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The downtown day shelter has re-opened after a fresh coat of paint and a change of management, but this is only a temporary reprieve that will last until May 31, with reduced hours.

Now is not the time to forget the facts surrounding this resource for the homeless population. The most conspicuous fact is the shelter is needed and necessary - so much so that the homeless are bravely speaking up, telling their side of the story.

Petition in hand, they came to Yellowknifer's office.

For Mona Thrasher, and others, the shelter is a place to rest during the day because she is often unable to find somewhere to sleep at night. "I'm not ashamed..." she said. Nor should she feel shame.

A man, identified as R.J, said, "We checked out of our tent in October and we've been sleeping in stairwells ever since."

Thrasher, R.J. and his partner wander the night and use the shelter during the day for the basics of life, such as having a toilet to use.

The other notable fact regarding the shelter is the absence of commitment from the powers-that-be for its longevity, not to mention its survival.

Denise McKee, executive director of the NWT Disabilities Council - the organization handed temporary responsibility by the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority to run the shelter - appears to be doing the best she can in a bad situation. But even she lives in uncertainty. "I hope there is a timely answer to ease people's anxieties," she said.

Hubert Humphrey, a former vice-president of the United States, famously stated, "The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped."

The territorial government is in danger of failing this moral test if the day shelter remains closed for long.

Medical marijuana growers are breathing a sigh of relief after a Federal Court injunction halted an order from Health Canada to destroy their so far legally grown plants that would have come into effect yesterday.

Those people include Yellowknife's Kim MacNearney, who obtained a licence to possess medical marijuana to help her with her back pain. Her husband Craig has a licence to grow the plant, even though he says isn't growing any right now. The couple obtained their licences after police raided a small-scale grow-op in their home in 2009. They were convicted of possession and production of marijuana in December - but not trafficking - and sentenced to house arrest after a five-year court battle.

The MacNearneys broke the law, saw the error in their ways, and then tried to comply with the law.

Now the government, in an ill-considered effort to appear tough on crime, wants to change the rules again. Although people would still be able to obtain medical marijuana - providing it has been prescribed by a doctor.

Public opinion was split when cannabis was initially introduced as a potential medical option through Health Canada in 2001. At the time, no medical trials had been done to test marijuana's effectiveness as a treatment option. It's been 13 years, and those trials still haven't been done.

If the federal government is serious about maintaining marijuana solely as a medical option, it should be treated no differently than other treatment options, which means proper testing by Health Canada. Putting the issue into the hands of doctors who may or may not have confidence in the so-called health benefits of the drug puts them in an awkward position. What if they don't want to prescribe it?

On the flip side, public opinion has softened since 2001 - a Forum Research poll from last year found more than two-thirds of Canadians support the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana, while nearly 40 per cent support outright legalization.

So why is it that the government fighting public sentiment? Alcohol statistically is far more dangerous.

Unfortunately, all decisions on marijuana to date - from criminalization to medical liberalization to the government's recent attempt at restrictions - have been based more on politics than common sense.

It would be far easier on society if the government simply allowed people to grow a few plants at home if they so desire - as medicine or otherwise. <

The hockey-blood-seeking wolves have been out in full force the past 10 days.

They refer to themselves as sport journalists, as they gleefully await news of a wound they can turn against the hockey establishment.

And, the deeper the wound, the more fervent their efforts in exploiting it.

Time has shown us nothing is off-limits to these poison scribes when it comes to discrediting hockey and its culture.

One of the deepest wounds they use to attack the game is one we know all too well in the North - suicide.

Shortly after Saginaw Spirit Terry Trafford was found dead of self-inflicted asphyxiation this past month, sport journalists were quick to place blame.

Competitive hockey has too much pressure, they claimed, and players view any of their peers as weak if they seek help for addiction or depression.

And, apparently, those who surround hockey should be able to recognize, properly address, and successfully deal with any affliction being suffered by the millions who play the game.

Trafford's tale is a tragic one.

He was missing for more than a week after being sent home for the balance of the season for breaking team rules.

Trafford was not, however, removed from the team's roster until after his funeral, and head coach Greg Gilbert invited him to his summer skating sessions to get ready for the following season the last time the two spoke.

