The Week's News: A Vision for the NWT's Economy
What the heck happens once the diamonds are gone?
This is Ollie. I hope you’re settling in for a nice weekend somewhere cosy. Pull up a decent beverage and enjoy the best journalism we published this week.
One of the week’s biggest stories is one we’ve kind-of known about all along. Suddenly, it’s front and centre. Maybe it should have been there for a while.
Economist Graeme Clinton thinks so. He says he’s been telling anyone who’ll listen, for years, that there’s no obvious plan for the NWT’s economy once the diamond mines close down. And that’s no longer off in the distance – the Diavik mine will close in 2026, and the other two might not last much longer.
He says an “economic cliff” is not far away, and he wants to know what the vision is.
So we asked.
Go listen to our latest Cabin Talks episode to hear Clinton explain the problems – and likely outcomes – as he sees them, and to hear industry minister Caitlin Cleveland take questions about whether the NWT actually has an economic vision right now, and how one can evolve.
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
Our most important stories
What we’re reading
Stories to catch up on
Dehcho negotiations nearing a conclusion, leaders say
Dehcho First Nations leaders and negotiators say they're making important progress toward major agreements with the GNWT and Ottawa.
Yellowknife police make arrests over ‘gang of teenage girls’
RCMP in Yellowknife say charges against three youths are pending after businesses reported a gang of teenage girls causing damage and threatening violence.
Inside Alison McCreesh’s Degrees of Separation
Get the book, send a postcard: Alison McCreesh's new graphic novel celebrating a decade in the North opened at an event that liberated some of her art.
Enterprise mayor rejects councillor’s attempt to scrap resignation
Enterprise's mayor says one councillor's attempt to retract his text-message resignation will not be accepted, meaning his seat is on the line in a by-election.
Downtown Yellowknife store Iceblink is for sale
Iceblink, the downtown Yellowknife clothing store and coffee shop, has been listed for sale with an asking price of $200,000.
Minister apologizes for NWT childcare provider funding delay
NWT minister Caitlin Cleveland offered a public apology after the territory's licensed childcare providers were left waiting for promised funding to arrive.
Hitchin’ a Ride raises thousands for Street Outreach
Two Hitchin' a Ride musical nights raised thousands of dollars for a service that gives Yellowknife's vulnerable people safe rides. Listen to some highlights.
Yellowknife fishing derby raises big money for Hay River youth centre
Hundreds of people turned out for a weekend of ice fishing on Prelude Lake in glorious weather. The money raised will help the youth centre in Hay River.
In pictures: Celebrating spring in Dettah
See anyone you know in our photos from the Yellowknives Dene First Nation Spring Carnival? Check out shots of everything from log-throwing to the best cakes.
How Canada says the North will benefit from new defence spending
The federal government just announced nearly $73 billion in new national defence spending. Here's how ministers say the North will benefit. (Defence minister Bill Blair will be on Cabin Radio at 1:20pm on Monday to talk about this. The Conservatives’ northern affairs critic will also be on the show.)
MLAs wonder who’ll benefit if NWT makes carbon tax changes
MLAs spent Monday discussing a bill opposed by cabinet that would change – but not decrease – the NWT's carbon tax. They asked: what would that actually do?
Check out photos of Yellowknife’s new accessible bus fleet
The City of Yellowknife unveiled its new fleet of buses, boasting improved accessibility. More new features are coming later in the year, like swipe cards.
Sheila Bassi-Kellett given musical send-off in final meeting
Sheila Bassi-Kellett signed off as Yellowknife's city manager after seven years. Some of the tributes at her last meeting were a little different.
Arctic defence means building Mackenzie Valley Highway, Sahtu says
Just as Canada pledged to spend big on Arctic security, Sahtu leaders rolled out a campaign to build the Mackenzie Valley Highway on national defence grounds.
After eight years, Hay River power franchise sale gets green light
In a process that's taken an eternity, NTPC is at last set to take over Hay River's power distribution from Northland. But we're not over the finish line yet.
NWT using infrared scanners to find overwintering fires
Aerial infrared scans will be used to find NWT wildfires that burned through the winter. Here's the latest fire outlook and a guide to what else is being done.
Ottawa invests $5M in Dene-owned Camsell River mine project
In a week where the post-diamonds NWT economy is under scrutiny, the federal government gave an early-stage Dene-led project near Great Bear Lake $5 million.
Lodge takes Parks Canada to court over licence in Thaıdene Nëné
A court case involving a lodge's bid to operate inside Thaıdene Nëné asks a judge to decide if Parks Canada's new approach to reconciliation is legally sound.
‘Not even a sound.’ Silent waterfall encapsulates NWT’s low water
Generations of Dene in Kakisa know the thunderous sound of Náįlįcho, or Lady Evelyn Falls. Right now, it's silent, unsettling Elders for whom this is home.
What MLAs heard about Missing Persons Act in Aklavik and Inuvik
Residents of Inuvik and Aklavik, the home community of missing Frank Gruben, gathered to provide feedback on a Missing Persons Act the NWT hopes to introduce.
Unhoused Indigenous women ‘overpoliced, underprotected’ in YK
A new report from the Yellowknife Women's Society says urgent action is needed to address the policing of unhoused Indigenous women in the city.
NWT launches fentanyl test strips in response to drug poisonings
The NWT began a pilot project offering people test strips that help them check drugs for fentanyl. Some experts called the move a step in the right direction.
Online NWT cannabis delivery may be about to shut down
The only cannabis store in the NWT offering online ordering says it'll shut down the service on Sunday if a dispute over supply isn't resolved.
What we’re reading
‘Save the buffalo, shoot the Dene’
From Emily: When Canada first developed national parks it disregarded Indigenous knowledge and in many cases excluded Indigenous people from their traditional lands and practices. For the Tyee, Ximena González writes about Remembering Our Relations, a new book detailing the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Dënesųłıné's oral history of the establishment of Wood Buffalo National Park. "The buffalo were protected more than anything else, and [it was] pretty much ‘Save the buffalo, shoot the Dene.’”
So You Think You’ve Been Gaslit
From Emily: You've probably heard the term gaslighting before. In 2022, it was Merriam-Webster’s word of the year. You may have even experienced the phenomenon. This interesting longform piece by Leslie Jamison in The New York explores the origin of the word, what it means and its rise in use. "If the need to affirm one’s own version of reality is pretty much universal, it makes sense that a desire to attack someone else’s competing version is universal, too. Yet, in the popular discourse, it can seem as if everyone has been gaslit but no one will admit to doing the gaslighting.