Latest Election News

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Buffalo, Wesclean, North Shore Towing among 2025 YK business winners Cabin Radio
October 25, 2025
...with their award. Sarah Pruys/Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce Breakout New Business: Aurora Veterinary Hospital YK Excerpts from industry minister Caitlin Cleveland’s presentation: “[Businesses] are the backbone of the North. You are the heartbeat of Yellowknife, and you are the reason why so many of our...
MLAs pass motion calling on GNWT to create emergencies agency Cabin Radio
October 24, 2025
...aren’t binding so, while the territory has 120 days to respond, it does not have to create an agency despite the motion passing. Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart, who brought forward the motion, said the territorial government’s refusal to act on the recommendation undermines public confidence in how...
Fire at Yellowknife encampment ‘preventable,’ lawyer says Cabin Radio
October 22, 2025
...of people having agency over their own housing and the need for the GNWT to work with encampment residents on solutions. Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins in the legislature this week called on the NWT government to accelerate development of a clear encampment policy. “We need to do something and...
Elders in public housing should not be charged rent, says MLA CKLB 101.9
October 22, 2025
...them to another jurisdiction for treatment to heal themselves, but bringing them back to an environment that made them sick.”” Health Minister Lesa Semmler said in order for a resident in the Northwest Territories to attend a treatment facility, they have to be referred by a caseworker. “That...
Tuktoyaktuk ‘told to find funding within’ after major flood Cabin Radio
October 22, 2025
...their own limited funds to clean up from a major storm event,” she said. Emergency declaration wouldn’t guarantee cash Communities minister Vince McKay said the GNWT is still assessing the full extent of the damage and has not offered Tuktoyaktuk any disaster assistance, as the territory’s...
Alma Beaulieu and family can now rest in peace CKLB 101.9
October 21, 2025
...such as Alma’s grave are considered ancestral remains and protected under the to-be-updated Archeological Sites Act. In July, Justice Minister Jay Macdonald — who represents Fort Smith and was its former deputy mayor — committed to getting Alma home over the summer. In 1944, no one from the...
Wait times, community nursing, systemic racism raised by NWT MLAs Cabin Radio
October 21, 2025
...He said other jurisdictions, including Alberta, British Columbia, and Yukon, now mandate early literacy screening in schools. Education minister Caitlin Cleveland said teachers have tools for early literacy assessments through the new NWT-adapted BC curriculum, but emphasized that these are not diagnostic...
Rodgers pushes for funding to send snowshoe team to 2026 AWG Cabin Radio
October 21, 2025
...consultant delivered a presentation to a committee of MLAs about the pros and cons of regulating that form of gaming in NWT. Communities minister Vince McKay said discussions about that kind of regulation are ongoing, though a legislative proposal has not yet been finalized. Asked about plans for the...
Racism, white supremacy ‘deeply rooted’ in NWT healthcare system CKLB 101.9
October 20, 2025
...imperative for the 13 actions for change in the report to be fully implemented. Advertisement Also in the Assembly on Monday, Mackenzie Delta MLA George Nerysoo cautioned about potential abuse of the Income Assistance program, with the territory’s economic picture changing. With employment rates falling,...
New Yellowknife transitional housing may not open before December Cabin Radio
October 20, 2025
...facility open by December,” housing minister Lucy Kuptana told the legislature on Friday. She was responding to questions from Great Slave MLA Kate Reid, who noted “it’s getting cold outside” and asked about the factors behind the delay. Kuptana said the GNWT is “still waiting for approvals...
NWT expects to have family violence action plan by June 2026 Cabin Radio
October 20, 2025
...existing programs and services. The GNWT promised to deliver such a plan in a 2023 document. Asked by Morgan when that action plan would emerge, Lucy Kuptana – the NWT’s minister responsible for the status of women – said the “projected completion date for the action plan is June of 2026.” An...
Would giant information billboards help make NWT highways safer? Cabin Radio
October 19, 2025
...they hit each other. Sometimes, vehicles – or parts of them – were simply abandoned. In the legislature on Thursday, Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins pitched a means of keeping people informed when conditions are changing fast in areas that have little to no cell service. (Most NWT highways are...
