The City of Yellowknife and the Yellowknives Dene First Nation have announced an economic strategy plan, through a set of workshops, to get citizens and businesses involved in an open and public conversation.
When asked about the on-going relationship between the city and YKDFN, “We seem to be working better together, it’s a good start. I hope both groups can work together to survive the effects of COVID-19 and come out stronger economically. What’s good for the city is good for us and vice versa,” says Ernest Betsina, Chief of Ndilo.
The strategy workshops will highlight the short-term economic challenges of COVID-19, as well as discuss future planning.
“We must diversify our resources and think outside the box,” Chief Betsina says.
YKDFN and the city have organized four workshops to explore all economic and business opportunities. Three out of the four workshops will target members of business and business stakeholders, and the other workshop will be open to the public.
Chief Betsina adds that his greatest economic opportunity is in amending the boundaries in Yellowknife and seeking a negotiation for land rights with an apology for this history of Giant Mine.
“I don’t want to pass this on to the next generation, but deal with this now”, says Chief Betsina.
The workshops will take place virtually on Zoom and will be streamed on Facebook Live.
The public can join in on the conversation, July 8th from 1-3 p.m., here.
More information on the workshops can be found on the city website.
