Yellowknife (Aug 27/03) - It's always big news when the Prime Minister of Canada comes to town.

Yellowknife was all a-buzz over the weekend because Jean Chretien was in town. A reception was held at the legislative assembly on Sunday night in his honour.

Wearing a Dogrib vest, Prime Minister Jean Chretien takes part in ceremonies marking the signing of the Tlicho agreement in Rae-Edzo Monday. Chretien also visited Iqaluit and Yellowknife on his farewell tour of the North. - Dorothy Westerman/NNSL photo

It's interesting to think about what he does when he's not at press conferences, or receptions. Where does he stay and what does he eat are just two of many questions.

To answer these questions, Yellowknifer talked to staff at the Explorer Hotel, where he stayed over night. With security being a big issue these days, people might think when the Prime Minister travels he brings everything he needs. To the contrary.

"He's just an ordinary nice guy," said Henry Symington, chief operating officer of the Explorer Hotel. "He even came into the restaurant for breakfast and ordered off the menu."

Security is tighter than usual and is more visible than it has been in the past.

At breakfast in the morning there were about eight security guards around the Prime Minister.

Symington said they did block off the eighth floor, where Jean Chretien was staying, in the Queen Elizabeth II suite, but other than that they didn't treat him any differently than they would other guests.

"It's not just the Prime Minister, but we have a lot of influential people who stay here. We try to treat everyone equal," he said.

"We didn't even put flowers in his room," he added with a laugh.

Some other famous guests who have stayed at the Explorer Hotel include Queen Elizabeth II, a number of federal and territorial ministers, and the United States ambassador to Canada.

"It's exciting to see all these different people staying here," he said.