No, the hockey career of the 20-year-old veteran of four OHL seasons with the Spirit was not over, and he had his whole life ahead of him.

There have been 17 elite hockey players known to have committed suicide.

That number jumps to 67 in baseball and more than 70 in football.

But high suicide rates are far from being the private domain of elite sports.

Physicians have one of the highest suicide rates in the world, along with sales-related positions, dentists, law enforcement, protective services, finance workers, veterinarians and electricians.

The leaders all very by category - white males and females, black males and females, aboriginal males and females, etc. - but remain consistently high across the recorded spectrum.

All range from honourable to prestigious lines of work, and all have more than their share of smart and caring people surrounding them.

Yet the numbers continue to climb.

To take the tragic loss of a young man's life, and use it to point the finger of blame at the game of hockey, serves absolutely no useful purpose in our ongoing struggle against suicide.

Far more productive are the directions taken by people like Larry Pegg, who extol the virtues of competitive sport through programs such as the Hockey Project, while getting the message across that life is above everything.

All of us, from every walk of life, are affected by suicide.

Hopefully, poison-penned pundits aside, we'll continue to focus on communication, compassion, recognition, acceptance, love and support as our keys to understanding.

There should be no room on our team for those who just want to play the blame game.

An idea may seem good from a bureaucratic point of view, but doesn't pass muster on closer inspection.

That could be the case in Fort Smith, where talk of moving a wellness program might give users seeking discretion some unwanted scrutiny.

The idea would be to run the program out of the health centre starting in June rather than out of the Jack Taylor Building, its current location, which also houses the South Slave Divisional Education Council. But community member Clayton Burke says not so fast.

"The big problem is the personal counselling service will not be confidential. Meaning that, if you go to the hospital, it's going to be very, very obvious that you're going for counselling."

He's not alone. David Poitras, who used to work with the program, praised the current location, calling it central but off by itself.

Burke praised the program from first-hand experience, but others might not feel like disclosing such information.

The Minister's Forum on Addictions and Community Wellness noted that the connection between mental health and addictions is not well-understood among Northerners, and that stigma and stereotyping are obstacles to treatment.

Even the best program in the world won't be any good to people who don't use it, and that's more likely to happen if people feel embarrassment or shame getting the help they need.

Fort Smith Health and Social Services CEO misses the point when she assures us that confidentiality will be maintained.

"Confidentiality is a key, fundamental principle."

Such assurances do not address Burke's concern that people will see their fellow community residents go in and out of the health centre during meetings and make the logical leap that they are there for counselling.

Getting people the help they need has to come before efficient use of space. Setting aside the human cost, mental health resources are wasted when they go unused.

It can only be hoped the local authority considers its response carefully, and that health officials do the same all the way around the territory.

That local perspective can offer the most critical information of all, information that can't be gleaned from a report on efficiency.

After your lungs, the first organ of your body to be supplied with oxygenated blood is your heart.

It's what keeps us alive, and so it only makes sense that the organ that sends it throughout our body gets first dibs.

And yet, it is easy to forget that in order to help those that people care about, they must first care for themselves.

Take Roy Erasmus Sr., who worked long hours as assistant deputy minister of education, as he cared about the education of aboriginal people. He used his holiday time to go to Yellowknives Dene First Nation band meetings, and noticed his health take a turn for the worse in 2010.

Shortness of breath, and a tingly sensation in a time of physical exertion prompted him to seek medical attention that eventually led to a conversation with his doctor where he was told he narrowly missed a heart attack.

He hadn't drank or smoked since 1985. He already avoided salt. Aside from that, he said he was already following most of the recommendations given to him by his doctor.

What's concerning is that it puts him ahead of many in a territory where heart disease is a leading cause of death.

Thirty-six per cent of NWT residents older than 15 smoke, according to a 2011 fact sheet from the Department of Health and Social Services.

And a 2009 survey shows 62.8 per cent of NWT residents age 18 and older are obese or overweight - a risk factor in heart disease and diabetes.

