Frame Lake MLA Kevin O’Reilly introduced a private member’s bill which passed second reading in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday. But it did so without the support of cabinet. The bill would amend legislation to allow for the disclosure of information on resource royalties to an MLA or Indigenous government…
Many MLAs, ministers and Premier Caroline Cochrane expressed their disappointment and sadness in the recent discovery of Indigenous children’s remains at a former residential school site in Kamloops, B.C. Monday. Lisa Semmler, MLA for Inuvik Twin Lakes, said it was insulting that using the term genocide was ever debated. “Genocide…
Few answers came from May’s first sitting of the Legislative Assembly on Thursday as to when assessments of damaged homes in flood-affected communities will be complete. Paulie Chinna, minister of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA), said her department is doing an internal assessment of damages in Fort Simpson and Jean…
It is election season for Tłı̨chǫ governments in the NWT. On June 14 residents of Behchokǫ̀, Whatì, Gamètì and Wekweètì will head to the polls to elect their chiefs and community council members. This Saturday, May 29, there will be an all-candidates public forum in Behchokǫ̀ at 1 p.m. at…
The Hamlet of Tulita is receiving $4.9 million from the federal government to build eight new modular homes in the community. The funding comes from a $60 million “carve-out” that was granted to the Northwest Territories from the National Housing Co-Investment Fund from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)….
Wildfire season in the NWT has had a slow start and will likely stay the same into June. So far in May, there has only been one fire in the NWT and it was a result of an abandoned campfire. No hectares were burned as a result. Richard Olsen, the…
K’alemi Dene School students pitched in to help clean up their community last week. Students from seven classrooms from all grades participated in a friendly competition to pick up as much garbage as possible over the course of three days. “On Tuesday morning each class was assigned an area of…
While the Chief of Whatì, Alfonz Nitsiza, reported a sure sense of excitement over the opening of the Tłı̨chǫ Highway this fall, he also spoke of concerns in the community. “They also are concerned about the impact and the influx of people that might be coming out,” he said. Chief…
The federal and territorial governments signed a self-government agreement framework with the NWT Métis Nation (NWTMN) on Wednesday. The framework will further advance reconciliation, the right to self-determination, and work toward building strong Indigenous nations, according to a federal government press release. It will also advance the Métis Nation’s land…
Residents in the Hamlet of Tulita are being cautious given the up-river flooding in Dehcho communities. Interim senior administrative officer Don Smetlzer said that the hamlet’s Elders meeting has been postponed until May 20th. Tulita’s 24-hour flood watch began on May 7 and, in addition to water levels in Tulita,…