these lessons learned, hopefully the next election will offer less questionable results.

The stakes are high in the Beaufort Delta, where the Environmental Impact Review Board (EIRB) is consulting communities about a proposed drilling project 125 km off the coast of Tuktoyaktuk.

On the one hand, the Beaufort Sea Exploration Joint Venture Drilling Program would mean new jobs and training opportunities in a region where the unemployment rate is almost twice the territorial average.

On the other hand, as Michelle Gruben of Aklavik notes, one wrong move could affect the way of life for everyone who uses the area.

How does one balance the opportunity against the risks? Well Gruben, along with 20 other Aklavik community members, decided to make their concerns known at a meeting held by the board late last March.

The idea is for the board to respond to what community members have to say when drafting an environmental review.

When it's done, Gruben can say whether she likes the response or not at a public hearing.

But those who didn't show up for the public meetings that have already passed through six communities, and don't write in to the board by the deadline for comments, may not have the same opportunity.

That's why it's important to speak now, so the best-informed decision possible can be made. The public meetings are over for now, but those who wish can still submit a written comment by the end of April.

If you've got a stake and have your own concerns, it's a good idea to make it known before that time, when it will be given the greatest consideration.

Seriously? Female Inuit workers at Agnico Eagle's Meadowbank gold mine have reportedly been subjected to sexual harassment including name-calling, abusive language, exposure to human indignities and, most disturbingly, sexual assault including incidents that may have included rape.

The horrific descriptions of the alleged treatment of women at the mine are included as a small portion of a 188-page report produced in large part by the University of British Columbia's school of social work.

Allegations such as these made by the employees are serious and are worthy of investigation, so we started asking questions.

The RCMP at the Baker Lake detachment said they have heard no reports of sexual misconduct at the mine as described in the report. Officers work closely with the mine company's four full-time security personnel who are former Mounties and operate on rotation so there is constant coverage.

A company spokesperson said there was one incident of non-physical sexual harassment filed by a female Inuit employee since 2010, which resulted in the firing of the male employee who was involved.

So where are these allegations coming from? The report, titled The Impact of Resource Extraction on Inuit Women and Families in Qamani'tuaq, Nunavut Territory, was affiliated with the Canadian Women's Foundation and Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, based in Ottawa.

It is a broad-ranging study that was completed at the request of graduate students or a community facilitator by employees and Baker Lake community members. No names were attached to the responses. There are 736 permanent employees at Meadowbank, but only 101 are female and only 68 employees are Inuit women.

By all accounts, Agnico Eagle is proactive in its human resources operation, including having two Inuktitut-speaking personnel on site. They hold regular Inuit support group meetings with no management present and have several programs and resources in place to foster a safe workplace environment.

What is curious is that Agnico Eagle was not contacted by the study's authors about the findings. Our request for comment to Pauktuutit about the report was referred to the report's joint authors at the University of British Columbia.

Allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace are serious. The fact that no names are attached to statements suggesting improprieties have taken place is suspicious. If true, why weren't the complaints taken to the authorities, mine security, the mine's human resources people, or the police in the community where the workers reside?

It is important that a mine workplace be safe for all people, regardless of their gender or cultural background. Accountability is necessary for that to happen.

We consider it serious that these allegations were made in the absence of formal complaints and encourage all employees in any workplace to report incidents of sexual harassment or sexual misconduct immediately.

Recent controversy over fur fashions and seal hunting is exposing the inherent hypocrisy in the argument against harvesting from the wild.

A clothing store in downtown Vancouver, owned by former Yellowknife resident Jason Overbo, has been under siege by animal rights activists because of his decision to sell Canada Goose and Moose Knuckle parkas. Some of which are trimmed with fur from raccoon dogs - a common fox-like animal found primarily in East Asia.

They ignore the fact that there is a McDonald's restaurant every second block and half the boots walking past the store are made from leather.

If animal rights activists are so offended by people eating meat and harvesting animals for their skins, why aren't they out harassing them?

Likewise, the hysterical reaction to Yellowknife-based and internationally renowned throat singer Tanya Tagaq and her "sealfie" photo of her baby daughter with a freshly harvested seal. Fanatics in the animal rights movements were so offended a petition was started to have her daughter taken away and disgusting Photoshopped images of her baby being butchered were posted on Twitter.

Is this a reasonable response to online depictions of a traditional Inuit harvest?

It is inconceivable how these people can argue against fur and indigenous people taking part in time-honoured hunting practices while tacitly accepting the raising of cattle and pigs specifically for mass slaughter for their meat and leather. When it comes down to it, the difference between domestic agriculture and harvesting animals in the North is one is done on an industrial scale and other is limited to the bullets and sweat equity required to procure them.

A fur fashion show at the SnowKing snow castle held late last month for international dignitaries with the Arctic Council showcased fur and leather from the NWT and Nunavut.

Territorial government officials made the case that these products are a truly sustainable Northern industry.

