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The recent case of a young boy dialing the wrong number while trying to call police on his smartphone is yet another example of why the territory needs a 911 emergency phone service.

Stephen Messier, 12, woke up to the sound of a prowler in his bedroom on June 24. He tried to call police but dialed the wrong number - 669-2222 - reaching the fire department instead, who gave him the right number, 669-1111. Police arrived and the suspect was caught but clearly the situation highlights the dangers of having a seven-digit emergency phone system with different numbers for the police and fire department.

Precious seconds can be lost in the confusion trying to dial the numbers, and because they're not universally recognized emergency phone numbers, many people don't know them.

The city's now-defunct 9-1-1 committee and the territorial government spent $47,500 in 2009 on a study trying to figure out the best way to offer emergency service numbers. It was the fifth such study initiated since 1992.

The 2009 report concluded that 9-1-1 should be phased in, starting with the seven largest communities in the NWT representing about 77 per cent of the population. It would have cost $1.2 million annually to maintain. That plan was shot down by Municipal and Community Affairs Minister Rob McLeod, who said GNWT wouldn't get involved unless it could be implemented in all NWT communities, including those that are currently without cellphone service. Another complicating factor was the lack of street numbers in smaller communities.

This, of course, exemplifies the government's extraordinary ability to find ways of not getting anything done. Rather than provide a service that would save lives in most of the territory, it abdicates its responsibilities to the public on cynical and misguided notion of pan-territorial inclusiveness.

As it turns out, setting up a 9-1-1 dispatch is not at all complicated.

Cell service provider Ice Wireless started offering 9-1-1 service to NWT clients in January, using call centres in Sudbury, Ont., and Romania, who reroute emergency calls to the appropriate dispatchers in Yellowknife.

If the GNWT is not willing to set the system up itself, it ought to look at one of these companies to do it. They would certainly be faster getting it done.

Messier's story, fortunately, has a happy outcome. How many times does the government think it can roll the dice with people's lives when seconds count before a tragedy occurs?

A tip of the hat is due for the City of Yellowknife which managed to provide an important public service without ... wait for it ... spending more money.

The public bathrooms and change-rooms at the Somba K'e Civic Plaza have historically spent much more time locked than unlocked - the latter happening almost exclusively during city-run events. But as of a few weeks ago, the city has found a way to make use of its facilities.

In the past, the justification behind the locked doors was two-fold - the cost was too high, and there was a fear vandalism.

But by reallocating resources, the city was able to hire an attendant to clean the washrooms and ensure all flows smoothly during its daily open hours - all without doling out more dough.

Money aside, opening the bathrooms is a good thing: most places have public washrooms and considering the city does too, it only makes sense to use them. People will inevitably have to go, and better they do in washrooms rather than in alleys or behind trees.

But the fact that the city managed this through the rejigging of funds instead of flushing more money down the toilet deserves praise and should serve as an example to future endevours.

It's amazing how much humans complain.

The very act of complaining must be an essential part of the human condition, because how else can you explain why almost everyone is guilty of it at one point or another? In the Deh Cho people latch onto topics to complain about that are often contradictory.

A favourite one is the weather. In the winter it's hard to go a single day, unless you stay locked in your home by yourself or it's unseasonably nice out, without hearing someone complain about the weather.

Usually it is much too cold or it is snowing too much.

Based on the amount of low grade whining and complaining that takes place it would stand to reason that in the summer almost everyone would be incredibly happy. After all, there is not a speck of snow in sight and the arms on thermometers are no where near the freezing mark.

But are people happy? Not really.

Instead we complain about the heat. Either it's too hot or it's too hot and humid or it's too much dry heat.

At the same time rain becomes the new snow. Either there isn't enough rain and we desperately need more of it or when it does fall it always seems to ruin someone's planned outdoor barbecue or backyard party and they wish it would promptly stop.

The only summertime phenomena that people can make a reasonable case for complaining about are the bugs. It's very hard to see the upside of having large chunks taken out of you by bulldogs while mosquitoes leave you with raised, itching bumps and blackflies have you covered with spots of congealing blood.

All the while there are the really tiny bugs that are just a general annoyance, and don't get most people started about hair eaters.

The only good thing to be said is that at least we don't live in an area where mosquitoes carry malaria or other serious diseases.

But really, what are we complaining about? Summer in the Deh Cho is gorgeous.

There are lots of activities to participate in and communities are steps away from outdoor recreational paradises for those who like to boat, fish or camp.

People living in cities in the south travel hours on Fridays in rush hour traffic to get to the kind of scenery that is minutes from most front doors in the Deh Cho.

People need to grab a bug jacket and bug spray, put on sunscreen and lightweight clothes, fill up their water bottles and take advantage of the weather while it lasts. After all, in three months or less we will be back to complaining about the ever shortening hours of daylight and the temperatures that drop even faster.

Winter, as we all know, is coming.

It's been a bad year for tragedies in Inuvik.

From the death of a familiar delta man in a fire last winter to the anguish following the sudden death of Northern icon Robert Alexie Jr., the community has been losing people at a rate that it cannot afford.

