Articles by James O'Connor

Featured, News, Profile April 30, 2025

Cheko hopes to check off essential employability skills for Indigenous youth

CKLB profiles Arctic Inspiration Prize NWT finalists, leading up to the May 13 awards ceremony in Ottawa


The Arctic Inspiration Prize (AIP) has announced the 2025 finalists, which include 18 Northern teams whose ideas and community-driven solutions span food sovereignty, cultural revitalization, language preservation, youth empowerment, and climate leadership. Together, they are eligible for approximately $3.7 million in prize funding — an investment that is designed to…

Featured, News, Politics April 29, 2025

Liberal Rebecca Alty trades Yellowknife Council Chamber for House of Commons seat

City mayor and former two-term councillor promises to 'work hard to represent you and to be your strong voice in Ottawa'


Liberal Rebecca Alty’s political career keeps soaring, as the current Yellowknife mayor scored a convincing win on Monday over three candidates to be the NWT’s sole MP in the House of Commons. As she celebrated with jubilant supporters in a warehouse full of campaign signage and large posters of Liberal…

Featured, Law courts, News April 27, 2025

Woman wildly wheeling pickup through Bison Estates guilty of dangerous driving causing death

Hannah Lafferty, 24, was trying to shake lover's ex-girlfriend from the truck before it slammed into innocent pedestrian in April 2022


A woman who used her father’s pickup truck “as a weapon” in a lover’s dispute has been found guilty of dangerous driving causing the death of an innocent passerby. On the night of April 21, 2022, 24-year-old Hannah Lafferty was seen speeding and fishtailing in a gravel-and-ice covered roadway and…

Featured, News, Politics April 24, 2025

Mackenzie Delta MLA enters treatment program after impaired driving charge: reports

George Nerysoo’s leave of absence will last for several months; he will miss some committee work and the next house sitting


The MLA for Mackenzie Delta has taken a leave of absence and entered a treatment program after being charged with impaired driving in Fort McPherson, state media reports. George Nerysoo’s leave of absence was first reported this week by the CBC, which stated the first-term MLA had posted about his situation…

Featured, News, Wildfires April 24, 2025

Wildfire Preparedness Workshop kindles plans for better mutual aid in disasters

'We want to be able to help each other through these events if someone gets into trouble,' says Hay River’s Travis Wright


The lessons learned from the historically devastating 2023 wildfire season are many, but questions remain as to how many will be put into action before the next natural disaster. Representatives from all 29 forested communities in the NWT were invited to the first NWT Wildfire Preparedness Workshop this week in…

Featured, News, Reconciliation April 22, 2025

Pope Francis remembered for his landmark residential school apology to Indigenous peoples

'He felt, really deeply, full of shame — not only that, he really also felt our pain,' recalls former Dene National Chief Gerald Antoine


“We want to talk together, to pray together and to work together, so that the sufferings of the past can lead to a future of justice, healing and reconciliation.” – Pope Francis, on the Catholic church and Indigenous peoples of Canada Nine days of mourning will commence Saturday, April 26,…

Featured, Law courts, News, Police April 17, 2025

‘People who come from the south to traffic in cocaine … should be condemned,’ says NWT judge

Young Edmonton man in Yellowknife drug house unknowingly texted RCMP officer offering drugs for sale in May 2023, NWT Supreme Court heard on Thursday


“Good luck to you, Mr. Gova. I hope to never see you in the Northwest Territories again.” – Justice Shannon Smallwood, after sentencing an Edmonton drug dealer Those who come to the Northwest Territories to make some quick cash selling hard drugs “should be condemned,” as they profit off our…

Featured, News April 8, 2025

Respected Tłįchǫ Elder Ted Blondin leaves an enduring legacy

Blondin's 'care and consideration were matched only by his compassion and sense of humour,' says niece Cassandra Blondin Burt


Tributes are plenty for Ted Blondin, a respected Elder from the Tłįchǫ Region, who has recently passed away. Blondin had an extensive background in politics and business across the Northwest Territories, and a  life-long dedication to his people. He worked on the negotiation team as a Tłįcho˛ Land Claim Manager,…

Featured, News, Transportation, Wildfires April 7, 2025

Abandoned CN Rail line to Hay River a ‘failure of corporate responsibility’

Inaction having 'profound and detrimental effect' on remote and vulnerable Indigenous communities who rely on steady shipments of fuel, says NWT Infrastructure Minister Vince McKay


The GNWT’s application for adjudication with CN Rail has been accepted by the Canadian Transportation Agency, says Infrastructure Minister Vince McKay. The GNWT claims the railway is shirking its responsibility by not repairing the section of damaged rail line between Enterprise and Hay River. It was badly damaged during the…