June 2024

Featured, News, Weather, Wildfires June 30, 2024

Hwy 7 fire was out, but hot winds blew it back to life

In Fort Good Hope, emotions raw after helicopter crash and relentless wildfire entering third week


A wildfire along Highway 7 (Liard Trail), which was previously brought under control, flared up under dry conditions and heavy winds, jumped containment, and grew to 49 hectares overnight. Fire FS008 has reached Highway 7 at Kilometre 236 on the west side, but did not impact access as air support…

Featured, Industry, News, Politics, Transportation, Weather June 28, 2024

Fix for low-water shipping woes could be ‘lighter than air,’ committee hears

But until Ottawa approves airships for arctic use, the push to finish Mackenzie Valley highway shifts gears


With barges stranded and deliveries disrupted up and down the Mackenzie River, alternatives to shipping are lacking at present, says Minister of Finance and Infrastructure Caroline Wawzonek. The senior minister told a committee hearing on Wednesday how she has been pitched alternative cargo transportation concepts, everything from finally securing funding…

Featured, News, Wildfires June 28, 2024

Warm, dry weather expected to fuel Fort Good Hope blaze this weekend

A test wildfire at the Fort Providence Experimental Site last night is now 1.5 hectares in size and classified as human caused and, for now, out of control


The Fort Good Hope wildfire has now consumed over 6,285 hectares, with more hot and dry weather on the way. Shannon Graf is the NWT Fire information officer assigned to the Fort Good Hope fire, known as VQ001. “Dry weather is expected to continue with the evenings offering little relief…

Business Venture, Community, Featured, News June 28, 2024

‘Not just cultural products’: Fort Smith entrepreneur carries on family’s trapping legacy

Brenda Dragon named the Entrepreneur of the Month by the Native Women’s Association of Canada


Brenda Dragon can still remember those peaceful evenings when her father returned home from the bush and worked on furs under dim yellow lights. “When my father passed away in 2012, I was thinking a lot about his life,” says Dragon of Dënesųłiné and French-Canadian heritage. “He was a trapper,…

Featured, Housing, News, Reconciliation June 27, 2024

City open to ‘homeless encampments’ on public land, says Mayor Rebecca Alty

Social advocate Georgina Franki says new tent platform on Commissioner’s land at Niven Lake a good place to start


More homeless encampments could be popping up in Yellowknife, as city officials are in discussions with their GNWT counterparts over how to handle the increased number of street-involved people here this summer. There are already tents in clusters on the west loop of the Frame Lake Trail and a large…

Featured, Housing, News, Police June 27, 2024

Woman kidnapped and sexually assaulted for one week in a tent, say Yellowknife RCMP

The ordeal took place on public land, but little is known about the 47-year-old suspect who is now in custody


A woman was held against her will by a man brandishing a weapon for one week in a tent, Yellowknife RCMP reported today. The exact location of the tent wasn’t released, but RCMP stated it was on public land. The suspect was also out on bail for unknown other charges….

Featured, News, Wildfires June 27, 2024

Fort Good Hope wildfire beat back behind its firebreak

Some confusion exists over Chief Collin Pierrot’s decision Wednesday evening to issue second evacuation order


The Fort Good Hope wildfire is back behind its bulldozed firebreak blackline after it jumped containment this week, but there are still no reports of structure loss. Shannon Graf is NWT Fire’s information officer for the massive blaze, known as VQ001. “The bulldozed clearing was put in place in the…

Environment, Featured, Industry, News, Politics, Weather June 26, 2024

Anti-Indigenous racism is ‘blatantly obvious’ in Health and Social Services, says Minister Lesa Semmler

Commitment statements on cultural safety will be added into job descriptions, will be part of performance appraisals


The GNWT is producing anti-Indigenous racism commitment statements, to be included in job descriptions, to combat “blatantly obvious,” racism faced by First Nations, Metis and Inuit patients and clients when dealing with Health and Social Services staff. Lesa Semmler is a former nurse in the Beaufort Delta and now is…

Featured, News, Police June 26, 2024

Two men arrested for violent robbery that seriously injured an Elder

The police says the two parties are known to each other, and it's not a random attack


Two men violently robbed an elderly person in Fort Providence on the morning of June 22. Fort Providence RCMP says the Elder was seriously injured and was transported to Yellowknife for treatment, in a Wednesday news release. Police arrested the two suspects with the assistance of Forensic Identification Services, the…