Katie May
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, July 02, 2008

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Residents of Con and Rycon trailer courts can finally own the land on which they've built their homes.

On June 13, the GNWT Department of Municipal and Community Affairs told the 26 residents, many of them former gold mine employees, they could officially claim title to the land.

Trailer court residents have been trying to claim the lots for 12 years, since the former property owner announced the gold mine would close.

When it closed the mine in 2003, Miramar Mining Corp. had to transfer ownership of the land to the territorial government, which meant residents were in danger of losing their homes as well as their jobs.

Now, the GNWT has agreed to exempt the Con and Rycon courts from the land lease agreement. Residents are able to get out of their 30-year leases and buy their land directly from the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA).

Rycon Court resident Pam MacQuarrie-Higden said she'll have a celebration when her ownership papers officially go through in a few weeks.

"It's going to be nice to be a homeowner because I've lived here (in Yellowknife) since 1974," the former mine employee said. MacQuarrie-Higden, who has lived on the lot for more than a decade. She said maintaining the property without the certainty of ownership has been stressful over the years.

Last fall, she and her husband had to pay $10,000 to bring the land up to residential environmental standards.

"It put a lot of extra pressure on, for sure," MacQuarrie-Higden said. "I think I'll be a lot more relaxed when I have the title in hand."

"Man, I was so very, very happy to convey the news to the lease holders," said Beverly Chamberlin, a senior policy analyst with MACA who has been working on the case for five years. "People are just really really happy. It's wonderful."

Negotiations between the three levels of government were held up when members of the Yellowknives Dene objected to the government's handling of the Con Mine land claims over their own ongoing land claims. Nobody from the Yellowknives Dene office could be reached for comment Tuesday.

In about two weeks, the official sale and all the paperwork that comes with it will be complete for the 20 families who applied to buy the land. For those who have already paid the full cost of their lots, the purchase is only symbolic - a $1 fee.

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said he's relieved the process is nearly over after so many years.

"After participating in the emotional rollercoaster, it's good to see the happy faces,'' he said.

The city is still in the process of buying pieces of common land on the property, including roads and vacant lots.