EDITORIAL: The cost of not giving former inmates jobs
Last year 358 sentenced offenders were released from custody from all adult facilities in the NWT. Those previously incarcerated people, men and women, once out in the community face the difficulties of obtaining employment because of their criminal history. It’s a well-studied fact that individuals with a criminal background who are unemployed are more likely...
TALES FROM THE DUMP: What would an alien make of our planet?
We are coming to the end of Earth Week. Theoretically, we are supposed to celebrate the planet we live on and maybe we could even try to be a little nicer to it and learn more about it. I know that is asking a lot, but let’s live in hope because despair is a real...
Letter to the editor: Why not compostable doggie-doo bags?
Dear editor, Last Sunday while out for a walk around the legislative assembly grounds, I picked up four plastic doggy bags in 15 minutes, some empty and others that were not. When I went to throw the used ones away, I noticed the bins were full of plastic doggy bags all destined for the landfill...
RCMP probing ‘suspicious’ Jeske Crescent fire that damaged snowmobiles
Yellowknife RCMP are investigating a ‘suspicious’ fire that broke out in the backyard of a Range Lake area-home early Thursday morning. Yellowknife Fire Division (YKFD) responded to a report a snowmobile had caught fire near a residence located on Jeske Crescent at 4:45 a.m., a city spokesperson told Yellowknifer. The fire was put out before...
DT Electric Futures runners-up at IHG Easter Classic Basketball Tournament
While the rest of us were busy counting our loot courtesy of the Easter Bunny, the DT Electric Futures basketball program was busy doing its thing in Edmonton. The Futures had two teams in the tournament – U13 and U14 boys teams – at the IHG Easter Classic Basketball Tournament in Edmonton and it would...
Sex ed theatre group coming to NWT
A sex education theatre group is heading north to spread awareness about sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) after the NWT’s chief public health officer issued a warning to youth about skyrocketing STI rates in the territory. The theatre group SExT (sex education through theatre) began as a doctoral thesis for its founder Shari Taylor of Toronto, Ont....
GUEST COMMENT: Tides Canada does good work in the North
The publisher of NNSL Media lobbed me a bit of a softball in his article “Krause talk buries obvious conclusion,” inviting me to share with readers about Tides Canada and the work it does in the North. It would be remiss of me if I did not take a swing. First, I must make it...
Yellowknife RCMP launch review into claims man was injured during arrest
Yellowknife RCMP have opened an administrative review into allegations a man suffered a fractured rib during a drunk driving arrest earlier this year. The allegations surfaced during a sentencing hearing for thirty-one-year-old Randy Allen, who, on April 9, received a 120- day jail term for operating a vehicle while impaired. On Feb. 19, an intoxicated...
Draft plan recommends most Sissons students to go to William Mac
Most J.H. Sissons students will likely go to William McDonald Middle School while their new school is being built, according to a draft accommodation plan submitted by Yellowknife Education District No. 1. The Yk1 board held a public meeting Tuesday night to update the public on the district’s accommodation plans. Simon Taylor, owner of Taylor...
GUEST COMMENT: Employment an opportunity to reintegrate into community
The Yellowknife Women’s Society (YWS) recently received an anonymous note about an individual with a criminal record who works for one of our programs.
They were concerned about the fact that our organization also currently...
Caroline Wawzonek plans to run for Yellowknife South
Yellowknife lawyer Caroline Wawzonek will be running in the Yellowknife South riding in October’s territorial election. “The rumor is indeed true.” stated Wawzonek in an email last week. “I am very excited at the prospect of candidacy for YK south.” The seat has been held by Premier Bob McLeod for the past three terms. It’s...
Former Tlicho official pleads guilty to stealing $120K from agency, GNWT
A former official with the Tlicho Community Services Agency has pleaded guilty to breach of trust, admitting to “fraudulently stealing” thousands of dollars from the agency and territorial government over a two-year period. Joseph Charles Beaverho, 64, pleaded guilty to a single count of breach of trust by an officer April 23 in Yellowknife’s territorial...
CT scanner running, sterilization machine still down at Stanton
The CT scanner at Stanton Territorial Hospital is now up and running, the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA) announced in a news release this morning.
In the last week, 45 CT scans...
Focus on Business: Laughing Lichen
Living off the land has always been an important part of life for Amy Maund. She spent her childhood out in the wilderness near her parents’ cabin by Great Slave Lake. As she got older she pursued an outdoor life through her work as a tree planter, but it wasn’t until she was taking...
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...
EDITORIAL: Visible policing more than pick-up trucks
A woman lays unconscious on the sidewalk. A frustrated business owner posts a video to social media. A city reacts, most visibly the police. The April 9 incident outside the Finn Hansen Building on 50 Street drew several emergency vehicles, including RCMP. The incident follows complaints by the building’s owner, April Desjarlais, to city council...