MLAs push ministers over NWT’s response to 2023 review Cabin Radio
October 18, 2025
...Act and we’re going to implement clear roles even in working with the City of Yellowknife, for an example,” he said. Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins inquired about how much a dedicated emergency management agency would cost the GNWT. McKay said the department had not specifically alighted on a...
GNWT’s projected surplus drops $154 million in challenging times CKLB 101.9
October 17, 2025
...to show for it.” “It’s time for a red alert for mining. It’s time for an independent review of mining decline.” Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins said we have an “economy of fear and worry.” He called former premier McLeod “Métis Churchill,” referring to Sir Winston Churchill, the...
NWT’s nominee program cap is restored to 300 spots annually Cabin Radio
October 17, 2025
...that ministers had been hoping for an increase to 500 annual spaces. In the legislature on Friday, responding to questions from Great Slave MLA Kate Reid, Cleveland said the territory had asked Ottawa for more notice in future so programs can be run without the uncertainty that affected individuals...
Estimated GNWT surplus drops by $154M, territory ‘revising approach’ Cabin Radio
October 17, 2025
...to build infrastructure, so a large surplus is seen as an important source of cash for new buildings, roads and so on. On Friday, finance minister Caroline Wawzonek said the latest estimate for that surplus is down by $154 million to just $16 million. She attributed that to extra spending on the likes of: ...
‘Being respectful isn’t an option — it is essential’ CKLB 101.9
October 17, 2025
...an option — it is essential. This doesn’t mean we all agree; it means we can disagree while being respectful to each other: Mackenzie Delta MLA George Nerysoo made a plea on behalf of the family and friends of Frank Gruben, who are experiencing “overwhelming grief” since he went missing May 6, 2023. ...
MLA at centre of Fort Res case takes ambulance issue to legislature Cabin Radio
October 17, 2025
... Asked by Edjericon if Fort Resolution and nearby Łútsël K’é can expect a plan for paramedic service to be rolled out, communities minister Vince McKay said his government would “work with the communities on what’s needed.” He said his department and the Department of Health and Social...
Premier says ‘people have to step up’ to keep NWT SPCA going Cabin Radio
October 16, 2025
...I’ll do is I will have a conversation with the minister of Maca,” he said, referring to Department of Municipal and Community Affairs minister Vince McKay. “I will have a conversation with the department and see what type of work is happening in this area and what types of supports are possible, if...
What should change after the Jennifer Patterson case? Cabin Radio
October 16, 2025
...how those tensions made news headlines. Part three explored an investigation into Patterson’s conduct that the health authority launched after MLA Richard Edjericon called for her to be fired. Part four set out a labour arbitrator’s indictment of that investigation, which cleared Patterson on all counts. ...
ANALYIS: The unprincipled state of Jordan’s Priniciple CKLB 101.9
October 13, 2025
...administrative delays, and program gaps, which mirror the problems faced by First Nations children.) Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Caitlin Cleveland and Minister of Health and Social Services Lesa Semmler issued a joint statement on recent changes to Jordan’s Principle: “Across the Northwest...
NWT Council call on Ottawa for change in federal and industry ways : My True North Now My Yellow Knife Now
October 7, 2025
...for the Tłı̨chǫ Government, Chairperson Charles McNeely for the Sahtu Secretariat Inc., Premier R.J. Simpson for the GNWT, and Deputy Premier Caroline Wawzonek, for the GNWT. They called on Ottawa to begin investing and building in the North, advocating for defending Arctic sovereignty, creating and...
In financial peril, Burgundy reduces Ekati severance payments Cabin Radio
October 3, 2025
...one person wrote to Cabin Radio in an email after receiving Burgundy’s message. Burgundy executives were scheduled to meet with industry minister Caitlin Cleveland and cabinet colleague Jay Macdonald on Thursday, as were representatives from the Diavik mine. While the NWT government stepped in with a bailout...
