Arthur Milnes
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 11/98) - The city of Yellowknife is now on the way to being a member of Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman's team -- unity team that is.

Members of city council's financial, legislative and administrative committee will be recommending to full council that the city pass a pro-Canadian unity resolution sent by the Team Canada for the Unity Group, headed up by Lastman.

Billed as the largest grassroots unity group in the country, Team Canada is asking municipalities across the country to pass a unity resolution. So far, Hay River, Fort McPherson, Kugluktuk and Fort Simpson are the other NWT communities that have supported the initiative.

According to the group, municipalities representing seven million Canadians have passed the resolution.

"We're expressing our interest that we'd like to stay together as one country," Coun. Bob Brooks, chair of the committee, said.

While she had no difficult supporting the Team Canada resolution, Coun. Peggy Near pointed out the wording of the resolution made no mention of Canada's two territories. It calls on provincial parties and provincial legislatures and assemblies to ensure all Canadians from all provinces are consulted on the issue of national unity.

Neither Yukon or the NWT are mentioned.

Yellowknife will be attaching a letter pointing out the omission when their resolution is mailed to the group's southern organizers.

"We are still part of Canada last time I checked," Near said when raising the wording issue.

Councillors said they found the Team Canada resolution more all encompassing that two others also considered at Wednesday's meeting.