Exciting finish to First Air Rec Hockey Tournament
The normal celebration for a team winning a recreational hockey tournament is everyone coming off the bench – dog tired from the war of attrition of the weekend – for a few high-fives, some smiles and into the dressing room to celebrate with a case or two of fizzy drinks. But as the Weaver and...
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre celebrates 40 years
First opened in 1979, the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre is celebrating 40 years of serving the community. Staff will be marking the occasion with a series of lectures. First up will be museum director Sarah Carr-Locke, who will speak on Thursday at 7 p.m. about her enduring fascination with museums and the importance...
House fire on Larocque Crescent
UPDATED: Fire crews have controlled a fire that broke out at home on Larocque Crescent, off of Range Lake Road, Tuesday afternoon. The Yellowknife Fire Division (YKFD) deployed three fire trucks to scene of the blaze, which sent thick clouds of smoke billowing into the air, just before 1:30 p.m. The blaze caused significant damage to...
RCMP seeking woman charged in two corner store robberies
Yellowknife RCMP and the General Investigative Section (GIS) are seeking a woman charged in connection with a robbery at Willy’s Convenience Store on Range Lake Road earlier this year. Cynthia Lafferty, 20, of Yellowknife, has been charged with two counts of robbery and one count of theft under $5000 and a warrant has been issued for...
Yellowknife Women’s Society defends employing people with criminal records after concerns raised
The Yellowknife Women’s Society is reassuring the public while standing by its policy of hiring people with criminal records after the non-profit received anonymous letters expressing concern about a particular employee. Bree Denning, executive director at the Yellowknife Women’s Society, said she and the society’s board chair both recently received notes, which included 10-year-old print-outs...
Liquor commission creates rebate program after price increase
Finance Minister Robert C. McLeod has instructed the Northwest Territories Liquor and Cannabis Commission (NTLCC) to “undertake a complete review of its current pricing formula,” after the closure of a liquor warehouse increased the price of alcohol. Last month the NTLCC ended its contract with a warehouse near the airport, meaning Yellowknife’s two liquor stores...
Yellowknife 420 founder reflects on half-a-year of legalization
When Kim MacNearney first began organizing rallies in front of City Hall on 420, or April 20th – an internationally recognized date when cannabis is celebrated and prohibition is protested – there was always a “risk.” Pot was still illegal. And even when the rallies at Somba K’e Civic Plaza grew – from the inaugural...
Feds invest $2.7M into nine projects
The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) is investing $2.7 million into nine economic development projects in the Northwest Territories. The benefiting projects range from tourism, film and Indigenous cultural tourism to support for entrepreneurs, businesses and francophone markets. Michael McLeod, Member of Parliament for the Northwest Territories announced funding for the following projects in...
Former Fort Res mayor defends fiscal record
In response to recent criticism, the former mayor of Fort Resolution said he and his council didn’t break the hamlet’s finances, and he has documents to back it up. “There’s always been a deficit with the hamlet,” said Garry Bailey, who served a term as mayor before losing to current mayor Louis Balsillie in the...
Feds announce $1.6 million for Northern women’s groups
The federal government is giving $1.6 million in multi-year funding to four organizations that serve women in the NWT. The YWCA NWT will get about $600,000, the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning will receive around $360,000, FOXY will receive about $370,000 and the Yellowknife Women’s Society has been granted $268,800. “Our government is demonstrating our...
Folk on the Rocks announces final wave of artists
Friday Folk on the Rocks festival announced the third and final wave of artists hitting the stage this summer.
Canadian storyteller Fiver, garage rock band Light Bulb Alley, Lazarus and Leanne
Betasamosake Simpson will be joining...
City facilities will have reduced Easter hours
A number of city facilities will have reduced hours this weekend. City hall will be closed all day today and on Monday. The library will be open from 1 to 5 p.m. Friday, Sunday and Monday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. The dump will be closed Friday and Monday but open...
EDITORIAL: Family services without the services
If we accept a mother of three’s story of the neglect and incompetence she alleges to have suffered at the hands of child and family services, then the hill this beleaguered service of the territorial government must climb to regain the public’s trust just got a little more mountainous. The Yellowknife woman, who cannot be...
Young girl with cerebral palsy heading to US for specialized surgery
A five year old girl with the most severe form cerebral palsy is in need of a unique surgery in the United States after her hip becomes dislocated. As an infant, Mikaela MacNaughton suffered strokes and had blood clots in both her cerebral arteries, the two main arteries supplying blood to her brain. This led...