Some regular MLAs disappointed in GNWT’s 2023 response Cabin Radio
October 3, 2025
...had broken down at the height of the crisis, ministers insist it is the right system to build on – and more appropriate than a year-round agency. Vince McKay, the NWT’s communities minister and a longtime Hay River-based firefighter, said that recommendation had immediately struck him as unworkable. ...
Yellowknife soprano returns with Kings, Queens & Pheasants Cabin Radio
October 1, 2025
...to reserve a place. Rockwell said this week’s events are funded by the NWT Arts Council, Music Teachers’ Association of the NWT and the MLAs Caitlin Cleveland, Caroline Wawzonek and Shauna...
Court order halts bids to build Inuvik’s new airport terminal Cabin Radio
September 19, 2025
... GNWT ‘unlawful, unreasonable’ In its application for judicial review, the GTC says the territorial government’s infrastructure minister, Vince McKay, sent a letter to the tribal council dated July 17, 2025. The tribal council said McKay expressed an intent in that letter “to bypass negotiation...
Dehcho education review to be complete by early October Cabin Radio
September 17, 2025
...for the divisional education council and its district authorities. The review was launched in June after the NWT’s education minister, Caitlin Cleveland, heard “serious concerns from parents, educators, community members and education partners in the Dehcho.” Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart,...
Sam Gargan was a lifelong advocate for Indigenous rights, governance, culture CKLB 101.9
September 14, 2025
...hamlet and band councils and represented the Northwest Territories on the National Aboriginal Health Board with the Assembly of First Nations. Sheryl Yakeleya, MLA for Dehcho, recalled Gargan carried himself with humility and respect, always mindful of the traditions and responsibilities of the role. ...
ANALYSIS: Violent crime up 75% in 10 years, despite studies, strong words CKLB 101.9
September 11, 2025
...bruising crime spike over the past decade was overseen by three different premiers and a carousel of justice ministers: David Ramsay; Louis Sebert; Caroline Wawzonek; R.J. Simpson; and currently, Jay Macdonald. There is only one MLA currently in the 20th NWT Assembly from ten years ago, but Yellowknife Centre...
Fort Providence reopens to evacuees heading home Cabin Radio
September 11, 2025
...arranged evacuation centre in the local recreation centre – there has been criticism of the territorial response. On Wednesday, Dehcho MLA Sheryl Yakeleya said the GNWT’s actions had been “inadequate.” Yakeleya criticized firefighting efforts and the support provided to evacuees. She called on...
Dehcho MLA ‘frustrated’ with response to Fort Providence fire Cabin Radio
September 10, 2025
Dehcho MLA Sheryl Yakeleya says the NWT government’s response to the wildfire displacing residents of Fort Providence has been “inadequate.” In a news release published on Wednesday afternoon, Yakeleya criticized firefighting efforts against fire SS014 and the support provided to evacuees. She called on...
Premier, environment minister reply to Michael McLeod over wildfires Cabin Radio
September 4, 2025
...Michael McLeod, standing on the left, is seen addressing a room that includes Premier RJ Simpson, communities minister Vince McKay and Dehcho MLA Sheryl Yakeleya. “You guys are providing us nothing to prevent fires, Nothing,” McLeod said. He told Simpson the territory should hand control over...
Ex-MP tells ministers NWT wildfire approach is ’embarrassment’ Cabin Radio
September 3, 2025
...minister Vince McKay, an experienced firefighter, are seen standing opposite McLeod across the room and listening as he speaks. Dehcho MLA Sheryl Yakeleya was also present. McLeod was in territorial politics before his election to Parliament in 2015. He too represented the Dehcho district, which...
Lawyers take issue with proposed family violence law changes Cabin Radio
September 2, 2025
A group of family lawyers in the NWT says potential changes to territorial family violence legislation won’t address issues and could cause fresh problems. The NWT government is planning to amend the Protection Against Family Violence Act, which offers protections to victims of family violence beyond those in criminal law. The NWT’s Protection Against Family Violence Act, or PAFVA, came into force in 2005. A justice of the peace may issue an emergency protection order in urgent cases for up to 90 days. PAFVA focuses on family violence – physical, sexual, psychological, emotional or financial abuse from a family member or intimate partner.
