Jack Danylchuk
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 09/06) - Candidates are welcoming the return of cooler weather which will allow them to take to the air with their campaigns.

"Freezing rain is making scheduling a little tricky," said Lana Roeland, a spokesperson for the Liberal incumbent's campaign team.

Freezing rain slowed Ethel Blondin-Andrew's tour through the Dehcho, forcing her to take the road instead of flying.

Freezing rain forced the cancellation of a flying visit to Fort Smith by national leader Jack Layton, who was able to stop in Yellowknife just before the Christmas break.

After a slow start to the long campaign, candidates are picking up the pace for the final weeks, depositing their signs in snowbanks from Yellowknife to Inuvik.

An independent candidate has joined the Liberals, NDP, Conservatives and Green Party in the race for the Western Arctic.

Jan H. van der Veen of Fort Simpson filed nomination papers with the returning officer before the Jan. 2 deadline. He plans to keep his campaign close to home.

Conservative candidate Richard Edjericon divided his time between Fort Smith, Fort Resolution, Hay River and Yellowknife last week. He'll be in Dehcho communities this week and then Inuvik and Norman Wells.

Green Party candidate Alex Beaudin was in Ottawa last week raising money for a campaign swing through Inuvik, Fort Providence and Hay River.

The NDP's Dennis Bevington will be in the Sahtu this week, in Fort Good Hope, Deline and Tulita and will return to Yellowknife mid-week for a CBC-sponsored debate.Liberal incumbent Ethel Blondin-Andrew campaigned in Mackenzie Delta communities over the weekend. She was due back in Yellowknife in time for a CBC-sponsored debate.

The returning office for the Western Arctic, on the second floor of Centre Square Mall, next to the Yellowknife Public Library, is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Advance polls will be open Jan. 13-16 in Tuktoyaktuk, Inuvik, Norman Wells, Fort Simpson, Hay River, Fort Smith, Rae and Yellowknife. Returning Officer Liz Wyman noted that there are new polling hours for election day, 7.30 a.m to 7.30 p.m.

Win or lose, the first thing candidates will want at the end of the campaign is a rest from talking.

Media, schools and public interest groups have lined them up for five public forums, starting Jan. 11 with a CBC-sponsored debate at Northern United Place in Yellowknife.

The candidates have been invited to the Inuvik campus of Aurora College Jan. 16 and will be at Northern United Place Jan. 18 for a public forum sponsored by Alternatives North.

The Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce will host a forum at the Explorer Hotel Jan. 19 and the next day the candidates have been invited to Fort Providence.