LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
CKLB broadcaster and former CBC TV host Dëneze Nakehk'o will be running in the Nahendeh riding against current MLA Kevin Menicoche in the upcoming territorial election.

Prospective Nahendeh candidate Dëneze Nakehk'o joins in a drum dance during the Dehcho Annual Assembly in June 2015. Nakehk'o plans to run against current MLA Kevin Menicoche in the upcoming territorial election. - April Hudson/NNSL photo

Nakehk'o announced on Aug. 25 he will be putting his name in for the position.

Born and raised in Fort Simpson, Nakehk'o is the son of former Nahendeh MLA Jim Antoine, who served as NWT premier from December 1998 to January 2000.

Nakehk'o left the Deh Cho more than 15 years ago to pursue an education and later a career in radio broadcasting and TV journalism. He currently lives in Yellowknife and has been reporting on the North for more than a decade.

"I've had my boots on the ground all over. There are only two or three places I haven't been in the entire North, so I'm very familiar with the different regions, people and issues," Nakehk'o said. "All the work I've done, I've had my own community and the people there in mind."

As a Dene from the Deh Cho, Nakehk'o said he has a unique perspective on resource development and politics in the North.

In particular, he said voters in the area have not gotten what they voted for in the last territorial election.

"We voted for an NDP MP but it seems our territorial government is really pushing a strong conservative agenda when it comes to resource development and regulatory regimes, and especially when it comes to land claims," he said. "For the North, resources have been the proverbial carrot on a stick ever since the treaties were signed in 1899. Political development in the North has taken a back seat to resource development and I think we need to switch that equation around."

If elected, he plans to push for more monetary benefits to communities where resource development is happening.

"The people in the North don't really benefit that much. There's a whole oil pipeline going through the Nahendeh and Deh Cho and millions of dollars are pumping through there but nothing is going to the communities," he said. With the Dehcho Process inching closer to resolution, Nakehk'o added he wants to see negotiations succeed within a couple of years.

"We're kind of in limbo until we can have some sort of certainty of what (our) treaty means in these modern times," he said. "Everything is tied to outstanding treaty rights and obligations, whether you're talking about housing, education, health or resource development. All those issues are tied to that one agreement."

Nakehk'o is currently the only person to have announced his intention to run against Menicoche.

Menicoche is coming to the end of his third term as MLA and has already confirmed he will seek a fourth term.

The incumbent MLA said it is important for him to seek a fourth mandate based on the priorities of the region, which have changed since he was first elected.

"In the past, in my last term I focused a lot on highway infrastructure," Menicoche said. "Once the campaign begins, I will be speaking to the constituents about the new priorities they would like an MLA to (address)."

Menicoche said he anticipates a shortage of public and private housing to be one such issue.

"That's already impacting people who want to live and work in Fort Simpson and surrounding communities," he said. "My whole riding is lacking."

Writs will be issued for the territorial election on Oct. 26, at which point nominations will open. The deadline for nominations is Oct. 30.

Election day is Nov. 23.

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