Residents want ‘more decisive’ climate action, GNWT says Cabin Radio
August 28, 2025
...cost of living and other priorities. “Strong, climate-resilient infrastructure is essential for the well-being of the communities,” stated Caroline Wawzonek, minister responsible for strategic infrastructure, energy and supply chains. “By integrating our climate change and energy strategies, we are...
GNWT sets out ‘interim solution’ after Aurora College CLC closures Cabin Radio
August 22, 2025
...used its community learning centres and it could save money by delivering programming online or at its three main campuses, education minister Caitlin Cleveland said she “heard loud and clear from Indigenous governments, communities, non-profit organizations and my colleagues [that] hands-on...
Home heating subsidy rates increased by up to $1400 per year for older adults My Yellow Knife Now
August 20, 2025
...heating year, the Senior Home Heating Subsidy will also be available to more seniors by expanding the income threshold in all three zones. Minister Caitlin Cleveland, who is the minister of Education, Culture and Employment, acknowledged that older adults have been made vulnerable by the strain of inflation. ...
PM Mark Carney visits hometown of Fort Smith and town of Inuvik today My Yellow Knife Now
July 23, 2025
...decision we’re going to make is ensuring that we’re also focused on meeting our climate goals,” assured Minister Valdez. Last month, Minister Caroline Wawzonek told True North FM that, the GNWT continues to work with Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations both as the project Developer, and also...
After nearly 30 years of reporting on the N.W.T., CBC’s Richard Gleeson retires CBC North
July 18, 2025
...How he got his start in the N.W.T. Gleeson moved to Yellowknife for a job at NNSL in 1996. "He was kind of exactly what we were looking for," said Bruce Valpy, the former publisher of NNSL and one of Gleeson's friends. Valpy said he thinks Gleeson was working for a community newspaper in southern Ontario...
Was giving diamond mines financial help the right approach? Cabin Radio
July 17, 2025
...of jobs in a day – according to a Burgundy spokesperson’s estimate – amounted to a crisis for the territory’s economy, industry minister Caitlin Cleveland said she didn’t know the full extent of the cuts and couldn’t answer that. “I definitely feel for all of the employees and the contractors...
NWT using AI to analyze historical core samples Cabin Radio
July 14, 2025
...Geological Province, an area rich in mineral deposits covering approximately 190,000 square kilometres in the eastern NWT and northwestern Nunavut. Caroline Wawzonek, NWT’s minister of strategic infrastructure energy and supply chains, said digitizing existing core samples will help to reduce exploration risk. ...
NWT and Alberta say they’ve worked out their water differences Cabin Radio
July 7, 2025
...under no obligation to inform the territory about the incidents under their transboundary water agreement. The NWT’s then-environment minister, Shane Thompson, said the province had made a significant error in not informing the territorial government of the issue far sooner. “Because of the severity of...
Information sharing with Alberta has improved since Kearl tailings spills, says N.W.T. minister CBC North
July 4, 2025
...Alberta in 2022. It took nine months for Imperial Oil and the Alberta Energy Regulator to tell First Nations and other governments about it. Shane Thompson, the N.W.T.'s environment minister at the time, had been shocked to learn about the spills from news reports and said it was unacceptable and a...
Dehcho region education system faces ‘formal review’ by independent investigator CKLB 101.9
June 20, 2025
...work must be carried out with care, fairness, and respect.” Shortly before the NWT Assembly rose for its summer break last month, Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart raised many of the issues he had found while in Fort Simpson at the invitation of concerned parties. “It is heartbreaking to see duly elected...
Assembly hears financial costs of First Responder Bill My Yellow Knife Now
June 20, 2025
...in the city of Yellowknife and was also livestreamed on the assembly’s website, on YouTube and social media. First responders, the Honourable Vince McKay, Minister Responsible for the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission, Rick Hunt, President and CEO of the worker safety and compensation...
Minister launching investigation into Dehcho ‘education concerns’ Cabin Radio
June 20, 2025
...in the Dehcho.” Cabin Radio reported concerns related to some aspects of administration at Dehcho schools earlier this year. Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart, following a visit to Fort Simpson, subsequently told the NWT legislature parents had complained of “mishandling of a critical incident,...