If more of us quit smoking, controlled our diet and got out more, that might still not be enough - Erasmus needed to take more steps to control his heart disease.

But it would still be a good starting off point.

It is indeed tragic that a search and rescue technician lost his life on Oct. 26, 2011 while on a mission to rescue two Iglulik hunters whose boat became stranded in an icefield in the Hecla Strait.

Among those who feel the pain of the loss of Sgt. Janick Gilbert of Baie-Comeau, Que., besides his family and friends, are the two hunters themselves, who witnessed his lifeless body being hoisted from the icy water into a helicopter. No one is taking his death lightly.

Earlier this month, in a report released as a result of an investigation into the mission, the military states that it is considering changes to its regulations as a result of the incident. One of the purposes of an investigation is to find the cause of the fatality and make recommendations to prevent a similar death.

The report is wide-ranging and in depth. It looks at the details of the mission from start to finish, including the background and training of each of the Armed Forces personnel involved.

One of the most telling details is the revelation that the zipper of Gilbert's dry suit was not fully closed and that his life raft survival kit strap was loose. Gilbert was told twice about these deficiencies but did not address them, the report states. The reason why he did not pull up his zipper or secure the kit strap is unclear. What is clear is that failure to seal his dry suit was a major contributing factor in Gilbert's death, which investigators determined was by drowning. Other factors include the fact that Gilbert had never performed a water rescue jump of this kind before, although he was trained to do so.

Twelve measures have already been implemented as a result of the investigation. But what is concerning is a suggestion that changes to regulations are needed so that operations would be restricted "when the risk is predetermined to be too high."

The assessment appears to be that the loss of Gilbert was too high a price to pay for the success of the mission, which was to save the two Nunavummiut in distress. This logic leads to the conclusion there should be no rescue missions that involve high risk to rescuers, which is contrary to the whole idea that extracting people from what are by definition life-threatening situations is what the job entails.

By the same logic, should the military be prevented from engaging in combat or peace keeping missions for the same reasons?

Gilbert and the search-and-rescue team made a fatal mistake by not ensuring the proper deployment of his survival suit. This is a training issue and should be addressed, as should any equipment deficits.

The notion that an operation can be restricted before an on-the-scene assessment can be made is bound to put lives at risk in the future. People make the call for help because they are stranded in inclement weather and fear for their safety. Regulations that require a risk assessment before a mission is launched is a recipe for disaster. It would be tragic should stranded people not be rescued because the risk was deemed to be too great to send help.

Two. That's the number of women - Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro and Hay River South MLA Jane Groenewegen - in the territory's legislative assembly. That's a paltry 10 per cent, which gives the NWT the jurisdiction in Canada the dubious "honour" of having the least amount of female representation in government.

This issue is being addressed, with Premier Bob McLeod proposing the creation of a women's parliament for the territory, much in the same vein as the already-established youth and elders' parliaments. While this is a symbolic parliament, it is still a good start.

The proposed women's parliament, like its counterparts with youth and elders, would see a group of women get together for scheduled sessions to discuss the matters of the day much in the same way elected MLAs already do.

However, in contrast to the rotating basis of those two parliaments, the one for women needs to be held on a more regular basis. Once a year would be a good place to start.

And who would make up this parliament? The first people being looked at should be those who have run in the past, but weren't successful in their campaigning. Give these women a voice and, more importantly, keep them interested in politics. With the extra experience and a platform to be heard from, these women are more likely to run for public office again.

A lack of women in politics is a worldwide issue, not just here in the NWT. According to a 2007 study by the Annual Review of Sociology, only about 10 per cent of sovereign nations had more than 30 per cent female participation in politics. Seeing that the world is split 50/50 among the sexes, something is wrong here.

So, why aren't there more women in NWT politics? Is it because people prefer male candidates? A study from the University of Montreal shows that female candidates are often associated favourably with health care and education, but that can be seen as not being as authoritative as their male counterparts. A women's parliament would hopefully work to erase that image, showing them to be strong in all fields.

While it wouldn't be sound to go full out and institute a ballot quota system - where women are mandated to represent a certain percentage of a given ballot - as seen in Germany and Norway, a women's parliament would introduce more women to the world of politics without having to go to the huge step of actually running for office. It's easier to decide to go into the political sphere if you've already gotten your feet wet elsewhere.

