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The saying goes that one shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, but Couns. Adrian Bell and Dan Wong have shown that just isn't the case when it comes to this summer's roadwork contract.

Projected to go over budget by nearly $800,000, NWT Construction Ltd. offered to knock $450,000 off its $6.1-million bid - the only bid the city received - if the project is accepted in its entirety.

This proposal has rightly been greeted with skepticism, with Bell questioning how high the profit margin really is if the company is willing to discount $450,000. It comes after administration noted an inexplicable increase over last year of 25 per cent on the price of concrete.

That critical instinct had good value at Monday's council meeting, where it was learned that bike lanes on 52 Avenue were in fact not a contributor to the overrun as indicated last week by administration. To the contrary, installing bike lanes would actually mean a cost savings of $21,000 because they required cheaper asphalt. This came about after Wong questioned speculative statements from administration that bikes lanes were causing the price to increase even though council was originally led to believe the bike lanes wouldn't add any costs when it approved them in February.

Senior administrative officer Dennis Kefalas said staff are still trying to figure out why costs are on the rise and will review the contract before bringing it back to council.

Wong's persistence demonstrates why council should never be quick to draw conclusions from the numbers they have been presented.

In the meantime, the revelations keep on coming.

It turns out the city doesn't have a lot of choice when it comes to roadwork.

The city contracts these projects in their entirety and not piecemeal, and only businesses with an asphalt plant can compete. This would explain why the only bidder for roadwork since 2005 has been NWT Construction.

So now the city is in a position where the only contractor that applied to do the work is bidding more than the city planned to spend.

Coun. Rebecca Alty suggests the city review the way it tenders contracts in the future to be more competitive.

That might not be a bad idea, but the only way to be sure is by asking more questions.

The expiration of the federal-provincial Health Care Accord has some people crying that the sky is falling on health care.

Wendell Porter and Mike McBane from the Canada Health Coalition - a national health advocacy group - visited the city to tell Yellowknifers the accord's expiration March 31 could lead to privatization, with the best care going to people who can afford it.

The accord was a 10-year deal the federal government made with the provinces and territories to help fund and stabilize their health care systems and ensure a national standard of care was being met.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper so far refuses to negotiate a new one, arguing the accord does little to guarantee provinces and territories will meet the standards and spend the money the way it should be spent.

It's hard to imagine any government, including a Conservative one, daring to gamble its political future on a diminished health care system. Any signal showing a lack of commitment to it is bound to spell death at the polls.

That said, the Canada Health Coalition's visit should remind people they must remain vigilant and guard against health care's decline. The NWT has one of the best health care systems in North America, even with the territorial government constantly crying poverty.

The sky may not be falling but the pressure to make cuts is definitely there. If Canadians, including NWT residents, wish to maintain a robust, single-payer health care system, they should waste no efforts ensuring our political leaders know it.

Those who don't get the magic of sports should see the video of Rankin Inlet's Jordin Tootoo giving his stick to a young fan and the ensuing joy radiating from the child after receiving it.

The video went viral on YouTube with, as of this writing, about 150,000 people having checked it out.

The short clip vividly illustrates the magic that can happen between athlete and fan.

And if you've ever seen a pro athlete interact with a child through the Make A Wish Foundation, you've seen that it is, indeed, magic.

Unfortunately, the popularity of professional sports, the insane amount of money pro athletes now make, and the unpredictability of some angryattheworld people in today's society have combined to make such interactions fewer and further between.

With some, it's about greed. The more they make, the more they want and the more they can begrudge anyone getting the teensyweensiest slice of the pie.

Being an avid collector of hockey cards and memorabilia for most of my life, I try to keep up with the collecting world by reading as many trade publications as time allows.

During the past 10 years, stories on athletes who refuse to sign items, or grumble aloud about probably seeing it later on EBay, have grown by leaps and bounds.

In the early days of the online marketplace, forgery was rampant and it was always a case of buyer beware.

EBay worked hard to jettison the forgers and, today, the vast majority of its memorabilia is the real deal.

Now, I get that outlets like Frozen Pond pay athletes big bucks for signing sessions.

And, I get athletes of half-a-century ago, especially hockey players, were paid nowhere near their worth or what today's players make, prorated or otherwise.