Did Indigenous Services Canada know the NWT has almost no reserves? Cabin Radio
June 20, 2025
... Caroline Wawzonek speaks in Inuvik in June 2025. Tony Devlin/Arctic Development Expo Premier RJ Simpson, Wawzonek, education minister Caitlin Cleveland and health minister Lesa Semmler all say they have met with federal counterparts about this issue – and others – in recent weeks. “I’m not...
Indigenous leaders and GNWT reps gather in times marked by “uncertainty” My Yellow Knife Now
June 19, 2025
...of the Tłı chǫ Government, Premier R.J. Simpson, Deputy Premier Caroline Wawzonek, Minister Lesa Semmler, Minister Caitlin Cleveland, Minister Vince McKay and Minister Lucy Kuptana. The Northwest Territories Council of Leaders Memorandum of Understanding was signed by leadership in June 2021. The...
Ministers call for federal action to protect Jordan’s Principle My Yellow Knife Now
June 12, 2025
...a trip to Ottawa, the Honourable Minister Caitlin Cleveland and the Honourable Minister Lesa Semmler issued a joint statement yesterday on recent changes to Jordan’s Principle, urging swift federal action to protect the program. Tłı̨chǫ Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty, Ɂek’wahtı̨dǝ́ Danny...
N.W.T. ministers press feds to maintain Jordan’s Principle funding through 2026 CBC North
June 12, 2025
...would also mean that every Jordan's Principle funding application must come from a referral by a health-care professional. N.W.T. Health Minister Lesa Semmler said that will further strain a system already stretched thin. "When we look at the amount of children that are going to need assessments and...
Ottawa ‘undermining intent of Jordan’s Principle,’ NWT ministers say Cabin Radio
June 11, 2025
Two NWT ministers say the federal government’s changes to Jordan’s Principle threaten to break promises that the program was set up to fulfill. Schools in the territory say dozens of educational assistants are set to be laid off following changes to Jordan’s Principle announced in February. The YK1 school district told those workers it had not heard back from Jordan’s Principle managers about the funding required to sustain the positions. Ministers met with Ottawa counterpartsIn their message, the NWT ministers said families were being “left to fight for services their children need and deserve” through the Jordan’s Principle changes, a blunt rebuke of Ottawa in terms the territory rarely uses. In sum, the ministers said the current federal approach “risks undermining the very intent of Jordan’s Principle” that no First Nations child should be denied access to services because of jurisdictional wrangling or administrative hurdles.
‘Heartbroken’ school staff mull future after Jordan’s Principle cuts Cabin Radio
June 9, 2025
...is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Adam Murray, the superintendent of Yellowknife Catholic Schools, told Cabin Radio NWT education minister Caitlin Cleveland had been “doing excellent work to draw attention to the urgency of needs of child development and youth services at the territorial health level...
YK1 says Jordan’s Principle cuts mean 79 jobs set to be lost Cabin Radio
June 3, 2025
...YK1 stated. The extent to which other school districts in the NWT are affected was not immediately clear. In late May, Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh MLA Richard Edjericon said for weeks, “schools across the North have watched as their applications for Jordan’s Principle funding for the fall have come back denied,...
NWT goes back to Ottawa for more Fort Prov transmission line cash Cabin Radio
June 2, 2025
...it hoped to have the transmission line built and operational by the spring of 2026. However, that has changed again. In the legislature last week, Caroline Wawzonek – in her new role as minister of “strategic infrastructure, energy and supply chains” – said the GNWT has now asked for 100-percent federal...
When will the NWT’s new public safety legislation kick in? Cabin Radio
May 30, 2025
...Act – allowing property connected to crime to be frozen or taken away from someone – and a Trespass Act, which the NWT currently lacks. Jay Macdonald, who recently took over from Simpson as justice minister, said the Scan and civil forfeiture pieces of work are “a lot more complex” than the...