This fact should be front and centre anytime fur and sealing come under assault from fringe animal rights activists. They are too irrational to understand but this shouldn't be lost on everybody else.

At dinnertime, while Yellowknifers are sitting around tables chowing down on supper, a ringing telephone can be akin to an annoying mosquito buzzing in your ear.

If the phone call is deemed to be an automated survey or a telemarketer, one may be more inclined to the pick-up-and-hang-up reaction, or to just let the phone ring.

But until April 13, just one phrase of advice: pick up the phone.

That's because the City of Yellowknife is conducting a survey through Ipsos Reid to collect your input on what issues are most important to you, what's great about living here, how you feel about the city's performance, and - perhaps most importantly - how you want your elected representatives to spend your tax dollars.

It's not always easy for a municipality to gauge what can be diverse public-opinion, or as a resident, know exactly where to turn if you have a bone to pick. This is that forum - the city is listening to your voice, so use it.

Although we elected our council with trust that they will serve our best interests, the people of Yellowknife remain the kernel around which everything is built around, including public policy.

This survey demonstrates that the voice of the people matters to the city - it is now up to the people to take advantage of the opportunity.

So put down the fork and pick up the phone.

Youth generally aren't given as much credit as they deserve.

If an adult was asked to come up with a list of things that teenagers and older youth think of most, it would probably include things like their friends, plans for the weekend, who is dating who and the latest piece of technology or clothing they really need and how they are going to get it. While youth probably think about all of those things a lot, they also pick up on other, less self-absorbed, topics that are also of interest to their wider community.

The Dehcho First Nations Youth Council is a case in point. Approximately 20 youth ranging in age from 16 to 25 volunteered to give up the bulk of their weekend to learn about topics that even many adults aren't interested in like the Dehcho Land Use Plan, devolution, amendments to the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act and the Dehcho Process negotiations.

The youth did more than just sit there and listen and occasionally look at their cellphones. They absorbed the knowledge and started to think about it critically. The proof is in the sticky-notes stuck to pieces of chart paper around the room.

The youth were asked to give their opinion on a number of timely issues, including whether Dehcho First Nations (DFN) should sign onto devolution. Their answers mirrored the concerns that the region's leadership keep raising. They were also split, like many leaders are, on the right course of action.

Some of the youth in favour of signing on had the following reasoning, "yes, all aboriginal governments should be involved" and "yes I think the Deh Cho should sign up because the Deh Cho would benefit from it and also get a say in management of the GNWT."

At the end of the council, the participants were asked if DFN should revive its youth council. The unanimous answer was yes.

DFN would do well to listen to their input and find a way to create a youth council. Given the necessary background information, youth in the region are clearly capable of forming their own well-thought out opinions and have an interest in doing so.

At every DFN leadership meeting, at least one elder makes the point that everything DFN is doing is for the youth, their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren. The youth are the ones that will have the most time to live and deal with the results of the decisions the current leaders make, so it is only right their opinions are sought out and considered as soon as possible.

After a long winter, it's great to see a hint of spring in the air and people enjoying themselves at the Muskrat Jamboree.

We've been fortunate here in Inuvik not to have suffered through as bad a winter as many places in Canada. Where others have frozen, we have enjoyed a strangely mild winter, punctuated with a few bitterly cold periods.

That's allowed and encouraged more people to have more opportunity to get out and enjoy our longest season, and that's been good for almost everyone. I've certainly seen more activity outside this winter than last year's prolonged mini ice age, where we had so many days below -20 C and -30 C it seemed like it would never end.

We're well into my favourite time of the year now, which begins in March and extends through mid-June or so, and I suspect a lot of people probably feel the same way.

Inuvik is a place that enjoys both its sunshine and its snow sports, in a way few others do that don't have the same rare and serendipitous fortune of endless sunny days and snow cover.

That's why I'd like to offer congratulations to the organizing committee of the Muskrat Jamboree for the numerous outdoor activities they offer year after year.

And let's not forget, either, the indoor activities for when we need to warm up.

From the snowmobile races to the honey-bag hockey to the log sawing and the dog sledding, everything went fairly smoothly over the weekend.

It's a colossal undertaking to get this festival running and to keep it running more or less on schedule. I could insert the standard joke about "Inuvik time" here, but it's not really necessary.

I think everyone who takes in even a bit of the jamboree festival also should be stopping the organizers on the street or in the coffee shops or stores around town and thanking them for their efforts.

As with most volunteer activities, it's generally the same core of people year after year that makes this happen, and we tend to take them for granted.

Are there things we could grumble about when it comes to the jamboree? Sure, it's possible to find something. But I heard rather little.

This year's jamboree ran smoothly without the drama that hit parts of it in 2013, particularly the dog sled racing.

So to people like committee chair Liz Gordon, the little dynamo that seemed to be everywhere, thanks on behalf of all of us for a fun time in the spring sunshine.

Two years ago, the territorial government was ordered by the NWT Supreme Court to pay $28-million to either expand or renovate French schools in Yellowknife and Hay River to properly accommodate French students.