Heck, I even get it (sort of) when New York Met Curtis Granderson flips out when he leans into the stands for a ball and a fan pats his shoulder and says nice catch.

But I'll never get why an athlete earning millions of dollars a year cares if an ink hound makes a few bucks by hawking his signed photo.

Millions of fans live in areas far removed from the neon glow of NHL cities.

And, sure, you can buy an item from a company that has paid an athlete to sign, but you're going to pay big bucks compared to what ink hounds and fellow collectors charge for their items.

You get the security of knowing your item is authentic from most pro shops, but a bit of research before parting with your hardearned cash will produce just as much of a guarantee.

Many well-known ink hounds send their autographed items in bulk lots to companies that authenticate autographs such as PSA/DNA or Frank Garo, then sell them with verification that can easily be checked.

A fan's joy receiving an item handled by their hero is immense, and brings them that much closer to the game.

So a player making $1 million to $5 million a year should be upset when a hound makes $50 (often less) from his signature because, why?

Acts of kindness like Tootoo's this past week are to be commended at a time when they happen all too infrequently.

And, just maybe, guys like Jordin will help put a little magic back into the game.

Thanks, Jordin!

Inuvik Mayor Floyd Roland's confusion over the fact government workers in his community will see a reduction in their Northern Living Allowance benefit is understandable.

Inuvik, perhaps more than any community in the NWT, as been hit hard over the past year with substantial increases to the cost of living. Driving that increase has been the jump in home heating costs after the community was disconnected from the natural gas system when Ikhil well was no longer viable for production.

Since then, community members have been complaining about the high cost of living, some saying they are no longer able to pay their bills. A look at the population numbers for Inuvik also indicate something is amiss in the hub of the Beaufort Delta. Between 2011 and 2013, the number of residents of the community declined by approximately 250 people.

Unfortunately, calculating the Northern Living Allowance is not as simple as adjusting to changes in the cost of living, though it should be.

The benefit is calculated by tallying the value of goods and services, comparing them to the same costs in Yellowknife and then setting payment based on the difference. So, if cost of living in Yellowknife goes up and the cost of living in another community stays the same - based on that sample of goods and services -- the Northern Living Allowance benefit in the other community will decrease to reflect the smaller difference.

That in itself is a flawed system. A benefit meant to offset the cost of living should be reflective of the costs in individual communities. People in Tuktoyaktuk aren't happily buying their more expensive loaf of bread with less disposable income comforted by the knowledge that Yellowknife is paying more too.

The fact the goods and services used to calculate cost of living does not include things such as home-heating costs is unfathomable. It is no secret utility costs in Northern communities are high. Paying hundreds of dollars to heat a home every month is not uncommon and has a huge influence when people decide if living somewhere is worth the cost. That example might best be illustrated by the situation in Inuvik.

During the most recent territorial budget, Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger committed to attracting people to the territory to combat the economic uncertainty looming due to the NWT's declining population. Many factors play into a decision to relocate to a place. Among those are how far a paycheque will take you. That becomes especially important when the location is more remote and isolated than what people are used to, not to mention a climate that has deterred many.

If the territory is to realize Miltenberger's objective, policies that do not take into account Northern realities will have to change. Near the top of the list should be the faulty Northern Living Allowance calculation that fails to accurately compensate for true community costs.

Iqaluit and Apex schools, along with the elementary school in Iglulik, are about to put a security system between students and the public, including parents.

The idea was brought to the Department of Education from the Iqaluit District Education Authority (IDEA), on the heels of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting - the Connecticut tragedy in which 20 children and six adults were fatally shot.

As reported in last week's Nunavut News/North, as early as September school entrances will be locked during school hours and monitored by school receptionists through a buzzer and camera system.

Aside from the logistical headache this creates in actually ensuring the receptionist is on standby at their desk at all times to open the front door, the potential issues run deeper. Will parents be left waiting in the foyer?

Barry Cornthwaite, manager of capital planning with Nunavut's education department, said that if the system is successful and liked, it could be implemented in schools across the territory, provided the department reaches understandings with local district education authorities.

What remains vague is what Nunavut-based concern, if any, the plan grew from.

