 | Home page |  | Text size |  | E-mail this page |
News Briefs: Friday, March 01, 2013
Motion passed for gas regulation investigation
A motion was passed for the GNWT to investigate and evaluate the possibility of regulating gasoline prices yesterday in the legislative assembly.
The motion was moved by Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins and received nine votes of support, while Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley, Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro and cabinet ministers opted to abstain from voting.
- Katherine Hudson
9-1-1 Bell Mobility trial begins Monday
The trial for a class action suit against Bell Mobility for charging Northern customers for non-existent 9-1-1 services is scheduled to begin on Monday.
The $6-million case against Bell was launched in 2007 by Yellowknifers James and Samuel Anderson.
- Katherine Hudson
Tlicho to sign devolution agreement-in-principle
The Tlicho Government has agreed to sign on to the devolution agreement-in-principle, the GNWT announced yesterday. They will formally sign on March 8 in Behchoko.
Devolution will move administration and control of Crown lands, resources and waters in the NWT from the Government of Canada to the GNWT. Devolution is planned to take effect on April 1, 2014.
- Katherine Hudson
Young videographers wanted
The RCMP are looking for video submissions from teenagers that promote a drug-free lifestyle.
The contest is open to anyone in grades seven through 12 across Canada and prizes include iPods and a hockey jersey signed by NHL star Sidney Crosby.
The deadline is April 28.
- Danielle Sachs
News Briefs: Thursday, February 28, 2013
Election for chief in Fort Simpson
Liidlii Kue First Nation is going to the polls in March.
The nomination period for the position of chief of the First Nation in Fort Simpson will close on Feb. 28. The advance poll will be held on March 3 and the election will take place on March 10.
The position of chief has been empty since the band council conducted a vote of non-confidence removing Keyna Norwegian from the position on Jan. 14.
Providence prepares for sled dog race
Preparations are well underway in Fort Providence for the second annual Dehcho Sled Dog Championships.
The event will take place on March 8 and 9 in the hamlet. There will be two trails this year compared to only one last year, said Susan Fleck, one of the organizers.
The races will include two distances for 10 dog teams, 17 miles and 19.5 miles. The six dog teams will race seven miles along the trail beside the Fort Providence access road that was used last year.
Teams are expected from Saskatchewan and Alberta along with teams from northern communities including Hay River, Yellowknife, Fort Resolution and Fort Providence.
Team going to traditional games
A team from Thomas Simpson School will be competing in the first annual NWT Traditional Games Championship.
The championship is taking place in Yellowknife from March 1 to 3. Teams will compete in five Inuit and five Dene games. There are two individual and three team events in each category. The Dene games include handgames, pole push and spear ball as well as stick pull and snow snake.
The championship is being hosted by the Aboriginal Sports Circle of the NWT and sponsored by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs and Sport Canada.
New Aboriginal Affairs minister appointed
Bernard Valcourt was sworn into the position of minister for the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada during a ceremony in Ottawa on Feb. 22. Valcourt is from New Brunswick.
NWT Premier Bob McLeod stated in a news release he looks forward to working with the new minister on a final devolution agreement and on advancing the government's shared priorities, including the Mackenzie Valley fibre link project and the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway.
Inuvik basketball teams fall in finals
The East Three Grade 8 boys and Grade 6 girls basketball teams placed second in their respective divisions at the Junior Cager tournament in Yellowknife earlier this month.
"We lost 35 to 34 against Range Lake North," said boys' coach Lorne Guy. "We were down by 10 with six minutes left and made a ferocious comeback. We lost to them in round robin play the day before by five. Then we played three games in four hours on Sunday to meet them again. Both teams were tired at the end."
Northwind gets road work contract
Inuvik's Northwind Industries Ltd. has been awarded a contract for $400,000 to begin some engineering studies of the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk highway.
The contract is in partnership with E. Gruben's Transport Ltd. of Tuktoyaktuk.
"The company has hired engineers to do the design build of the highway," said Northwind president Kurt Wainman.
"No work has been done by the joint venture, it's all to do with the engineers – although when we got this contract we hired the engineers to do the design of the Inuvik-Tuk highway. It's a start process to the actual construction.
"Inuvik/Tuk needs this road for work in the very quiet region."
Taxi fares could rise
Inuvik town council is taking a look at increasing taxi fares.
The last time the rates changed was in 2000.
Council was to vote Feb. 27 on a first reading to proceed with a review of the bylaw.
There are a variety of new rates being proposed, notably increasing fares for around the main town area to $8 from the current $5, and airport runs increasing to $35 from the current $25.
Any changes would still require feedback from the public.
Curfew set to be repealed
On Feb. 27, Inuvik council was set for its final vote on whether to repeal its longstanding curfew bylaw.
The town, like other municipalities and regions across the NWT with the outdated bylaws still on the books, is moving to eliminate the regulation.
"It's unenforceable on our part," said Mayor Floyd Roland on Feb. 25.
As it stands, the bylaw states that anyone 16 years of age and under isn't permitted to be out-of-doors after 10 p.m. on weekdays or after 11 p.m. on weekends. The fine is $100.
| 
News desk 
