Tag: #NWT
Study finds arsenic poses no immediate health risk to Yellowknifers
A long-awaited study shows there is virtually no difference between the average arsenic levels of people living in the Yellowknife area and ordinary Canadians. “We conclude that there is minimal immediate health risk to the participants, but we continue to follow up,” said Dr. Laurie Chan, the University of Ottawa specialist who is leading the...
NWT Tourism turns to Mexico
As part of ongoing efforts to attract foreign visitors, NWT Tourism will be heading down Mexico way. “Just as much as we Northerners are fascinated about those sunny locations, Mexicans are actually quite interested in the Rockies and touring the North, Banff and seeing auroras,” said Cathie Bolstad, CEO of NWT Tourism. While NWT Tourism...
Thousands visit Yellowknife Spring Trade Show
The Spring Trade Show crammed crowds and 185 vendors into the Multiplex this Saturday. While the fair offered up free bouquets for Mother’s Day, businesses, non-profits and governmental organizations shared their services with visitors perusing the exhibitions. The event featured a range of family-friendly entertainment, complete with a boat show and volunteers dressed as Disney...
‘The liquor commission needs to step up its game,’ says MLA
Ten days before the Northwest Territories Liquor and Cannabis Commission (NTLCC) ended its contract with the liquor warehouse on April 1, it warned businesses in the city there would be a “modest price increase” as a result. But in early April, Bob Stewart, owner of the Kilt and Castle Pub, had already seen an 18.3...
Implementation of 911 to include bilingual dispatchers
People of the NWT can rejoice as 911 moves one step closer to completion. But not everyone was happy about the languages aspect of the implementation. During a public discussion of Bill 31 on April 10, MLAs had the opportunity to question the 911 management team about the implementation plan where they heard that translators...
Wyss foundation commits $750k to protect Edéhzhíe lands
The Wyss Foundation, founded by Swiss entrepreneur Hansjörg Wyss, has announced it will commit $750,000 over three years to help protect the Edéhzhíe National Wildlife Area. The 3.5 million acre plot of land is protected by the Dehcho First Nation and the funding will go towards creating an Indigenous guardians program to manage the lands. This grant will...
We spoke to Yellowknifers about climate change, here’s what they said
France Benoit is a farmer on the Ingraham Trail, and explains how she sees the effects of climate change on her daily work. “I have been here almost 30 years and I have seen a lot of changes. More so, I would say in the last five or six years. The season’s changing … it...
Lone goose arrives early in Yellowknife
A lonesome goose has been causing a stir in Yellowknife.
Many residents have reported seeing the bird in recent weeks, including former NWT commissioner Tony Whitford, who said he first saw it in front of...
Climate change has mental health risks, says Yellowknife doctor
In 2014, the Northwest Territories saw its worst wildfire season since the 1990s, with three million hectares of land burned in one summer. While the dry conditions that caused the fires have been linked to climate change, their psychological impacts on residents of Canada’s fastest warming region are just starting to be understood. Through her...
Controversial figure speaks at NWT Chamber of Commerce
In the public debate over climate change, Vivian Krause is a controversial figure.
The Vancouver-based blogger has written critically about how American environmental organizations are funding the Canadian anti-pipeline movement.
On April 11, she was the keynote...
Gwich’in designer featured in British Vogue
The work of Gwich’in jewelry designer Tania Larsson is featured in the May issue of British Vogue. Larsson got an email from British Vogue in early March saying they came across her company online and wanted to showcase her work in an upcoming issue. “It was this opportunity to show my work in the jewelry...
Dettah ice road could close in less than 24 hours
The ice road connecting Dettah and Yellowknife could close within 24 hours, says the Department of Infrastructure.
The department posted notice of the possible closure, "due to rapidly deteriorating conditions," over Twitter on Wednesday morning.
"It definitely has to...
Kevin Koe collects silver medal at World Men’s Curling Championship
Kevin Koe had managed a week’s worth of heroics at the World Men’s Curling Championship in Lethbridge, Alta., with some stunning shots to pull his rink out of danger at the opportune time. His luck, though, ran out on Sunday. Koe, who was wearing the maple leaf as Team Canada, fell to Sweden’s Niklas Edin...
TALES FROM THE DUMP: The great battle of the seasons
Every year around this time, the Northern Gods of winter, ice and snow fight an epic battle against the Southern Gods of summer, sun, solar radiation and warm tropical air. Usually the Southern Gods win for several months until the fall when the Northern Gods concentrate their efforts and once again, they get the upper...
Public health advisory lifted in Hay River
A precautionary public health advisory issued after the Hay River landfill fire has now been lifted. The original advisory was issued for the town of Hay River on March 11 due to concerns that smoke from the landfill fire could cause poor air quality. According to a press release from the Chief Public Health Officer, the...
