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Friday, August 7, 2015
Boater accused of impaired driving
A jet boat driver on the Yellowknife River was arrested Tuesday night for allegedly operating the boat while impaired. RCMP stated in a news release that officers were called to the river around 10:30 p.m. after the craft nearly collided with another boat. When a police truck arrived, the boat headed to Back Bay where it was intercepted by a police boat. Charges are pending against the person, whose identity has not been released by police.
- Shane Magee
Liberals to pick candidate
The Liberal candidate for the federal election in the territory is expected to be selected Saturday. Gail Cyr and Michael McLeod are the two remaining candidates after Kieron Testart dropped out to support McLeod. The nomination meeting will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Days Inn.
- Shane Magee
Libertarian throws hat into ring
The NWT now has a third confirmed candidate for the Oct. 19 federal election.
Former territorial government analyst Bob Stewart will run under the Libertarian party banner. Stewart, who recently opened the Kilt and Castle pub in downtown Yellowknife, said he is running on a platform of lower taxes and less government. He said he wants to give voters a choice other than the three main political parties. The other two declared candidates are incumbent NDP Dennis Bevington and Floyd Roland, who is running for the Conservatives.
- John McFadden
Council nixes Dog Trotter lease
After procedural wrangling and debate last week at city council, only part of administration's proposal to relocate a dog kennel from Kam Lake is moving forward. Councillors voted to end the Yellowknife Dog Trotters Association lease by November 2017 and to begin planning a new dog kennel zone as part of the Engle Business District. A series of proposed incentives to help get the Dog Trotters to move to the new district once the lease expires was sent back to staff because councillors want more information.
- Shane Magee
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Federal government sets election date
In the early hours of Aug. 2, Gov. Gen. David Johnston announced the dissolution of Parliament leading up to the Oct. 19 federal election.
The announcement came a full 11 weeks in advance of the election date, sparking one of the longest federal campaigns in Canadian history at more than twice the minimum 36-day campaign length mandated by Elections Canada.
Usually, candidates have up until 21 days before the election to submit their nomination papers, with an official list of candidates being released two days later.
Advance polls are expected to open 10 days before election day and voter registration closes four days later.
Parties are now beginning to roll out their election promises and define the biggest election issues.
Stephen Harper kicked off the Conservative campaign in Montreal in the Mount Royal riding, where he was met by a group of protestors. He has so far focused his attention on the economy.
Justin Trudeau launched the Liberal campaign in Vancouver before heading to Calgary and focused on appealing to the middle class.
Thomas Mulcair began the NDP campaign in Gatineau, Que., where he questioned Harper's economic record.
Housing corp. exempts benefit
On the heels of the territorial government announcing it would exempt the federal government's retroactive Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) payment from being considered as income, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation has followed suit.
Minister Robert McLeod, who is responsible for the housing corp., announced on July 31 public housing tenants receiving the UCCB would get a similar exemption.
McLeod said in a news release that the exemption responds to "the needs of our residents."
The federal government recently announced an expansion to the UCCB to include a new benefit for children between the ages of six and 17 and increased payments for parents with children under the age of six, retroactive to the beginning of the year.
While retroactive payments will be exempt, ongoing monthly UCCB payments will not.
ATV accident claims life
A man has died after falling from an all-terrain vehicle in Fort Providence, Aug. 1.
According to a news release from RCMP Const. Elenore Sturko, the man was riding with three friends — two other passengers and a driver — when he fell.
The man died in hospital on Aug. 4 after being medevaced to Edmonton, according to police.
The investigation is ongoing and no charges have been laid, but RCMP say they believe alcohol to have been a factor.
The Northern store in Fort Providence has taken up a collection to help the man's family with costs related to the accident. Police had not named the man at press time.
Fire danger drops off
During its latest briefing on the fire situation in the NWT, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said cool temperatures have prevailed in the western part of the territory, bringing down the fire danger.
No new fires have been reported in the Deh Cho region.
In the South Slave, an incident led to a fire being reported 17 kilometres out of Kakisa. Mike Gravel, territorial duty officer, said that incident was a single-vehicle accident on the highway, after the vehicle caught on fire.
"We were called in to support the operations because the Hay River Fire Department wasn't able to get there due to the time and distance involved," Gravel said.
Drug-related deaths on the rise
More than twice as many people died from drug-related causes in 2014 than 2011, police and the chief coroner are warning, but they won't say which specific drugs are to blame.
There were 11 deaths in 2014 compared to five in 2011. No data is available for 2015. RCMP highlighted the figures provided to the force by NWT chief coroner Cathy Menard.
The news release issued July 28 states "a number" of deaths between 2011 and 2014 were caused by ingesting combinations of drugs and alcohol.
Ranger trains up
Junior Canadian Ranger (JCR) Derrick Vandell is representing Fort Providence at the National Leader Enhanced Training Session at Camp Portneuf in Quebec from Aug. 2 to 8.
Vandell joins 41 other JCRs to train in lessons and tasks, canoeing and hiking under the supervision of instructors and Canadian Rangers.
The course is conducted by 2nd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group and gives older JCRs an opportunity to increase their leadership and developmental skills.
Roland prepping for campaign
Despite being hit with a cold, Floyd Roland, the Conservative Party's nominee for the NWT is gearing up for a long campaign.
With 11 weeks until the election, Roland said he will be playing form the Harper government's playbook when it comes to election strategy.
In a brief interview with the Drum on Aug. 4, Roland said employment is in the forefront of his campaign platform.
Incumbent Dennis Bevington is seeking re-election for MP with the NDP and, as of press time, no candidate has been announced for the Liberal Party.
Lights out twice
With two short power outages in Inuvik on Aug. 3, employees at the Northwest Territories Power Corporation are still scratching their heads over how it happened twice.
A spokesperson for the company said the first outage that lasted for 19 minutes, starting at 5:56 p.m., was caused by a communication failure between computers at their main facility in Yellowknife and computers operating the diesel-powered generators in Inuvik.
The second outage, which lasted five minutes starting from 6:28 p.m., was caused by an electrical fault. As of press time, the company was still investigating the cause.
Teeing off
The annual Inuvik Mayor's Classic Golf Tournament is slated for Aug. 7 to 9.
With Environment Canada calling for partly cloudy skies and temperatures between 16 and 19 C, participants may experience better weather than last year's event that saw temperatures drop as low as 5 C.
Tee off is at 7 p.m. on Aug. 7, and 9 a.m. on Aug. 8 and 9.
Many upcoming events
Western Arctic Tourism and Parks has a number of events planned over the next few days as part of their summer programming schedule.
On Aug. 7, in celebration of Gwich'in Territorial Park Day, storytelling and food will be offered between 2 and 3:30 p.m. at Gwich'in Territorial Park.
A moosehide tanning demonstration will be held at Western Arctic Visitor Centre on Aug. 9 between 2 and 3:30 p.m. Participants will be able to get lessons and hands-on experience in the craft.
Cake and drum dancing will be offered at Happy Valley Park on Aug. 11. Festivities start at 6 p.m.
A traditional remedy demonstration will take place at the Western Arctic Visitor Centre on Aug. 12 from 2 to 3 p.m. Participants will learn about local plants and their uses, and try their hands at making some traditional medicines.
On Aug. 13, a jigging contest will be held at the visitor centre from 6 to 7 p.m.
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