LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Housing and northern allowance for home owners in the NWT
From: Ernest Taylor Pokiak, Tuktoyaktuk
Dear editor,
This is an opportune time to send a message to the GNWT regarding home ownership in the territory. In 1984-85, the government introduced the HAP program as a first...
EDITORIAL: Yk a company town and that company is the GNWT
If territorial government workers had an extra spring in their steps Monday morning, they could hardly be blamed. They were going back to work after all.
It was a far cry from Saturday afternoon, when...
Yellowknife’s Own Lot in Life
Oh, so that’s what improvements look like.
I recall my first memorable view of the downtown 50/50 intersection when I was here for a brief visit in 1992. There was a fenced off hole in...
EDITORIAL: Red tape doesn’t pay the bills
What happens when a mining company jumps through all the hoops and still gets shut down?
Well, people lose their jobs, that's what happens. It's a simple fact that should be obvious to everybody but...
A MOUNTAIN VIEW: Changing it up
Friends, one of the main things you learn to do in higher education is to think for yourself, which is actually the purpose of true knowledge.
From a recent column by Bruce Valpy, publisher of...
EDITORIAL: Mining won’t go without Indigenous consent
The Tlicho government thought it had reached a deal: A significant portion of their land would be turned over to a mining company and in return they would receive a road to a remote...
COLUMN: Grow the solution from within
I can't say I've gotten to know a lot of people well in the community of Baker Lake, but I've gotten to know more than a handful very well during the past two decades.
And,...
EDITORIAL: GNWT will lose even if it wins
Not to be melodramatic but the Northwest Territories stands on the edge of a precipice this week.
The Union of Northern Workers, after months of bluster, appears resigned to finally having to making good on...
IN MY VIEW: Our health and well-being
When we talk about health, we automatically think of our physical state, and that is true but let's not forget about our three other domains that make up our structure. These are the emotional,...
TEA TALK: Good news for Cambridge Bay’s athletes
Hello from the cold, cold community of Cambridge Bay. We've been experiencing lots of cold weather, and we hope everyone is keeping safe and warm during these winter months. The sun has been out...
Tax on sugary drinks is about people’s lives
The other day I went to a meeting to discuss the GNWT’s idea of introducing a tax on sugary drinks. The territorial government wants to help reduce things like obesity, diabetes and poor oral...
EDITORIAL: Sweetened to death
Visit any general store in the territory from Fort Smith to Ulukhaktok and the shelves are sure to be stocked with row after row of sugary drinks.
The appeal of these sugary beverages is clear:...
A youth crisis has been brewing in the North
Guest comment: Raymond Pidzamecky is a registered social worker in the NWT and Nunavut.
First let me introduce myself. My education includes a master's degree in social work and a bachelor of social work in...
TALES FROM THE DUMP: Feds should do what’s best for the city and its...
The time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many things, of sails and boats and dredging services, of bureaucrats and kings; and why things must be done Ottawa’s way and whether the...
EDITORIAL: Hydro merger or bust
If we may be so bold, Yellowknifer will suggest there is no greater project worth pursuing than expanding the territory's hydro power capacity.
Yes, the city needs a new pool. Yes, the city needs a...
GUEST COMMENT: Opposing views on sugary drink tax
Taxation could actually mean a sweet deal for citizens of NWT
by Karen Boyd, regional executive director for Dietitians of Canada for the Northwest Territories
Earlier this week the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) invited the...
IN MY VIEW: The walk of life
As we walk on life's path, we go through many experiences – whether positive or negative, good or bad. Every one of us lives this.
I believe this is where we put the pieces of the...
On guard for opioids
Opioid addiction is being deemed a national crisis and the Northwest Territories is by no means immune from it.
In fact, considering how dangerous drugs, such as fentanyl, can be easily mailed undetected to remote...
TEA TALK: Coldest time of the year
HALLUUQURUT IKALUKTUTIAMIT. QUVIAHUKLUHI UKIUK NUTAAMI. INUINNAIT NAAMMAINAQTUT. QAIJUQNAQHIYUQ NUNAKPUT. HIQINIQ QULVAKPAKTUQ PINNIQHIVAKTUQ QAUMAKPAKTUQ QUANA. INUIN TIKIQATTAKTUT KATIMAYUNLUUNIIT ILIHARIAKTUT. QUANA PULAAKTUT TUUKMIATLU. NUUTAQQAT ILIAKTUT NAAMMAINAKTUTLU. AANIAKTUT NAAMMAKPAKLUHI. AAKHUQPAKLUHI. AYUQNAQMAN. AKNAT MIKHUYAQTUT. AALAOPAQ AUDLAARIAMI.
Welcome to our...
EDITORIAL: A good day to remember the ’60s
Perhaps this is as good a day as any to reflect on the 1960s.
After all, Jan. 30, 1969 – 50 years ago today – has particular significance. As you may have already noticed in...
A Band-Aid solution to discrimination
In 2016, if discrimination didn't kill Hugh Papik, it was certainly a contributing factor.
The 68-year-old Inuvialuit man suffered a stroke at his retirement home in Aklavik where he was found lying on the ground,...
FROM THE PUBLISHER: Education tragedy in the North
It's a regular scene; math class in any one of the dozens of schools in NWT communities, from the blue-green Arctic ocean shores of Paulatuk to the emerald forest of the Liard River country.
How...
A MOUNTAIN VIEW: The rise of evil
Friends, one of the more searing images burnt into my mind lately was watching as our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calmly sat with a group of Indigenous leaders for a meeting where he set...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Just a thought on pipeline protest
From: Jim Lynn, Yellowknife
Dear editor,
A couple of weeks ago there was a story of people out on Great Slave Lake supporting the blocking of the pipeline in B.C., which is fine and legitimate. I...
DESTINATIONS: Let the candle burn down easy, but remember to light the way against...
Ed’s note: This week our columnist is writing from the perspective of Rhett Butler, a fictional character played by the actor Clark Gable from the classic film Gone with the Wind.
Scarlett, it's been a...
Polytechnic university the spark Yk needs
Last year's proposal for a polytechnic university headquartered in Yellowknife couldn’t have come at a better time for the city.
With growing concern about the economy, particularly surrounding the future of mining in the territory,...
TALES FROM THE DUMP: A brief history on weather statistics
The coldest temperature ever recorded in Yellowknife was -51.2 C on January 31, 1947. This was only a few years after Yellowknife was founded and they started to keep weather data.
I assume they were...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: GNWT refusal of arbitration irresponsible
From: Darren L. Linaker, Fort Smith
As a long-time GNWT employee I have watched with dismay the ongoing contract talks between the UNW and GNWT.
I am not directly involved with the negotiations, but am a...
EDITORIAL: ATIPP system broken
Holding government agencies accountable under Access to Information and Protecting Privacy (ATIPP) legislation is an onerous, often futile task in the NWT.
Yellowknifer knows this from experience.
ATIPP is supposed to give the public access to...