Opinion

Earlier this month, I attended the funeral of my friend Eddie Sangris, who had just retired as chief of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation and as Representative of the Akaitcho Territory Government.

In 2018, the GNWT released the NWT Disability Strategic Framework: 2017 to 2027. This was a collaborative effort between government departments, non-government organizations (NGO) and persons with disabilities.

I’ve said on-record that All the Way by Jordin Tootoo would be my desert island book. If I was stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere with one book from the more than 75 that I have reviewed for the Yellowknifer, I would pick Tootoo’s memoir because I know that I can read that book at any point in my life and learn something new and vital from it.

So, we have another election coming up in just a few days, and I am scared. I am scared because somehow I think maybe the results will be, what some would say, is the ‘same-old, same-old’, and I am not sure that what I see, and feel, from election to election, that things are a whole lot better, or maybe not better at all.

Elections can come and go but the memories can linger on.

It’s election season in the NWT, and the UNW is in campaign mode.

Editor’s note: Barry Zellen is a former Yellowknife resident who conducted interviews with author Ed Struzik and James Hrynyshyn, a former NNSL Media editor with the Inuvik Drum, about the past wildfire season.

Why is it the moment someone reaches 40 ‘it’s all downhill from here’ or ‘you don’t give a rat’s butt anymore’? I can see the second claim in certain situations but the first is such rubbish.

As we look to elect the MLA’s for the 20th Legislative Assembly, we do it in a time of extreme global turmoil. Wars, climate change, and extreme weather events are destabilizing the world. Economies are on the ropes. The cost of living is going through the roof as witnessed by the 50 year mortgages being offered for to homebuyers in some markets.

Well, Halloween has come and gone and — for the history books — there was snow on the ground, but it was not too cold. Halloween is an interesting neighbourhood-type of socializing for parents, kids, and homeowners. I always enjoy seeing the little ones in their costumes, although I do sometimes wonder when it comes to dividing up the spoils, who gets what.