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Friday, April 3, 2015
Mine's future murky
The Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board has set the level of pollutants in Snap Lake below the threshold De Beers Canada said it needs to keep its Snap Lake diamond mine open, in a decision released late yesterday. The board recommended a water licence amendment with an average total dissolvable solids (TDS) level of 850 milligrams per litre, below the company's requested 1,000 milligrams per litre, which it said was necessary for the future of the mine, about 220 km northeast of the city. Prior to the ruling TDS was set at 350 milligrams per litre. It's now up to the GNWT to approve the amendment.
- Shane Magee
Home invasions hit city
Two city residences were broken into during the day within the last week while the occupants were at home. The first occurred last Friday at a Range Lake Road residence, when an unknown male broke open a door and entered the dwelling. Confronted by the home owner, the man fled. The second occurred in Ndilo yesterday. RCMP responded to a reported robbery were a resident had been assaulted and items were stolen. The victim was transported to Stanton Territorial Hospital for treatment. There have been no arrests made in relation to either incident.
- Meagan Leonard
Hawkins out of Liberal race
Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins announced Thursday he won't be seeking the Liberal nomination for the upcoming federal election. Hawkins stated he will instead seek a fourth term as MLA in the fall territorial election. He stated he withdrew his interest in the Liberal nomination to "continue to focus his work on the issues that matter most to the constituents of Yellowknife Centre and the everyday Northern family."
- Shane Magee
GNWT releases fracking regulations
The GNWT has released requirements around hydraulic fracturing.Baseline information on surface and groundwater, public disclosure of the makeup of frack fluids, air quality monitoring and enhanced reporting on the fracking process were highlighted as areas enhanced under GNWT regulations. Public comment on the regulations, available online, will be accepted until June.
- Elaine Anselmi
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Ministers touring
Health Minister Glen Abernethy and Municipal and Community Affairs Minister Robert C. McLeod will be touring a number of communities in the Deh Cho from April 7 to 10.
The tour will kick off on April 7 when Abernethy visits health facilities in Fort Simpson before meeting with Metis Local 52. On April 8, both ministers will head to Jean Marie River for the afternoon before returning to Fort Simpson for dinner with village council, followed by a public meeting at 7 p.m. at the recreation complex.
Abernethy and McLeod will be in Trout Lake April 9 before heading to Fort Liard for a community feast and public meeting.
On April 10, the ministers will meet with community members in Nahanni Butte after touring the health facilities.
Easter shifts meeting
The regular village council meeting will be pushed back a day due to the Easter holiday.
Usually held on the first and third Monday of each month, the village council will meet on the first Tuesday of April because of the statutory holiday.
The meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the village office on April 7. The regular third Monday of the month meeting is still scheduled for April 20.
Tourism conference wraps up
Community government members and tourism operators from the Dehcho recently attended a two-day tourism conference in Hay River.
Participants at the Regional Tourism Stakeholder Conference learned about how to find success in community tourism, how to build a marketing plan and develop tourism packaged.
Themes included connecting visitors with the local population, finding homegrown attractions and involving youth in tourism.
"Encouraging and supporting community-based tourism initiatives will help to create opportunities for NWT residents and businesses, and provide more options and activities for travellers to experience," said Tourism Minister Dave Ramsay.
Jazz legend coming
Juno award-winning singer Jackie Richardson and her daughter Kim will be performing in Fort Simpson on the evening of May 14 at Bompas Elementary School.
With four decades of work behind her, Richardson has been nominated for dozens of awards, and is a three-time Juno award winner (1986, 1987 and 1994). She has also performed for the likes of Nelson Mandela, prime ministers Brian Mulroney and Jean Chretien and Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson.
Dog sledder plans historical trek
Well-known outdoorsman and guide Gerry Kisoun of Inuvik is retracing a trip from the past.
As he has done for the last few years, Kisoun will help guide a team of dog-sledders on a trek to Herschel Island beginning April 4.
It's a trip that was commonplace even as recently as two or three generations ago, but has largely fallen by the wayside, Kisoun said.
On March 30, he said he was waiting for the Dempster Highway to re-open so the participants could arrive in town.
Trucking woes
The Dempster Highway remained closed to traffic from Eagle Plains to Fort McPherson March 31, disrupting deliveries coming and going from Inuvik.
The highway has been persistently closed for much of the last week or 10 days, including a five-day span in the third week of March.
That means headaches for the grocery and convenience stores in town, as usual, as well as for the NWT Power Corporation station that runs partially off liquid natural gas supplies. A large supply of diesel fuel is available as well.
Deliveries to Inuvik Gas have been somewhat disrupted as well, but the Ikhil gas field remains the backup for the company to supply heating fuel to the town.
iPads for parents
The GNWT is going digital in an attempt to enhance parenting.
The Department of Education, Culture and Employment is inviting parents or primary caregivers of babies born between April 2014 and April 2015 to apply to participate in the testing phase of the iPad Mini for New Parents project.
According to a news release, between early April and end of May 2015, 100 iPad Minis will be distributed across the NWT as part of a project to support early childhood development by providing new parents and primary caregivers with innovative tools and information, one of the actions identified in Right from the Start, the NWT framework and action plan for early childhood development.
Population bust
A new report from Statistics Canada indicates the population of the NWT was 43,595 on Jan. 1, a drop of 894 persons, or 0.8 per cent, from the same time last year. By comparison, Canada's overall population increased by one per cent over the same period and Nunavut's population rose 2.1 per cent.
The population drop was due to 695 births, 201 deaths, inter-provincial migration of 2,184, international migration of 62 people, and 3,078 people moving away. This was the first time since 2012 the territory experienced a decrease in population.
- with files from Karen K. Ho
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