Early on the morning of July 6, the community had another loss it could ill afford when a bright and promising young woman lost her life in a car crash. While circumstances differ, the end result doesn't. Suffice to say there likely aren't too many people and families in Inuvik who haven't been touched by her passing, and by the injuries suffered by the other young people, most from well-known families.

The victim of the crash was well remembered at Aurora Campus. She was a straight-A student, a staff member said.

She was hoping to pursue her education further, the staff member said, and had been very active in the student council last year.

That's exactly the type of person we need more of here in Inuvik, particularly those born and raised in town, so her untimely death is a double tragedy that has left her family reeling.

It's not just her immediate family, nor her extended family, which is large, who keenly feels this blow. It was remarkable to see the town so incredibly quiet during the afternoon and evening of July 6.

It was as if time was suspended while people processed and digested the tragedy, and said prayers for the survivors.

At least one of those survivors is apparently still hospitalized in Edmonton with serious injuries.

So far, the RCMP has said speed and alcohol are suspected to be factors in the crash. One man now faces multiple charges.

What is incomprehensible, in any community, is why this continues to happen unabated. Somewhere along the line people need to find a way to break this self-destructive cycle.

I'm not entirely sure how to do that, and I doubt anyone else does. That doesn't mean people can't collectively decide to make a decision and take a long, hard, open and unbiased look at the situation while saying "never again."

The community simply can't afford to lose any more people of the calibre of its latest loss. It has to stop now.

Over the past few weeks, Yellowknifer has been looking at other communities to see how they are combating homelessness.

After seeing how the issue is dealt with by those in Thunder Bay, Ont., Fairbanks, Alaska, and today in Whitehorse, Yukon, it is clear these cities have recognized something Yellowknife has not: that adequate funding in the fight against homelessness and addictions will not only keep more people off the street, it will save money in the long run.

This series brought to light just how backwards the thinking has become in the territory. While these other communities have been moving forward - albeit some faster than others - Yellowknife has been at a standstill. Indeed, with the closure of the downtown day shelter in May some would argue the territory has taken a step back, as occurred when Hay River's Nats'ejee Keh Treatment Centre closed last year and the Somba K'e Healing Lodge shut its doors in 1999.

Meanwhile, non-governmental organizations such as the Centre for Northern Families operate on a shoestring budget with six-figure deficits.

This is what happens when governments think they are being cost-effective.

Shelters close and programs lapse for a lack of will and money while RCMP cells and emergency rooms fill up with the city's mentally ill and downtrodden citizens. Politicians cry for more police to deal with outbreaks of street crime and drunkenness. The courts - serviced by a phalanx of high-priced judges and lawyers - spend their days deliberating over misdemeanors and probation breaches.

What the territorial government doesn't seem to understand is that if it doesn't fund programs to combat homelessness, and give them enough money to survive, it will only cost more in the long run.

Health Minister Glen Abernethy, who bizarrely tried to downplay the significance of a John Howard Society survey which found the vast majority of day shelter users came from outside of Yellowknife, arguing instead that users were all Yellowknifers by virtue of their presence here, insists $250,000 is all the money the government has to give the day shelter if and when it re-opens.

He doesn't seem to realize this tight-fistedness toward the day shelter will have to be paid in areas where it will really cost the government: the hospital, police and the courts.

Nickel and diming the problem, instead of observing and trying to replicate the successes found in other communities - the managed alcohol program in Thunder Bay, retrofits for homeless housing in Alaska, and partnering with landlords in Whitehorse to ensure low-cost housing - will only ensure the government must spend more at the end of the day.

Until the government recognizes its short-sightedness in dealing with homelessness to date, it will continue with its top-heavy response, using the most expensive professionals and services in the North to deal with the territories' poorest and least able.

The fire chief and eight volunteer firefighters who make up the Rankin Inlet Fire Department proved themselves plenty capable of protecting their community last week.

For much of the week, these firefighters who, let's remember, all have jobs outside of defending the people of Rankin from fires and other disasters, were the only force against the flames, unexplained explosions and dense smoke which had residents on edge.

It's remarkable that these volunteers, who aside from their other jobs, also have families they're responsible for, spent many hours at the dump site trying to take care of the problem. The place I'm staying is close to the dump and it seemed that every time I looked out my kitchen window, I would see the fire truck go by, or the dusty red fire department pickup truck driving back to the site.

Sometimes, they would give a smile and nod to people who waved their way and other times I'd see the firefighters in their

yellow equipment slumped against the truck, clearly exhausted.

I spoke with one woman who said her significant other was one of the firefighters and had barely seen him in the days since the fire. I remember her saying that he'd come home after midnight and be up in the morning getting back out onto the site before she got out of bed.

Again, I stress, that these firefighters are volunteers.

They could have turned the other cheek and let someone else deal with the problem but they stood up to the task and got it covered in a little more than a week with the help of Mosher Construction and M&T Enterprises, once the gravel work started in.

A mention should also be given to the bylaw officers in town who did their best to keep curious onlookers a safe distance from the dump, and for taking kids home to their parents after catching them trying to get into the site, but not without letting them know of the dangers of doing so. They were just as diligent in keeping people out of trouble and not letting the situation get out of hand as the firefighters were.

