Expect ‘extreme fire behaviour’ this weekend, NWT warns
High winds and lightning in the Northwest Territories could start new fires or exacerbate existing ones this weekend, the territory has warned. One new fire was identified in the past 24 hours, about 85 km southeast of Dettah. The fire, a hectare and a half in size, has been attacked from the air and has a crew assigned to it.
Eva Henderson Memorial Fund established in Yellowknife
The Yellowknife Community Foundation has announced a memorial fund in honour of the late Eva Henderson to help healthcare professionals further their studies. When she passed away in January, Eva left behind a legacy of deep care and compassion for her community, the foundation said in a press release announcing the fund this week.
Ten-year-old helps Pokémon card game make Yellowknife comeback
An increase in Yellowknife residents searching for Pokémon trading cards is at least partly the result of a 10-year-old’s efforts. Celestia O’Brien has been hosting trading posts for Pokémon cards, first published and popularized in the 1990s, to make sure a new generation of players get their fix.
Turn our old car seat into a gift card this month in Yellowknife
Non-profit support group Moms, Boobs and Babies is organizing its second annual car seat collection on August 27 from 10am-2pm in Yellowknife’s Canadian Tire parking lot. Residents can exchange old, damaged or expired car seats for a gift card of their choice from local businesses that donated to the event.
‘Time to get involved more.’ Danny Gaudet elected to lead Délįnę
Some NWT businesses will be able to access grants of up to $2,400 to help move some of their operations online. The Grow Your Business Online grant, backed by federal funding, is being offered to eligible small businesses by the NWT’s Business Development and Investment Corporation over the next three years.
Green infrastructure funding awarded to two NWT projects
$12.5 million in federal funding will support what Ottawa termed “green infrastructure projects” in Inuvik and Fort McPherson.Inuvik receives around $5.5 million to upgrade the town’s Midnight Sun Complex with solar panels and a battery bank, reducing the facility’s carbon footprint.
Polar bear re-listed as an NWT species at risk
The polar bear will remain on the NWT list of species at risk for at least another 10 years as a species of special concern. The NWT’s environment minister this week accepted a recommendation from a group of wildlife management boards and governments – the Conference of Management Authorities – to preserve the polar bear’s status on the list.
In Fort Smith, a blue and yellow quilt is fated for a cause
Debbie Purchase designed, sewed, and donated a quilt to a recent Ukraine Relief Fund raffle in Fort Smith. In a twist of fate, a resident of Ukrainian heritage won it. The raffle, held earlier this month, supports Ukraine in the country’s ongoing defence against Russian forces.
New BDIC program aims to get NWT businesses online
Some NWT businesses will be able to access grants of up to $2,400 to help move some of their operations online. The Grow Your Business Online grant, backed by federal funding, is being offered to eligible small businesses by the NWT’s Business Development and Investment Corporation over the next three years.
New scholarship offered for early learning and childcare grads
The Gahcho Kué diamond mine says it will donate $24,000 annually to support the top 12 NWT graduates from Aurora College’s part-time distance early learning and childcare program. The inaugural recipients, many already working in NWT schools or childcare facilities, each received $2,000.
Pope Francis delivers apology in Canada for residential schools
The Pope has made a long-awaited apology on Canadian soil to Indigenous peoples at the site of the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School outside Edmonton. An interpreter for Pope Francis, who delivered his message in Spanish, was interrupted by applause in Maskwacis as he arrived at the words spoken by the Pope: “I am sorry.”
Independent Alberta tailings monitoring data available soon
“They’re not monitoring where they need to be monitoring, how often they need to be monitoring, and what they need to be monitoring.” Keepers of the Water, an Indigenous-led non-profit based in Slave Lake, Alberta, recently launched an independent monitoring project involving the province’s oil sands.
Dog shot in Hay River sent to Yellowknife for treatment
A Hay River dog believed by shelter staff to have been shot is being flown to Yellowknife for veterinary care. Kori Bourne, manager of Hay River’s animal shelter, said she had been told the dog was shot on Thursday evening by someone on Kátł’odeeche First Nation land.
