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September 2017 - NWT Year in Review

Lawsuit launched over Behchoko election

Leon Lafferty, the former Behchoko chief and MLA, asked the NWT Supreme Court to overturn the June 12 election for chief and council due to irregularities.

The fuel barge Investigator was refloated on Sept. 12. The vessel ran aground in September, 2016 north or Tuktoyaktuk at Toker Point. photo courtesy of Canadian Coast Guard

Lafferty was one of five candidates running in election in the community but lost to incumbent Clifford Daniels by a margin on 36 votes, 416 to 380. Since that time witnesses started coming forward alleging there was corruption and mismanagement at the polling stations during the election.

Allegations included ballots not being shown to scrutineers, incorrect counting of ballots and ballots being placed upside down during counting. Statements from witnesses also claimed that voters names were not recorded correctly and were added after the ballot count, that final tallies were incomplete and spoiled ballots were put in with good ballots. The next court appearance of both parties was scheduled to take place in the NWT Supreme Court on Sept. 22.

Chief medical officer warns of STI epidemic

After falling for 20 years, the number of reported cases of gonorrhea went up more than 53 per cent across the country over the past decade, according to Government of Canada statistics.

The Northwest Territories was sitting on rates more than 18 times the national average, according to the

GNWT. As of 2015, 0.6 people out of every 1,000 had gonorrhea across Canada. Numbers from 2016 found that in the NWT, 11 out of every 1,000 people were infected.

The World Health Organization warned a growing number of strains aren't treatable with antibiotics.

Chief public health officer Andre Corriveau said the situation was dire.

The territorial government reported the most affected group was women between 15- and 24-years old, and men aged 20 to 29.

Ekati could live another decade

Dominion Diamond announced on Sept. 6 that Ekati could live long and prosper, at least for an extra nine years. Dominion announced the results of the preliminary economic assessment of the mine. According to the assessment, a new cave mining method in Fox Deep pit could extend production until 2042.

Previously, Fox Deep was in production as an open pit from 2005 until 2014, producing more than 8.7 million carats of diamonds. Ekati began production in 1998 and was previously slated to close in 2023. The Jay pipe project was approved last summer, which extended the life of the mine by 10 years to 2033, because of its large size and high grade of diamonds.

Governor General visits

Gov. Gen. David Johnston and his wife Sharon Johnston ended a long journey through the Northwest Passage at Yellowknife on Sept. 6. Johnston met with Yellowknife Mayor Mark Heyck at city hall and presented medals to the community for public service. Later, Johnston and his wife Sharon attended a reception in their honour inside the Great Hall at the legislative assembly. They were presented with a birch-bark basket and a sealskin tie, both locally made. They then chatted with people inside the Great Hall and listened to Dene drummers. It was Johnston's second trip to Yellowknife as Governor General. He visited in 2011, shortly after he assumed the role. Johnston was replaced this year by former astronaut Julie Payette.

Nahanni Butte residents flee fire

On Sept. 7, embers and ash rained down on Nahanni Butte while it was shrouded from a nearby forest fire, forcing the evacuation of almost all its 100 or so residents. Locals had been monitoring the fire, but when it crept to within ten kilometres of the community – perhaps as close as five kilometres – and with high winds and embers landing in the hamlet at about 10 p.m. that night, the decision was made to evacuate.

About a half dozen residents volunteered to stay behind and were at the ready with the community fire truck if the fire reached the hamlet, which it did not. In the end, no one was hurt and no structures were lost.

Barge recovered from Toker Point

Vancouver company Fathom Marine successfully freed a fuel barge that was grounded near Tuktoyaktuk for more than a year. In September 2016, Fathom's barge, Investigator, came loose from its tugboat and ran aground at Toker Point, just north of the community. Tuktoyaktuk residents were concerned that the barge would impact geese hunting, as many families used Toker Point as a hunting spot.

Fathom removed fuel from the barge a month after it ran aground in 2016 and in August 2017, the company made an unsuccessful attempt to refloat the barge. In September, they were successful in moving the vessel, which was later taken to Tuktoyaktuk.

Fort Good Hope killer to serve in federal penitentiary

A Fort Good Hope man, convicted of first degree murder in the 2014 death of Charlotte Lafferty, was ordered to serve his sentence in a federal institution. Keenan McNeely was sentenced in 2016 to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 10 years. Persons convicted of first-degree murder typically receive an automatic sentence of 25 years to life. McNeely received a lighter punishment because he was only 17 at the time of the offence. Sept. 12 marked the first-ever placement hearing in the NWT. The hearing was necessary because McNeely, convicted as an adult, was a minor when he murdered Lafferty in Fort Good Hope.

George Mackenzie elected grand chief of Behchoko

George Mackenzie was sworn in as Grand Chief of Behchoko Sept. 15. It was Mackenzie's second time being elected grand chief – he was first elected in 2005 when Tlicho self-government began. Just as back in 2005, Mackenzie, a previous educator and coach, said he believed the youth were a priority in the communities.

He said he ran his platform with that in mind. He also spoke about job training and capacity building for youth in the communities and added there was plenty more to talk about like voting rights, supporting small business and improving the local economy. Caribou was another big item on the list for Mackenzie.

Surveys done in 2015 showed Bathurst and Bluenose-East herds had seriously declined.

Nick Sibbeston resigns

After almost two decades is the upper chamber, the long-serving senator for the NWT announced his resignation from politics. Nick Sibbeston announced on Sept. 24 that he had tendered his resignation to Gov. Gen. David Johnston, effective Nov. 21. Sibbeston said he has spent much of his life in public service – 16 years as an MLA and cabinet minister, including two years as premier from 1985 to 1987.

He was the fourth premier in NWT history. He took a roughly 10-year hiatus from politics before then-prime minister Jean Chretien tapped him for the Senate in 1999. Sibbeston said he would spend his new-found free time with family – his seven children, 18 grandchildren and his wife of almost 50 years, Karen Sibbeston.