by Anne-Marie Jennings
Northern News Services

NNSL (Apr 08/98) - Yellowknife will be represented in Victoria next week as its namesake is commissioned into the Canadian Navy.

The office of Minister of National Defence Art Eggleton has organized a flight to Victoria for the commissioning ceremonies for HMCS Yellowknife as well as HMCS Whitehorse.

Committees in both Yellowknife and Whitehorse have been allocated seats on a flight to Victoria organized by Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, just down the road from Victoria, where the ceremonies are to take place.

The trip was arranged after the mayors of Whitehorse and Yellowknife expressed an interest to the Department of National Defence in providing local representatives with the opportunity to attend the festivities in Victoria later this month.

While both communities were busy planning and selecting those individuals who would attend the commission ceremonies, the trip was nearly cancelled last week, but after a number of discussions between the minister's office and local officials, the flight was salvaged.

HMCS Yellowknife is the first vessel named for the city, and is one of 12 new maritime coastal defence vessels named after Canadian capitals.

The official christening ceremonies for HMCS Whitehorse and HMCS Yellowknife are scheduled to take place in Victoria April 17-19.

While still a new ship in the Navy's fleet, HMCS Yellowknife has already made headlines. Earlier this year, it damaged its hull it sailed through the Panama Canal on its way from the naval shipyards on the East Coast to Vancouver Island for its commissioning.