Yellowknife Inn

NNSL photo/graphic



 Features

 Front Page
 News Desk
 News Briefs
 News Summaries
 Columnists
 Sports
 Editorial
 Arctic arts
 Readers comment
 Find a job
 Tenders
 Classifieds
 Subscriptions
 Market reports
 Handy Links
 Best of Bush
 Visitors guides
 Obituaries
 Feature Issues
 Advertising
 Contacts
 Today's weather
 Leave a message


SSISearch NNSL
 www.SSIMIcro.com

NNSL on CD

. NNSL Logo
SSIMicro
Home page text size buttonsbigger textsmall textText size Email this articleE-mail this page

Council briefs
Parks bylaw squashed

Elizabeth McMillan
Northern News Services
Published Monday, November 2, 2009

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A controversial bylaw that proposed to limit what people can do in city-run parks and buildings has been squashed.

Six city councillors voted to defeat the bylaw in its third and final reading at the Oct. 26 city council meeting. Coun. Mark Heyck abstained from voting.

The proposed bylaw included a list of banned activities, ranging from throwing plastic balls and swinging golf clubs to doing "anything which is likely to attract a crowd" and riding "a toboggan, sleigh, carpet or other sliding device."

The bylaw referenced approximately 60 prohibitions, some of which are already found in the current parks bylaw while others were new.

The first two readings of the bylaw passed with little discussion at a Sept. 14 meeting. Two weeks later, after a flurry of protest from concerned residents, council held an emergency committee meeting to discuss the proposed changes. Close to 600 people joined a Facebook group called "Yellowknifers Against Park Tyranny."

At that meeting, five councillors voted to go ahead with the third reading and three others voted to hold off, preferring to make amendments to the bylaw before it went to third reading.

Grant White, director of community services, said the bylaw will be redrafted and the revised version will be voted on in the future.

"We're waiting for direction from council," he said.

Photo op

Coun. Bob Brooks wants council candidate faces to accompany their names on ballots in the next municipal election.

"If we put the photos on the ballots of all the people who were running, people will be able to visually see who they're voting for," he said.

He said including councillors' photos would make the voting process more accessible. Brooks said throughout the election campaign, he met residents who said they weren't voting because they couldn't read or write.

"People said they had got frustrated (with the election) before because they couldn't read the ballot," said Brooks.

He said people could vote for the wrong candidate without realizing it if they couldn't differentiate the names.

City clerk Debbie Gillard said the current Elections Act does allow for photos to be included on ballots.

"It's a possibility," she said.

Gillard said the issue will be revisited at the next priorities, policies and budget meeting on Nov. 2.

Brooks said council will be open to any other suggestions for how to improve the voting process. He also suggested setting up a mobile voting station for seniors to ensure they're able to reach the polls.

Funding changes

Sixteen groups will receive core funding and there will be $93,500 available for groups applying for special grants in 2010. Council voted unanimously to adopt the proposed allocations Monday.

Coun. Kevin Kennedy said it was a difficult decision but a variety of groups will receive support.

Two groups will see an increase over their 2009 funding: SideDoor Ministries will see $5,000 more and Yellowknife Special Olympics will be given an extra $500.

Three groups will see funding dips. Council is giving $5,000 less to Folk on the Rocks and $1,200 less to St. John's Ambulance.

Caribou Carnival will tentatively lose $2,000 in funding but so far, the group hasn't submitted their core funding application. Organizers have until Saturday to complete the application. They're tentatively slated to receive $15,000. If Caribou Carnival doesn't receive funding next year, organizers won't be able to re-apply for core funding in 2011 and will have to apply for special grant funding in 2010. The money that was to go to them would then be re-directed back into the special grant pool.

We welcome your opinions on this story. Click to e-mail a letter to the editor.