Jordan’s Principle funding shortfalls fail students with loss of teaching assistants CKLB 101.9
May 29, 2025
...which would determine who our health system would support with the costs of their medication and who were now on their own,” said Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart. “This so-called rationalization of a crucial health care benefit has caused serious anxiety and hardship, “These income thresholds are unfair...
Impacts of Jordan’s principle funding cuts already evident in N.W.T. community CBC North
May 29, 2025
... In 2024, the education department funded 127 support assistants. The other 205 were funded by Jordan's Principle. Edjericon asked Caitlin Cleveland, N.W.T. Minister of Education, how she is working with community school boards and First Nations to restore funding. Cleveland said she has a close...
Northern ministers to lobby Ottawa over Jordan’s Principle changes Cabin Radio
May 29, 2025
...off-reserve would not be approved unless required by “substantive equity.” Speaking in the NWT legislature on Wednesday, Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh MLA Richard Edjericon said for weeks, “schools across the North have watched as their applications for Jordan’s Principle funding for the fall have come back denied,...
Hydro plant back to full power after 18 months of ‘unknown’ faults Cabin Radio
May 29, 2025
...on Wednesday a joint energy and climate change strategy that will address reliability of power generation in the territory, among other issues. Jay Macdonald and Caroline Wawzonek said a joint strategy will arrive in 2026. “Our power infrastructure is ageing and increasingly vulnerable to the impacts...
MLAs vote to examine tightening their social media rules Cabin Radio
May 29, 2025
...a fairly routine basis in the House, attempts to form a quasi-party among regular MLAs – was barely mentioned. Environment and justice minister Jay Macdonald came closest to addressing the broader atmosphere of the House, which another MLA last week privately described as “pungent.” “How did we get...
Coast guard heads out to determine Mackenzie’s 2025 navigability Cabin Radio
May 28, 2025
...Canadian Coast Guard has gone out today to assess the water levels at the mouth of the Mackenzie River,” communities and infrastructure minister Vince McKay told the legislature on Wednesday afternoon. The coast guard places navigation buoys in the Mackenzie each summer. Last year, that work couldn’t...
GNWT to launch ‘third-party investigation’ over school lead tests Cabin Radio
May 28, 2025
...[I] was able to ensure that drinking and cooking water was no longer able to be used,” Cleveland said, answering questions from Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart. “I have provided direction to the GNWT – because it is multiple departments – to do a third-party investigation so we can understand the...
Minister starts investigation into ‘unacceptable’ school lead situation Cabin Radio
May 28, 2025
...minister Caitlin Cleveland says she’s launching an immediate independent investigation into the circumstances around tests that found elevated lead in the water at two Yellowknife schools. In a statement released at 9pm on Wednesday, Cleveland said she was “deeply concerned by the recent test results...
N.W.T. minister heading to Ottawa next week to follow up on nominee program changes CBC North
May 28, 2025
...for a two year N.W.T. specific timeframe and to enhance support for settlement services. These are all fantastic pieces," said Great Slave MLA Kate Reid. Cleveland discussed she has already expressed the issue to the federal government by letter. Reid added that she has heard concerns about the...
Residents, downtown homeless campers ‘all have to get along,’ says Premier R.J. Simpson CKLB 101.9
May 28, 2025
...working with the vulnerable population who’s living in these encampments,” the Premier said in response to questioning by Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins. “We want to ensure they’re in a place that is safe, that it’s not disrupting other nearby neighbours. “We all have to get along, and we...
Avens criticizes GNWT over $400K related to evacuation expenses Cabin Radio
May 28, 2025
...said could “jeopardize the future of long-term care in the NWT” if the territory does not act. In the legislature on Tuesday, health minister Lesa Semmler said the issue had “gone back and forth” and the $400,000 was judged to involve costs that were not eligible for reimbursement. Neither Avens...
Cleveland to lobby in Ottawa for more nominee program slots Cabin Radio
May 28, 2025
Caitlin Cleveland says she will fly to Ottawa next week as she seeks the restoration of a 300-applicant cap for the NWT’s main immigration program. Cleveland, the minister responsible for immigration in the territory, told the legislature this week she has been in touch with new federal counterpart Lena Diab. ...