Andrew Tagak Sr., chairperson of IDEA, did note the Department of Education worked collaboratively with schools and parents on the initiative. But what seemed to be the tipping point that made this a reality was bringing in a consultant from down south who reviewed the schools through the lens of what is being done elsewhere and who ultimately came up with the recommendation for the camera and buzzer system.

When determining the success of the project, it's crucial for the department to get all perspectives - parents, students and staff - and consider it with as much weight as what the consultant had to say.

Do students feel unsafe without cameras? Would they feel safer with them? Sometimes increasing security can lead to people feeling less secure because it hadn't occurred to them their safety was in jeopardy.

Is their safety in jeopardy?

Are there real safety concerns for schools in Iqaluit? Apex? Iglulik? Beyond? Is this something the majority of parents are supportive of?

Also, what may work in Iqaluit, may not in Nunavut's other communities, although Cornthwaite told Nunavut News/North Iqaluit has a "good cross-section of the types of schools in Nunavut."

The community that surrounds each school is intrinsically part of it and needs its voice heard before a decision is made.

And so the schools prepare to walk the balance beam - on one side there is increased security and on the other, unknown consequences. The outcry after Sandy Hook ranged from more mental health screening services to armed guards in the schools.

What is the level of threat in Nunavut?

Only engaging all people affected will illuminate the answer; only when that is known and understood should cameras in schools become a valid security measure.

Greenpeace is making its return to the North, hoping to rebuild bridges burnt as the result of past environmental campaigns that all too cast First Nation traditional and hunting practices in a negative light more than their intended whaling and fur industry targets.

The organization itself admitted last month while protesting a meeting of the Arctic Council that it had "fractured relationships" with First Nations in the North due to these campaigns - over seal hunting in particular.

Now Greenpeace says it wants to work with these groups to go after a larger enemy - those evil gas companies.

Unfortunately, the organization is proving yet again its difficulty casting aside hysterics and hyperbole.

Case in point is the attendee at a recent Greenpeace meeting complaining about the lack of foxes in Norman Wells, saying local oil and gas development are responsible.

Really? There are many species that are sensitive to human activities but it's hard to imagine a northern animal more common around civilization, other than perhaps the raven, than the red fox. There is certainly no shortage of them around Yellowknife despite decades of mining activity and growth. In fact, recent studies show the red fox range is likely expanding due to climate change. Perhaps this person from Norman Wells isn't looking hard enough.

Alas, her message will inevitably travel south and get swallowed up by other Greenpeace members, and before you know it environmentalists will be talking about how oil and gas development in the Sahtu kills foxes.

That isn't to say that oil and gas development - like all industrial efforts - doesn't cause environmental problems. This is well documented. Whether it be through its by-products, such as carbon dioxide leading to a bevy of environmental problems around the world, or through incidents leading to local catastrophes. Just ask anyone in Prince William Sound in Alaska following the Exxon Valdez running aground there in 1989, or the American Gulf Coast following the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill just four years ago.

The problem with Greenpeace and groups like it, isn't their lack of passion for protecting the environment. It's the lack of credibility that corrodes its brand when it allows myths to pass as fact and blanket views on hunting and fishing that inevitably conflict with Northerners.

The organization made a good first step by admitting the misguidance of its previous campaign against seal hunting. The trick will come with stamping down the zealots among them.

Passing through Yellowknife, it is unlikely one would find art as permanent, prominent and iconic as Francois "T-Bo" Thibault's monumental United in Celebration sculpture - standing tall, fierce and magical at the award-winning Somba K'e Civic Plaza.

It served as a backdrop for the 2009 Olympic torch relay and for the royal visit by Prince William and Duchess Catherine in 2011.

When celestial events occur, such as the planet Venus passing over the face of the sun in 2012, United in Celebration makes it into the photos. It's not unusual to spot passersby taking shots of each other, or simply lounging, in front of the statue on any given day.

But beyond that sculpture's already ubiquitous existence, beyond the fact that Thibault's jewelry and carvings can be found all over the world, due to his own travels to international events or thanks to international travellers stopping in at one of his shops over the years - his legacy involves more.