The GNWT is appealing that court ruling, with a judgement expected in six to eight months.

In case the appeal fails, the GNWT has proposed a school swap in Hay River and Yellowknife that would see English students moved around among the existing schools, freeing up a school for the French students.

The idea got a thumbs down in Hay River from parents. In Yellowknife, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, suggested Education District No. 1 offer up one of its schools. That idea met with a similar negative reaction, not only from the public school board but from the Commission scolaire francophone.

Two facts are of note. The GNWT has always lost in court when faced with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms on matters of French language rights and specifically the right to a French education.

To date, the court has awarded $1.3 million in costs to the Commission scolaire francophone.

Also, between Yk1 and the Commission there are six schools with a combined utilization rate of 57 per cent. The solution that would best serve all Yellowknifers, French and English, would be using these existing buildings.

A school swap would require renovations to satisfy both the court order and the French school board. J.H. Sissons School, for example, is 40 years old and would require a massive retrofit in order to accommodate a full kindergarten to Grade 12 programming.

Although the GNWT has proven powerless in court, it still holds most of the financial cards when dealing with the Yk1 school board. Recall the recent funding cuts to grab board surpluses to pay for junior kindergarten.

But with the pressure and political clout of tax-paying parents and legal clout of French right-holders, the GNWT has a decision to make: do this the easy way or the hard way.

The easy way is to comply with the order of the Supreme Court, and expand the French school. The hard way is to continue to anger parents and both school boards, lose millions in legal costs and have to expand anyway.

Last weekend saw the conclusion of the Canadian Seniors Curling Championships, with the winning teams of Manitoba and Nova Scotia taking the titles for women's and men's categories respectively.

But know who emerged as a winner in all of this? Yellowknife.

This tourney marked the first time that the city played host to a national curling event such as this, and by all accounts, it was a rousing success. Teams from across the country set up shop in Yellowknife for a week, and showed the Canadian curling community what they had, and made our fair city look that much better in the process.

Most importantly, this event showed the country that Yellowknife is ready to host larger-scale events. While this paper isn't recommending that the city put in a bid for the Olympics any time soon, Yellowknife is more than capable of hosting larger national events. Bigger curling tourneys could be on the table.

And the city is already looking at putting forward a bid for the Canada Winter Games in 2023.

The paramount success of the national senior curling championship, and any future tourneys on the horizon, will show the Canadian sporting community that Yellowknife has arrived and is ready for bigger events. <

While we may still not have reached the level we strive for when it comes to our total ulu count, our Nunavut contingent, once again, represented our territory with pride and dignity at the 2014 Arctic Winter Games (AWG) in Fairbanks, Alaska.

That could soon prove itself even more important, as goodwill is diminishing with Nuuk, Greenland, not being able to accommodate every AWG sport in 2016 due to a lack of facilities.

The sports of dog mushing, curling, gymnastics, speedskating and figure skating will sit the 2016 Games out in Nuuk.

It looked, originally, as if alternate plans would be struck to see other communities host left-out sports under the AWG banner.

Hockey was also going to be affected by Greenland's lack of facilities, but female and bantam hockey were saved by a special contract worked out by Nuuk's host society, which will see those athletes flown back and forth from their competition in Iqaluit for the opening and closing ceremonies.

The same approach was used when Nunavut and Greenland co-hosted the Games in 2002.

With midget hockey and five other sports left out, a growing voice is asking why Nuuk's host society is so adamant the AWG banner can't be used if other communities put a plan in place to host the sports in question.

Some are asking if it's being done for one sport, why not all?

That's not entirely fair, given the midgets are being left out and peewee hockey was cut from the AWG following the 2004 Games.

If there's any chance of a resolution being found between now and 2016 that would see all sports compete under the AWG banner, the sports originally cut have to speak in a unified voice.

It will serve no purpose to be hitting each other with friendly fire while lobbing verbal grenades at Nuuk's host society.

Everyone can probably agree on the fact midget hockey was left from the 2016 AWG lineup due to the age of political correctness we live in, and no one was going to take the heat for not including female hockey.

But, on the surface, there appears no logical reason to deny any of the five sports cut from Nuuk to not be allowed to compete under the AWG banner if they're willing to put in the time and effort and, most importantly, pick up the cost associated with competing in another locale.

It also sets a dangerous precedent.

Will it be at the AWG international committee or host society's whim which sports will be cut due to facilities and other intangibles?

Will Iqaluit deny cross-country skiing from selecting an alternate site and competing under the AWG banner when Nunavut hosts again in 2020?

It's time for cooler heads to prevail here and all affected parties, with the support of their provincial and territorial governments, to continue to meet on the subject until an acceptable compromise can be worked out.

The last thing we need in Nunavut, is to see our athletic talent pool further drained by frustrated athletes leaving sports they've become disillusioned with due to being denied the chance to compete at the AWG.

Everyone needs goals to chase and dreams to pursue.

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