Encampment, residents and GNWT ‘have to get along’ Cabin Radio
May 27, 2025
...to have pets, searches for drugs and alcohol, and a lack of space to store belongings. Also in the legislature on Tuesday, Yellowknife North MLA Shauna Morgan described a meeting on homelessness in Yellowknife earlier this month at which participants identified a need for “real-time, individual-level...
YK school lead tests were first of their kind, minister says Cabin Radio
May 27, 2025
...lead levels beyond Health Canada guidelines. In the legislature on Tuesday afternoon, Yellowknife North MLA Shauna Morgan asked education minister Caitlin Cleveland when the two schools’ water was last tested for lead in this manner. While communities’ drinking water is routinely tested, Cleveland...
Morgan’s nurses’ bargaining bill passes second reading Cabin Radio
May 27, 2025
...collective agreement. ‘A no-brainer’ The proposed legislation must still pass a third reading before it can become law. Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart said supporting the principle of the bill “seems to be a no-brainer” given nursing recruitment and retention challenges in the territory. ...
Firefighters and MLAs draft bill to access cancer treatment and PTSD supports My Yellow Knife Now
May 27, 2025
...local firefighters at the city of Yellowknife’s fire hall including Christian Bittrolff, Local 2890 President, MLAs Robert Hawkins and Kieron Testart announced new legislation geared at protecting first responders. They were joined by Yellowknife City Councillor Garett Cochrane, and Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh...
Testart plans to introduce first responder compensation legislation Cabin Radio
May 26, 2025
...he said. “We need you not to fight for coverage. We need you to know coverage will be there if you need it,” said Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins, who plans to second the bill. “We don’t want you fighting the wrong fight. We want you to fight the type of fight of the protection of our...
First responders shouldn’t have to prove jobs caused illness to WSCC, says MLA CBC North
May 26, 2025
...Territories MLA Kieron Testart is proposing a private members bill that would make it easier for first responders in the territory to access workers compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder, cancers and heart disease. At a press conference Monday, Testart said he'll table a private members bill...
GNWT to allow homeless encampments this summer on Commissioner’s land CKLB 101.9
May 26, 2025
...a parking lot beside the Aspen Apartments, which was closed pending renovations this year into affordable/transitional housing. Great Slave MLA Kate Reid told an Assembly committee of utility thefts, open sex acts and drug deals, and public defecation — the latter mostly in the first dozen days...
MLAs turn up volume in NWT Assembly; Speaker’s temper blows CKLB 101.9
May 25, 2025
...I want this job? Not in moments like this,’ sighs a frustrated Shane Thompson in the NWT Assembly A sensitive subject brought back to the NWT Assembly by Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh MLA Richard Edjericon resulted in some frayed nerves and unparliamentary language at the end of last week. In February, Edjericon...
Shauna Morgan introduces nurses’ collective bargaining bill Cabin Radio
May 25, 2025
...North MLA Shauna Morgan has formally introduced her private member’s bill that would give NWT nurses more power to decide how they are represented in collective bargaining. Currently, nurses are part of the same collective agreement as nearly all other unionized NWT government employees, who are...
Tin Can Hill won’t be a territorial park. How about a city park? Cabin Radio
May 24, 2025
...MLA Jack Penney urged the territorial government to turn Tin Can Hill into a territorial park when Youth Parliament convened. His adult equivalent, Kate Reid, gave Penney’s statement a second airing in the legislature on Thursday and asked tourism minister Caitlin Cleveland about the prospect of Tin Can...
‘Colonial mindset’ preventing return of child’s remains to her community, says N.W.T. MLA CBC North
May 23, 2025
... Edjericon said that he was "saddened" by Cleveland's response and said that government policies were overriding treaties and Indigenous values. Caroline Wawzonek, acting as premier in R.J. Simpson's absence, called a point of order on those comments. She said Edjericon had overstepped and made inferences...