As an artist and entrepreneur, he was a tireless advocate for the arts, a devotee to the idea - sometimes so difficult to grasp - that artists are valuable, should be valued and, most importantly, should be paid for the work they do.

In 2001, he walked into the Yellowknifer office with a vision of an arts centre constructed of old steel fuel tanks abandoned by Giant Mine. He had vision, he was an innovator. That project never did get off the ground, but it eloquently demonstrates the importance of stepping outside the box, to imagine.

In the city where he lived and died, he serves as an example for citizens, city administrators and fellow artists.

Art matters and contributes to the betterment of the daily lives of all citizens in a tangible way.

Across the Deh Cho, a group of people are getting excited about the onset of spring.

They are leafing through seed catalogues, making purchases and may even have seedlings started in sunny windows or under special lights. These gardeners are waiting, sometimes impatiently, until conditions are just right for them to start working and then planting their garden.

Gardening is a great summer time activity in the Deh Cho for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is relatively easy.

The region has lots of warm summer days, ample hours of sunlight and few pests that want to eat garden plants. Many communities are also blessed with fertile soil that plants easily flourish in.

Community gardens, which have been established in almost all Deh Cho communities, make it easy for residents who have little to no gardening experience to try their hand at planting a few vegetables. Community gardens encourage members to share their experiences so those who have been life-long green thumbs can pass on their knowledge and tips to the less experienced.

Gardening is also a great activity because of what it produces. Gardens in the Deh Cho are capable of growing almost anything. The Fort Simpson Community Garden has had success with run of the mill vegetables like potatoes, beans, spinach, peas, kale, carrots, and cabbage, but has also produced things like eggplants, hot peppers, cantaloupes and garlic.

By growing produce locally, Deh Cho gardeners are ensuring they have the freshest and maybe the healthiest food possible. A tomato fresh from the garden is certainly more nutritious and likely tastes better than one that has been over countless kilometres in a truck to sit in a grocery store produce section.

Gardening also reduces grocery bills and provides people with exercise. There is also the pride that comes with growing food yourself. A cabbage that a gardener planted as a seed and tended, watered and cared for has a lot more meaning for them than one purchased at a store.

The start of the summer growing season is still a month away, but now is the time for Deh Cho residents to get prepared and organized. Given the ease at which gardens can be grown in the Deh Cho and the numerous benefits that they create every community should have a flourishing community garden in addition to the personal gardens that individuals have already established.

There's no question that health care is expensive.

That point was driven home recently as the Beaufort Delta Health and Social Services Authority unveiled a new state-of-the-art digital mammography machine at its diagnostic imaging department.

The unit, which can process twice as many patients as the film unit it's replacing, rang in at a cost of about $260,000.

Along with the capacity to serve more patients, the machine allows data to be transmitted instantly to a Calgary medical centre where it can be viewed almost immediately. That's in contrast to waiting weeks for traditional film images to be processed, read and then reported on.

By any standard, that's progress.

The machine is also safer, with about half the dosage of radiation per test than the older unit. Like a digital camera, technicians can also review the images immediately, deciding on the spot whether more need to be taken.

It's hard to argue that isn't an improvement.

The only rub, if there is one, lies in the fact that mammography clinics are only scheduled for three times a year at the Inuvik Regional Hospital.

I've already heard people question whether it's sensible to have a machine worth more than a quarter-million dollars lie mostly dormant through the year, and that's a valid point.

However, the principle isn't much different than the other clinics, including vision clinics, that operate intermittently here in Inuvik.

The question you have to ask yourself is whether the pressure to keep modernizing equipment at the hospital pays off in better medical coverage which means, bluntly, whether it's going to improve the health of the general public and to save lives.

The answer, equally bluntly, is yes it will.

So while $260,000 is a "big chunk of change," I doubt too many people will want to argue it's not worth it to save a single life. If this new mammography machine will help to detect cancers earlier, it's going to save lives and, not so coincidentally, save costs in the long run.

Like many things, it's more costly to try to repair serious health problems that it is to try to prevent them outright, or to treat them at an early stage.

Hospital and health care equipment is a huge cost, and one that's not likely to get cheaper any time soon.

So it sounds to me like the new mammography machine is money well-spent in the long run.

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