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Last week saw the Yellowknife debut of Brigette DePape, the young woman made famous by the handmade "Stop Harper" sign she held in the Senate chamber while working as a parliamentary page in 2011.

DePape was in town for a workshop on social activism, flown in on the dime of local labour organizations and social awareness groups.

While it is always good to start a discussion on how the government, no matter what level, can be improved, there needs to be more than just slogans and jargon.

DePape came to national prominence for saying "Stop Harper." Fine then, but stop the prime minister from doing what, exactly?

Many people would agree that Stephen Harper hasn't exactly been a likeable prime minister but the ugliness of his warts aside, there is no denying that Harper has made the North a key area of concern since taking office eight years ago. Many will remember past governments - both the Liberals and the long-gone Progressive Conservatives - which paid little attention to the North at the best of times.

And if Harper is to be stopped, what's next? What political solution is the right answer? Should Canadians give the old/new of Justin Trudeau's Liberal brand another try in the top spot? Or perhaps the answer is Thomas Mulcair and the New Democratic Party. Is it time for the party that Jack Layton led into the official opposition to take the next step and become the leading party?

And beyond the expediencies of party politics, what policies should be pursued? And how will they benefit the North and the rest of Canada?

To often the discussion is drowned out in ad hominem attacks that take us nowhere closer to addressing the real issues at stake.

There is nothing wrong with opposing the government but it ought to come with a message stronger than scripted slogans and a "Stop Harper" sign - if the goal is to convince people to change their vote.

Considering how only 30 people attended DePape's workshop earlier this month - no doubt familiar faces all among the local activists who attended - it seems doubtful that people are heeding the call.

Talk of First Air and Canadian North merging is making some Yellowknifers nervous.

It was announced last week that company executives were having serious discussions over consolidating the two brands. Peter McCart, vice-president of sales and marketing for Canadian North, said it made sense to combine the strengths of both companies to "create a stronger, more sustainable business."

Many still remember the bad old days before national carriers Air Canada and WestJet landed in town. With little competition, airfares were expensive - almost identically so between the two Northern airlines. A merger between First Air and Canadian North gives air travellers one less option to choose from - although the addition of Yellowknife-to-Ottawa flights this year through Yukon-based Air North is a positive mitigating factor.

However, mergers don't always mean hardship for the consumer. Combining the two companies will likely streamline their operations, giving customers faster, more efficient service. A major complaint among Yellowknife's fliers is the frequent lateness for both incoming and outgoing flights to southern connections.

Streamlining services could give the two airlines the competitive edge that will keep southern-based competition on their toes, while hopefully translating into better service all-around for customers.

The negotiators must keep these factors in mind while they work out a deal and remember that the competition will quickly scoop up customers if they fail to make a deal that benefits all.

As regular readers of this space realize, it came as no surprise to me when the Parti Quebecois's illadvised charter of values and raised voice for separation cost it the Quebec provincial election on April 7.

But I do admit surprise to just how dearly the blunders cost them.

In short, the Parti Quebecois (PQ) was devastated at the polls, with the Liberals grabbing 70 seats and more than 41 per cent of the popular vote on their way to forming a majority government in La Belle Province.

The PQ claimed only 30 seats and a disastrous 25 per cent of the popular vote.

Party leader Pauline Marois resigned after losing her CharlevoixCotedeBeaupre seat while watching the PQ drop 24 seats and its dreams of a majority government.

In fact, it barely remained the official opposition by finishing three per cent ahead of the Coalition Avenir Quebec and its 22 seats.

Quebec solidaire took three seats in the election.

Marois made a fatal mistake by getting caught up in the fistpumping rhetoric of Pierre Karl Peladeau, who vowed to make Quebec a country.

Peladeau's antics seemed to light a fuse of disconnect in Marois, who began to publicly muse about life as the leader of a sovereign Quebec.

The habit alienated many in the voting public. Coupled with the secular charter that caused a backlash of anger across most of the country, the majority of Quebec voters decided the PQ was on its own page, not theirs, and choose what they viewed as the lesser of two evils in Philippe Couillard's Liberals.

I've never quite understood why the PQ attached such a shining star to Peladeau, given its troubles with organized students and his disdain for organized labour.

But as was mentioned in a Doug Firby column this past week, the uber-wealthy media baron, Peladeau, may be the best hope of every Canadian who wishes our country to remain intact and to see the PQ destroyed once and for all.

Peladeau, as with Marois, has little in common with the masses.

He can be brash, outspoken and overly-dramatic, and he's used to wielding all the power money can buy to get his own way, while often coming across as being his own biggest fan.

Should he gain the PQ leadership, chances are high he will not take the time to slowly rebuild lost confidence in the party.

He's more likely to take a banzai run at making another referendum his main platform in the next Quebec election.

It could turn into a wonderful scenario for the millions of Canadians who prefer their country intact.

Distrusted by organized labour and student leaders suspicious of his intentions, and with a middle and lower class feeling disenfranchised and not able to relate to his upper-crust ways, Peladeau may, to nick Firby's analogy, turn out to be the political version of Custer's Last Stand for the PQ.

It now promises to be an interesting four years ahead for Quebec, with no tolerance for political missteps.

And that may end the separatist movement once and for all, if Peladeau leads the next PQ charge while not caring whose toes he steps on in his quest to be king.

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.

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