Premier says sorry to residents over NWT’s 2023 fire season Cabin Radio
May 23, 2025
...who had terrible experiences. Many of us had bad experiences. We’re all coming to terms with it,” Simpson said when asked by Great Slave MLA Kate Reid if he would apologize for what residents endured. Many thousands of people were forced from their homes, some for a month or more. Residents have...
Testart calls on minister to act on Fort Simpson school issues Cabin Radio
May 23, 2025
...Authority and Dehcho Divisional Education Council. Fort Simpson is part of the Nahendeh electoral district represented by Speaker of the House Shane Thompson, whose role dictates that he cannot raise this kind of contentious issue in the House in a way other MLAs can. Earlier in May, Testart wrote on...
MLAs in emotional exchanges over residential school burial sites Cabin Radio
May 22, 2025
...the bounds” and was mischaracterizing both the minister’s motives and the work that had taken place to find a solution. Speaker of the House Shane Thompson called a recess, after which Edjericon rose to state in part: “It is important that Indigenous people be allowed to call out colonial policies,...
MLA calls for regulation of NWT counsellors and psychotherapists Cabin Radio
May 22, 2025
...Lake MLA Julian Morse says the NWT needs a regulatory body for counsellors and psychotherapists. On Wednesday, Morse told the legislature some professionals in those fields had expressed concern at the absence of a regulator. “Anyone in the NWT can currently offer counselling or psychotherapy...
Confederation, diamonds and cargo up for discussion as Assembly returns CKLB 101.9
May 22, 2025
...they bring heard from a couple of MLAs who questioned the plan. In the Assembly, Yellowknife North MLA Shauna Morgan asked Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek to, “explain whether the commitment to use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain operations represents any change whatsoever from the status...
Protests against Danielle Smith merge outside NWT legislature Cabin Radio
May 22, 2025
...Network’s rally. Emily Blake/Cabin Radio The Northern Mosaic Network recently penned an open letter to NWT Premier RJ Simpson and health minister Lesa Semmler, highlighting concerns with Bill 26 and increasing transphobia. The letter calls on Simpson and Semmler to outline how they plan to address those...
Legislative Assembly expected to address what MLAs say is “healthcare crisis” My Yellow Knife Now
May 21, 2025
...at the Legislative Assembly. The N.W.T. Legislative Assembly began its seven day spring sitting today in the city of Yellowknife. On May 8 MLAs Robert Hawkins, Richard Edjericon, and Kieron Testart called on GNWT to “take responsibility and act immediately” to address the crisis. In a joint...
Simpson faces Smith questions as western premiers meet in NWT Cabin Radio
May 21, 2025
...Nations and we are continuously working toward that end.” Minister says ‘alternate pathways’ in place Also on Wednesday, Great Slave MLA Kate Reid asked health minister Lesa Semmler about supports for trans residents of the territory. Alberta law now bars anyone aged under 16 in the province...
Health care, wildfire report in spotlight as N.W.T. MLAs begin 7-day spring sitting CBC North
May 21, 2025
...about staffing shortages so severe that they're not sure how some units in Yellowknife's Stanton Hospital will continue to function. Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart said he's getting calls daily from patients and health-care workers about failures in the health-care system. "We've got to have real answers to...
Inuvik passes motion to open town liquor store on Sundays Cabin Radio
May 20, 2025
...store’s hours of operation for the summer, including some opening hours on Sundays. On April 29, the town received a letter from finance minister Caroline Wawzonek – whose department oversees the management of liquor in the NWT – asking for comments or concerns about the town liquor store’s request for...
Plan for healthcare change comes with promise to ‘do something’ Cabin Radio
May 16, 2025
...had helpful interactions with him and anticipate a continued productive working relationship.” Not every MLA expressed criticisms. Dehcho MLA Sheryl Yakeleya, for example, said she recognized that “we’re in a time of instant gratification … I know process takes time, and going through a lot of what...
Health staff gave up long weekend plans to keep Yellowknife ER open, official says CBC North
May 16, 2025
...from Florizone about how he planned to improve the territory's health-care system. It was followed by questions from MLAs. Yellowknife MLA Julian Morse asked whether Florizone had listened to another committee meeting held late last month with members of the N.W.T. Medical Association, where...