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Rick Mercer and Premier Joe Handley raced dogsleds near Kam Lake for a segment of Monday Report, filmed in Yellowknife this week and airing next Monday. - photo courtesy of CBC

Never too cold to laugh

Jennifer Geens
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 21/05) - The funny side of Yellowknife will be seen on national television Monday night.

Rick Mercer of CBC's Monday Report was in town this week, shooting segments for the Jan. 24 broadcast of the comedy show.

CBC North's program marketing coordinator Janet Pacey acted as a guide for Mercer and his crew while they were here.

In the middle of interviewing Snow King Tony Foliot out on the frozen bay, Mercer got spooked by the cracking of the ice, especially when a fissure opened up.

Pacey is sure he wasn't faking his panic.

"Rick yelled 'What the f*** was that?'" said Pacey. "I wonder if that's going to make it onto the broadcast."

Mercer and his crew also visited Lisa Campbell's houseboat out on the frozen bay.

"He asked us questions like 'What happens if you float away?'" said Campbell.

He also asked about the tilt. When the ice freezes around them, houseboats don't end up level. The crew shot footage of Campbell and her family getting water from a hole in the ice.

Mercer's other adventures included going to Dettah to pick up caribou meat for the Explorer Hotel, checking out the legislative assembly and getting up close and personal with the ceremonial mace. He even raced dogsleds with Premier Joe Handley out behind Kam Lake.

Pacey reports Handley managed to stay on his sled. Mercer tipped his sled a couple of times and once accidentally knocked his cameraman out of the sled and dragged him through the snow.

While Monday Report features vignettes of Mercer crisscrossing the country and hanging out with the locals, the rest of the show is taped in Toronto.

"The whole point of the show is to showcase Canada and Canadians," said Pacey. "Not to make fun of it, but to show how people live in a humorous way."

If you miss the 8 p.m. broadcast, clips will be available to view next week on the CBC Web site.