Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Jun 22/01) - Confusion was the main sensation that greeted a group of francophone tourists who arrived in the city Monday.
The eight Quebeckers steered their RVs into Fred Henne Park after the dusty trip from Rae late Monday afternoon. They had decided to make a side trip to Yellowknife en route to Alaska.
But at the park they were at a loss for words. None of the park staff spoke French.
"We were having a hard time talking to them, having them understand what's going on," said park worker Armand Pinnegar.
Mixed messages
Pinnegar and other park staff told the visitors there was space in the park for their RVs.
The message the members of the Tasse and Allary families took was the exact opposite.
They drove into the city in search of space to park their four large motorhomes for the night. They noticed the vast parking lot in front of the Yellowknife Community Arena and turned in. Within minutes of shutting off their engines, a municipal enforcement officer pulled up.
He told them they could not stay there overnight.
"There was a big communication gap there when he talked to them," said municipal enforcement manager Doug Gillard. "He tried to give them directions to the park."
Providing information to tourists is part of a bylaw officers job, Gillard said, referring to them as "ambassadors" for the city.
Gillard said overnight camping is not permitted on any city property.
"Before you know it, it would become an RV parking lot at the arena," he said.
First rejection
Speaking to an English-only reporter through a translator the next day, members of the RV convoy said when they pulled into the arena parking lot, they were looking for a place close to downtown, for sight-seeing.
"It doesn't draw tourists into the downtown, that kind of reception," one of them said.
They said they had driven through every province and had never been asked to leave a parking lot.
With the help of two Yellowknifers, the group settled on one of three unofficial RV overnight spots -- the Wal-Mart parking lot. (The weigh scales across from Kingland Ford and, occasionally, the Northern Frontier Visitors Centre parking lot, are the other options.)
The Francophone Cultural Association of Yellowknife said the city would do well to get a few more ambassadors who speak both of the country's official languages.
"Often they end up coming here to have a contact or a base," said Isabel Gauthier of the association, which is a member of the Northern Frontier Visitors Association.
The visitors centre has only one employee who can speak French well enough to communicate with French-only tourists. She works during business hours.