Also, an honourable mention should go to acting mayor Sam Tutanuak, who was on Facebook a couple times a day during the week updating people on the status of the fire, letting residents know where they could go to escape if the smoke got too bad, and keeping everyone abreast of any advancements in fighting the fire, such as when they began smothering it with gravel.

He also went on the community radio station and was very accessible to the newspaper as well.

Finally, kudos to the residents of Rankin Inlet who pulled together and gave words of support in the community, at the coffee shop, on the Facebook groups or who showed their appreciation for the firefighters by bringing refreshments and snacks to the hamlet office for them.

It was remarkable to see how quickly this small community can pull together in a time of need.

A survey conducted to gauge the demographics of people who use Yellowknife's day shelter, which catered to street people for four years before it was closed at the end of May, revealed some interesting statistics.

Of the 365 clients who visited the facility over its lifespan, only 51 identified as being from the capital. The remainder said they had come to the city from outlying communities around the NWT.

The city's contribution of $50,000 annually accounted for one-sixth of the shelter's funding. The remainder, $250,000, came from the GNWT.

In the grand scheme of things, $250,000 is a small price to pay to continue a valuable service. The day shelter gave street people a safe place to go, provided washroom facilities, snacks and a place to stay warm in the winter.

Unfortunately, when the administration of the shelter fell into question it seemed there was a general lack of will from government to keep it open. Allowing the shelter to basically run its course and then fizzle out was a mistake.

The GNWT had months to plan a way to maintain the services offered at day shelter, yet failed to take action.

Yellowknife MLA Daryl Dolynny has taken the GNWT to task for not taking the reins or ponying up more funds to keep the shelter going. He argued that the shelter's demographics make it a territorial issue.

We agree.

We also take issue with Health Minister Glen Abernethy's comments stating that once those people using the shelter came to the city they effectively became Yellowknife residents. The statement is effectively passing the buck based on a tenuous technicality.

Although Abernethy holds to a survey conducted by the NWT Disabilities Council stating out of town users of the day shelter moved to Yellowknife because of family and friends living here and not a lack of services in their home community, it is a shallow interpretation.

Although the issue might not be the services in the communities, those available in Yellowknife are definitely a factor.

One, is the unfortunate reality that it is easier to feed addictions in the city compared to some of the communities. Two, it is easier to avoid the stigma of one's situation and get lost in the anonymity a larger population offers.

With that in mind, the GNWT must look at the homeless problem in Yellowknife as a territorial issue. That being said, it is not solely its responsibility. The City of Yellowknife has contributed its share in the past and perhaps the GNWT can reach out to community governments to help out as well, considering the shelter benefits people from various regions.

Whatever the funding formula, the shelter is a service the city and the territory need and the price tag is nominal in the grand scheme of budgetary items.

Not to mention that small investment will save money in other areas, such as health care and justice, two departments that soak up the lion's share of the GNWT's more than $1 billion budget.

It is easy for people to become impatient in this rapidly changing world in which we live.

There have been many advances in technology in the past 15 years, the length of time Nunavut has existed. Paramount have been changes in information technology. The Internet has become the sole source of information for many people on this planet.

On the occasion of Nunavut Day, celebrated July 9, and the 15th birthday of the territory, Nunavut News/North talked to some of the movers and shakers, the pioneers, elders and ordinary people about their thoughts on how the land of the Inuit has progressed. Observations were mixed. Many people spoke about the need to preserve the Inuktitut language, improve education, encourage traditional activities and respect elders. Others were critical, pointing in particular at the territorial government's failure to fulfill its obligation to have 85 per cent of its jobs filled by beneficiaries and suggesting that some of the bureaucrats in government are paid salaries well above their level of performance.

At this time of reflection, it is important to keep some perspective. After all, at age 15, Nunavut is a teenager, still relatively young, but filled with enthusiasm and exuberance as it looks to its future.

It is not so long ago since its creation that people should forget how amazing the territory is, that the signing of the Nunavut Final Agreement was a majestic achievement and that there is cause for celebration once again that the Inuit have their own land within a great nation that is Canada.

One cannot underplay the importance of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, a 300-page document which outlines the rights of the Inuit and is enshrined in the Canadian Constitution since July 9, 1993. Appreciation and recognition is due to those who had the vision and the courage to take the lengthy, difficult and necessary steps to carve the vast land away from the Northwest Territories, negotiate with the federal government and set up a new system of government.

At more than two-million-square-kilometres in size, with three regions, 26 communities and an estimated 36,000 people, Nunavut is indeed unique. There is no shortage of pride among its people as Nunavut has proven itself as a place of opportunity, beauty and innovation.

Certainly there are many challenges ahead, particularly in the areas of education, food security and housing. There is much needed focus on infrastructure, resource development and building relationships. However, all good things come with time.

Much has been accomplished in the past 15 years. July 9 is a time to celebrate and reflect. And, despite the rapid progression of technology, remember to have some patience while charting the future.

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