And to make things easier, efforts to help women get campaigns off the ground need to be promoted, encouraged and, most importantly, funded. Not everyone knows who or where to go to to help secure campaign financing or who to hire for a successful run at public office.

At the end of the day, this women's parliament, if taken seriously by the GNWT, would serve as a strong tool to bring more women into politics. Because after all, society is only as good as those who lead it, and it doesn't help if the majority of voices heard only represent half of the population.

All 10 athletes who represented the Deh Cho and the NWT at the Arctic Winter Games have returned to their respective communities, some with ulus in tow.

By all accounts, the games in Fairbanks, Alaska were a success. The athletes from the Deh Cho certainly have glowing reports about their week at the competition.

The athletes I spoke to, regardless of whether they won ulus or not, talked about how much fun the games were. They all liked competing against other athletes and challenging their own athletic abilities.

They also spoke about being able to meet new people, visit a different city and the kindness they were met with. None of them made a critical comment.

The games are a large -scale example of what it is like to be an athlete in the North and a reminder of how important sports competitions can be.

Athletes in the Deh Cho often have to travel great distances to compete against anyone other than each other. The 10 Arctic Winter Games athletes are perfect examples, as is Chris Stipdonk, who recently went to Edmonton to compete in a judo championship.

Athletes who play individual sports can at least practice by themselves, but they are also often on their own when it comes to funding travel to competitions. Athletes who play team sports, like soccer, get to travel and fundraise as a group, but in the smaller Deh Cho communities, sometimes there aren't even enough youth in the same age range to put together a full soccer team. Those limitations makes it difficult for the athletes who are really dedicated.

It does take a lot of work to get athletes to competitions. Sticking with the soccer example, practices have to be held, paperwork has to be filled out, chaperones have to be found and transportation, lodgings and meals have to be arranged.

There is also the fundraising, a seemingly never-ending project that draws family members, teachers and coaches into manning canteens, holding bake sales and calling bingos.

Taking athletes anywhere is a daunting prospect.

But then there are the rewards. As the Arctic Winter Games athletes can attest, competitions can be occasions they will remember for the rest of their lives, even if they don't win a medal or ulu.

Going to sports competitions won't turn many Deh Cho youth into high-level athletes, but it will help them expand their horizons, see more of the world and challenge themselves.

It's gratifying to see that a new Inuvik Ground Search and Rescue team should be in operation within the next year.

It's a badly-needed service in this region, and one residents never should have been without.

It's doubtful anyone truly needs reminding that Inuvik, despite all of the comforts of being a regional centre, is plopped in the middle of a wilderness that belies those comforts.

A few minutes travel outside of town puts people into the bush with all the dangers that go with it. You don't have to be some hardcore athlete to get into lots of trouble here not very far out of town. Boaters, hikers, hunters, trappers, skiers, snowshoers, snowmobilers, all are vulnerable. Even people who go out on the land, with all their expertise, are potentially in need of this service.

That's exactly why search and rescue is so necessary.

Jerry McKenna, along with Alana Mero and a few others, have been the movers and shakers in this project, because they recognize the danger that anyone faces when they venture out.

It's never safe to underestimate the wilderness anywhere, much less in the climate that exists in the Mackenzie Delta.

It's never safe to underestimate the importance of formal organization when it comes to mounting

a search for a missing person, either.

Yes, there is a huge amount of expertise, experience and knowledge of the land and the delta here, but without a framework to apply it, mounting a search-and-rescue operation can be both frustrating and futile.

That's where this search team comes in. It's hopefully going to provide the framework to efficiently manage a search, while other people provide their individual expertise.

The best part about this is that it's a civilian-based group, rather than relying on the "authorities"to manage it.

That gives it the potential to be more democratic and grassroots, suited to the unique needs of the area, and will hopefully encourage more people to participate than might be the case if it was a police-controlled endeavour.

As McKenna noted, many people would be less interested in joining the team due to an aversion to "officialdom."

So if you are interested and have talents to share, please jump in.

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