SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Former city councillor and lifelong women and children's rights activist Ruth Spence said she was flattered to be among the first people named to the Order of the Northwest Territories.

Ruth Spence (above) and Gino Pin (below) were the Yellowknifers named among the first inductees to the Order of the Northwest Territories during a ceremony held at the legislative assembly on Wednesday. Evan Kiyoshi French/NNSL photos

The 88-year-old and Northern architect Gino Pin were among six people to receive the highest honour a territorial resident can receive from the GNWT during a ceremony held at the legislative assembly on Wednesday.

Spence's son, Kit Spence, said it was "a great honour" to see his mother receiving recognition for her life's work.

"It's nice to see she's getting this kind of recognition for her work, particularly at her age," he said, after the ceremony on Wednesday. "All these guys (MLAs) still live in terror of getting a phone call from her. She is never afraid to make sure her opinion is heard."

Spence said his parents moved the family to the city in 1964, after his father landed a job working as the explorations superintendent at Giant Mine.

"So we grew up at Giant," he said, speaking about his four siblings. "Just a couple of years after we got here the Y started. That's when she really started to develop the stuff that she did. Up until then she'd been a registered nurse and raising kids."

He said his mother began working for the YWCA.

"It started on Matonabee Street and then it moved into the old RCMP and then finally they built the Northern United Place and they established all kinds of programs around town. She was a real mover and shaker and she was relentless in terms of getting these things funded and recognized. Lots of young girls came here from the communities. It was a safe place for them. There are lots of people who can tell stories about the wild times at the Y."

Legislative assembly clerk Tim Mercer said Spence did important work developing summer day camps, daycare centres and after-school programs for children.

"She was a tireless champion for the rights of women and children and pioneered a number of institutions and programs that continue to be used by Northerners," said Mercer.

She served as executive director for the YWCA, a Yellowknife city councillor for many years, was a member and chair of the hospital board, president of the consumer association of Canada's NWT branch and president of the NWT Western Arctic Liberal Association. She also volunteered with the Girl Guides, the Yellowknife Figure Skating Club and was a founding member of the Yellowknife Ski Club, said Mercer.

Asked how she felt about the award before the ceremony began, Spence said she felt "very flattered."

Pin - who said he moved to the territory in the 1970s from Montreal - was recognized for his contributions as an architect "building Canada's North for 35 years," said Mercer. He said Pin founded his firm, Pin/Taylor Architects, in 1983 and his unique designs - which include the legislative assembly building - are easily recognizable.

"He's received many awards, including the (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation) 1994 Concept and Design Award and was Up Here Magazine's Northerner of the Year in 2002," said Mercer. "He was the recipient of a research grant in 1997 for a study of native Northern communities. Mr. Pin continues to contribute as a founding member of the Concerned Citizens of Yellowknife."

Pin said it was "humbling" to receive the territory's highest honour.

"I've been involved in architecture all my life, it's a lifestyle," he said. "It's really great to have recognition of what you do."

The remaining four people to receive pins, medals and certificates of the Order of the Northerwest Territories were Bruce Green, a Hay River resident inducted for his work in Arts and Culture; Lucy Jackson of Fort Good Hope, for her work in arts and culture, communications and community leadership; Sonny MacDonald, of Fort Smith, a self-taught wood carver; and John B. Zoe, of Behchoko, who was recognized for his work in self-governance and Northern development.

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