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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - On Monday night, six city councillors voted to support a resolution drafted by Coun. David Wind opposing the territorial government's new supplementary health benefits program.

Wind said the program, along with the termination of the seniors' extended health benefits program, the specified medical conditions program and the additional drug assistance program, affect the attractiveness of Yellowknife as a place to live for retirees.

The resolution calls for Mayor Gord Van Tighem to write a letter to territorial health minister Sandy Lee "to urge her to cancel the implementation of changes."

Coun. Bob Brooks abstained from the vote, as he is employed as a policy analyst with the territorial government.

Shelagh Montgomery was not present for the vote.

Yellowknife will 'react' to climate change

Council decided Monday to support recommendations to undergo a take-it-as-happens approach to climate change, as opposed to commissioning preventative measures.

The community energy plan implementation advisory committee made the recommendations to council.

A 2007 report undertaken by the Pembina Institute found Yellowknife experienced a 2 C increase in temperature over the last 50 years, 20 per cent more precipitation and recently has had increased turbidity issues (cloudy or silty water) at the Yellowknife River water intake area.

However, council decided the climate change impacts were not drastic enough to require implementing the two options laid out in the report. These were implementing 16 recommendations from the report or creating an action plan, complete with probability models, from six of the recommendations.

The estimated cost of the first option was $150,000 and $130,000 for option two.

"A proactive approach has the potential of allocating resources to issues that may or may not take place," a council memorandum read.

Administration compared the impacts climate change presented to Yellowknife with its effects in places like Inuvik, which is experiencing dramatic melting of permafrost, and Halifax, N.S., which is experiencing more powerful Atlantic storms.

"There is no existing climate change threat of significance to Yellowknife," the memo concluded.

Year-end fire stats

The Yellowknife fire division's end-of-year statistics showed a marked jump in estimated property damages caused by fire.

In 2008, the fire division estimated $5,352,560 in damages were caused in the city, up from $2,971,500 in 2007.

Dennis Marchiori, director of public safety with the city, said last January's Bison Estates fire caused more than $2 million in damages and thus had a major impact on 2008 numbers.

Coun. Dave McCann commended the fire division for the making the statistics available to the city and the public via the city's website.

He said he hoped other city departments took notice of the fire division's reporting.

"It's a way for the public to see what their tax dollars are doing," he added.

Marchiori said average response times - not presently found in the monthly reports - would be included beginning in January 2009.