Outside a Yellowknife park, a dash across the highway
No solutions for safer highway crossing are currently being considered by the NWT government to help pedestrians access Fred Henne Territorial Park. According to data from the GNWT, Fred Henne Territorial Park saw a 22-percent increase in overnight visitors from 2020 to 2021 – making its way back to pre-pandemic numbers.
Yellowknife director brings dystopian Arctic to Montreal festival
“There was an all-female cast. There was real emphasis on the environment. There were lots of moments created that – even in this harsh world – felt really soft.” KC Carthew debuted her newest feature film, Polaris, last week in the opening slot of the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Quebec.
NWT aviators airlift more than a ton of garbage from lake
More than a ton of garbage from a camping destination outside Yellowknife has been removed by a group of NWT aviation enthusiasts. The Northwest Territories Flying Association says it removed some 1,200 kg of litter and other debris from Lower Pensive Lake, which has no all-season road access but is frequented by canoe campers.
Syphilis rapid tests arrive to help NWT combat years-long outbreak
Newly developed syphilis and HIV rapid tests are making their way to the NWT after trials in Alberta displayed promising results. While HIV rapid testing is not new, a rapid test for syphilis is only just emerging in Canada and could help diagnose the condition with groundbreaking speed in areas like the NWT that are experiencing an outbreak.
Fort Resolution childcare centre receives De Beers funding
De Beers says it is contributing $356,000 to an early childhood learning centre scheduled to open on September 1 in Fort Resolution. Funds will go toward providing the centre with health and wellness equipment, early childhood development programming, staff costs, and a healthy food program.
How do you rate the NWT government’s Covid-19 response?
The NWT government has launched an online survey for residents to review the territory’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and offer feedback. The survey, available until August 15 on the GNWT’s public engagement website, focuses on the territory’s operational response to the pandemic between March 2020 and April 2022.
Local eggs given go-ahead to be sold at YK Farmers Market
France Benoit, a director of the Yellowknife Farmers Market, says she has been asking the environmental health unit of the NWT Government for approval to have local eggs for sale at the market for years. On June 28, she finally received word that local producers have been granted a long-awaited exception…
How UBC is celebrating Asian Heritage Month this year
It’s Asian Heritage Month and groups across UBC campus have planned events for this month, and year-round, to celebrate. Asian Heritage Month has been celebrated in Canada since the 1990s, but 20 years ago, the federal government officially designated May for the month-long celebration…
UBC seeks to empower more Black Canadians to attend university with new program
February 1 marks the beginning of Black History Month and the official announcement of the Beyond Tomorrow Scholars program — a program that could mean a new beginning for many Black Canadians looking to pursue higher education at UBC. As part of UBC’s anti-racism initiatives, the program — which is the first of its kind in Canada — could offer…
Sold-out drag shows celebrate Taylor Swift’s new album — and the LGBTQ2S+ community
The shows, hosted by 1181, reunited drag fans and performers after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted last month. The disco ball spun under a red glow as the song “State of Grace” swelled. Out stepped the bearded Alma Bitches in a long trench and scarf, welcomed by the roar of shoulder-to-shoulder Taylor Swift fans — Swifties — in the intimate venue…
Ucluelet’s Wild Pacific Trail celebrates 20 years of awe
Birthday celebration scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 28. Twenty years ago, after nearly 16 prior years of dreaming, planning and pitching ideas, the Wild Pacific Trail came to be in the form of the now incredibly popular 2.6 kilometer Amphitrite Lighthouse Loop. Since the humble beginning of Oyster Jim’s hand-built pathways hugging the temperate rainforest of…
Tofino museum hosts Japanese Heritage Walking Tours this weekend
Tours will be running May 25 and 26, departing at 10 a.m. from the Tofino Clayoquot Heritage Museum. Through the eyes, ears and memories of Johnny Yoshio Madokoro, Tofino is transformed into the 20th century, where nearly one third of the Clayoquot population was made up of Japanese Immigrants. The Tofino Clayoquot Heritage Museum’s Japanese Heritage Walking Tour takes you…