SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The vice consul for the United States Consulate General's office in Calgary says he would like to hear from any and all American citizens living in Yellowknife and the NWT.
Lee Wilbur said he is not sure exactly how many U.S. citizens are living here and that is part of the reason he would like them to check in. It is also part of the reason that Wilbur and an office staffer made a trip to Yellowknife this week. He said he realizes that it is an expensive, time-consuming trip to his office in Calgary to do paperwork that could take less than an hour to complete.
Wilbur said they came to Yellowknife to help U.S. citizens update their passports, deal with any citizenship questions they might have and steer them in the right direction if they are looking to vote in November's presidential election. He said he was also helping Canadians who were trying to obtain a green card so they could legally work in the U.S. and answer general questions about the services that his office offers.
Wilbur, who grew up in Montana, said his office takes care of the NWT, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. He set up shop in the Yellowknife Public Library on Aug. 9 where he basically opened up a satellite office to provide assistance. About a dozen people dropped by, some American, some Canadian and some dual citizens - all looking for help.
"We were also able to meet with some of the Canadian service providers like the RCMP, the local correctional centre officials. We were at the mayor's office and the legislative assembly," Wilbur said. "Our job is to connect with institutions and service providers that might deal with American citizens who live here, are visiting here or are incarcerated here."
Wilbur said if an American citizen in jailed in Yellowknife, his job isn't to get them out and back to the U.S. but rather to make sure they have access to all legal services they are entitled to.
"The U.S. government is not legal representation for any Americans arrested abroad. But we go and visit and make sure they are doing alright," Wilbur said. "It's quite a pleasure to work here in Canada because we have full confidence in the correctional officers whereas in other countries in the world - it's a very different context."
 | Consular office's first visit North | 
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Wilbur added they also step in when an American citizen is deported from Canada and make sure they have proper documents in order to legally return to the U.S.
"We give Canada and all countries the exact same consular access to their citizens who are arrested in the U.S," he said.
This is the first time his office has sent people North for consular services and Wilbur expects it will become an annual exercise in the future - in speaking with people who came to see him on Aug. 9, he realized how much easier it is for him to come to them rather than the other way around.
Indeed, one Yellowknife family with ties to the U.S. said this process is much easier than trying to get to Calgary. Wilbur wanted Yellowknife residents to understand they can contact his office in Calgary at any time by e-mailing or by visiting the consular office's website.
Said Moalin works at the Ekati diamond mine and is a Canadian citizen. He met his wife Mulki Hamed, an American citizen, in their native Somalia. He moved to Yellowknife several years ago while she moved to Nashville, Tenn., where their two children were born. Hamed eventually moved with her children to Yellowknife to rejoin her husband. She was using the consular services to get her passport updated.
"It helped us a lot to be able to do this today. We can't really afford to take time off work to go to Calgary," Hamed said.
She was also asking the consular officials how she could get registered to vote this fall.
It is actually a state responsibility, Wilbur said, adding they are more than happy to help folks connect with state officials in order to get on the voting list.
Hamed said she would like to vote for Hillary Clinton because she doesn't think much of what Donald Trump has had to say about immigrants.