Jesse James is a rock and roll cartoonist
Jesse James has two things on him at all times: his poetry book and his tiny sketch book. The poetry book – “because I love writing poems,” and the sketch book – “because sometimes I could be at a coffee shop or a restaurant and I’ll see something and decide it could be a short...
In defense of the wolf cull
A recent study states wolf culls in Alberta and B.C. have been effective in heading off caribou population decline and some biologists say the same principles may apply to the Bathurst and Bluenose-East caribou herds in the North. “The reason that I think it’ll work (in the North) is that we are 99 per cent...
Northern economy at crossroads: premier
Premier Bob McLeod gave a keynote address on the NWT’s infrastructure needs, and the glacial pace the territory has endured in addressing them, at the Arctic Oil and Gas Symposium in Calgary earlier this month. In that speech, he referred to a concept he called “eco-colonialism.” “(It’s) the idea that all Indigenous people are anti-resource-development,...
Two winter road veterans set to retire
After many years of working on the Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter road, director of the winter road Ron Near and superintendent Kirk Keller are calling it quits. “I’ve retired a few a couple times before and that didn’t work out, but as far as I know this will be my last retirement,” Near said. Near...
Two earthquakes hit the Northwest Territories
Two earthquakes struck hours apart in the Northwest Territories yesterday. The first earthquake happened at 10:33 a.m yesterday and registered at a magnitude of 4.5 just 92 km north west of Fort Good Hope at a depth of 10 km. The second occurred in roughly the same area just after 2 p.m. at a magnitude...
500-million-year-old worm tunnels in NWT contain clues on life in early oceans
About 500 million years ago in what is now Northern Canada, the ocean floor was covered in a network of tunnels built by prehistoric worms. Some of the structures were inhabited by predatory worms that used slender, tube-like burrows to ambush unsuspecting prey. Others were made by species that inched through the muck looking to...
MP McLeod reacts to 2019 federal budget
Northwest Territories MP Michael McLeod said he was pleased overall with the 2019 federal budget. “I think it was a good budget for us,” McLeod told Yellowknifer on Wednesday. “I was quite impressed that the budget had a section dedicated to the North.” The budget promises a range of investments in Canada’s North over the...
Government drafts new mental wellness and addictions plan
The territorial government is working on a new plan to deal with mental health and addictions issues in the Northwest Territories. The Standing Committee on Social Development (SCOSD) received a briefing on the draft Mental Wellness and Addictions Recovery Action Plan from Health Minister Glen Abernethy on March 13. The plan is the final deliverable...
Council supports proposed cannabis ‘green’ house
Several councillors are praising a proposed cannabis production facility in the Engle business district at a Governance and Priories Committee meeting March 11. Jordan Harker, the developer behind the project, said the facility will produce competitively priced products and would create roughly 12 full-time jobs and 20 to 25 part-time positions. Specifically, council and administration...
On the Dead Carpet: Film Reviews
Top Dead North films as selected by a news zombie By Brett McGarry The Unloving – A true psychological thriller from Ben McGregor, the film slowly exposes a terrible incident between a father and son on a hunting trip. The film is told through the twisted perspective of the father, revealing the story scene by...
Dead North Film Festival 2019: Zombear Award Winners
Last weekend was the 2019 Dead North film festival – the world’s only circumpolar genre filmmaking festival. This year’s festival saw 40 original short films produced by Northern filmmakers across the territories. Scroll down for the full list of who won what at this year’s Zombear Awards Ceremony! Best Film – Bearlord Best Screenplay – Bearlord Best...
Slave Geological Province road planning, aerial surveys funded $5M
The GNWT and federal government are spending $5.1-million toward aerial surveys of the Slave Geological Province and planning an all-season road from Yellowknife to the Nunavut border. The proposed road would replace winter roads with year-round access, cutting costs for NWT diamond mines, facilitating resource exploration and development and connect an area with mineral potential...
Dene Nation critical of proposed Forest Act
The GNWT’s proposed Forest Act undermines land claims, self government and inherent treaty rights, said the Dene Nation in a March 1 news release. The Dene Nation criticized the conduct of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) in drafting the act, which combines two existing pieces of legislation: the Forest Management Act and the...
Border bathroom problem: Overflowing outhouse discussed in legislative assembly
The Department of Infrastructure, Tourism and Investment (ITI) said it is reviewing what can be done about an overflowing outhouse on the NWT-Alberta border. A post in the Hay River Classifieds Facebook group, which has since been deleted, showed a photograph of the overflowing toilet at 60th Parallel Territorial Park. Several people commented on the...
Fight for traditional names on birth certificate enters fifth year
Five years into Shene Catholique Valpy’s fight to have her daughters’ Chipewyan names Náʔël and Sahᾴí̜ʔᾳ printed on their birth certificates, she is asking MLAs to support her push for the GNWT to register traditional Indigenous names in formal documents. “When we had our daughter we knew we wanted traditional spelling. When we got denied, it...