The Week's News: Airport chaos, international nurses, Arctic Winter Games
Plus a vast World War Two collection tucked away in a corner of the NWT
Hello readers, this is Emily, Cabin Radio’s assistant editor.
Spring is here, one of the most special times in the Northwest Territories. The snowcastle is bustling with events in Yellowknife and spring carnivals are being held in communities across the territory, such as the Beavertail Jamboree in Fort Simpson.
Northern athletes are also home after freshly competing at the Arctic Winter Games in Alaska (despite some flight delays).
Keira Coakwell and Sean Grandjambe shared flagbearing duties at the games’ opening ceremony. NWT athletes won a historic women’s basketball gold and also won gold ulus in table tennis, Dene games, wrestling, figure skating, snow snake, biathlon, speed skating and cross country skiing. Shawna McLeod made history by winning the first adult women’s Dene Games gold while Chris Stipdonk’s attempt to set a record in knuckle hop was stopped short by judges.
NWT athletes also brought home medals and personal bests from the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games, while curlers had an extraordinary run at the 2024 Brier.
Now on to some of our best reporting from the past three weeks.
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
Our most important stories
Watch highlights from the opening of the Snowcastle and the Beavertail Jamboree
What we’re reading
Stories to catch up on
‘Coming back to the North to let people know we’re OK is important’
Jodie Baulkham's husband was murdered in Hay River nearly 17 years ago. On Saturday, she brings her book about survival and recovery to Yellowknife.
Fort McPherson’s fast-growing garden has plans for your plate
Fort McPherson revived its community garden and participation nearly doubled, with dozens of residents signed up. Organizers say this is just the beginning.
Canada criticized for missing Wood Buffalo action plan deadline
Canada "dropped the ball" by missing a UN deadline to update its Wood Buffalo National Park action plan, critics say. Parks Canada says it's doing a lot.
Wally Firth, northern politician and fiddler, passes away aged 89
Wally Firth made an immediate impact as the NWT's MP in the 1970s. He leaves a lasting musical legacy, too. He passed away on Saturday.
Lawyers to lay out full scale of alleged Ron Barlas fraud
Ron Barlas "engaged in almost every form of misconduct and betrayal of trust" as the boss of Łútsël K'é Dene First Nation's economic wing, lawyers will argue.
NWT ‘needs to do better’ when partners become violent
"How come Alberta did so much more for me?" A Yellowknife woman whose husband became a threat says her concerns weren't taken seriously in the NWT.
‘Plants have brightened the life I was headed into’
When Trent Stokes came home to Fort Smith seeking sobriety, a pea plant set him on a road to a better life. He describes how he grew with his garden.
In a corner of the NWT, a vast World War Two collection
Shows like Masters of the Air are taking people back to the aerial battles of World War Two. Step into this Hay River home and its thousands of WW2 artifacts.
Brenden MacIntosh’s new single, Jessica, inspired by his wife
Listen to Jessica, the new Brenden MacIntosh single that began as a song for his wife at their wedding. In an unrelated development, he also sang about zombies.
Dene Nation again calls for NWT wildfire public inquiry
A number of Dene leaders described the GNWT's response to 2023's wildfires as "embarrassing" as they doubled down on calls for an independent public inquiry.
Should Yellowknife’s main street be renamed Chief Drygeese Avenue?
The name of Yellowknife's main street is under renewed scrutiny from city councillors following a request made by the Yellowknives Dene First Nation.
Gamètì garden could ‘set tone for territory’ on food sustainability
"We can't always depend on outside people to go and help us." Gamètì is working to expand its community garden program with input from a range of partners.
A day in the life of Yellowknife’s Street Outreach program
"They're good people, out there." We spent some time with the Yellowknife Street Outreach program as it drives the city helping people who need it.
International nurses told ‘leave the NWT then come back’
"Why would I come back?" The NWT's process for registering international nurses to work here is "complicated, frustrating and inconsistent," say those involved.
‘So many good things’ coming for two Tłı̨chǫ communities
"If we focus on the negative things we won't get ahead." Gamètì and Wekweètì are investing in projects like a basketball court, soccer field and culture centre.
‘This was never supposed to be my last season’
After years on the national team, 20-year-old Yellowknife speed skater Wren Acorn retired from her sport. She said some parts of that life had become damaging.
Yellowknife airport security right now? It’s ‘a gong show.’
Passengers say Yellowknife Airport's security line is becoming increasingly chaotic and major airlines say their flights are being affected.
‘Like two worlds colliding,’ a book of treaties and time
A new book, We Are a River, uses images from Treaty 11 anniversary events to explore how the treaty's oral version and written equivalent are understood.
Watch: The Snowcastle and Beavertail Jamboree
Ollie and Sarah headed down to the opening of this year’s Snowcastle.
In Fort Simpson, residents celebrated the start of spring with the Beavertail Jamboree featuring events ranging from log throwing to a snowmobile drag race.
Simona headed to the Dehcho community to capture the best moments.
What we’re reading
‘When am I coming home?’: Vulnerable Nunavut kids face loneliness, despair as millions spent sending them south
This heartbreaking investigation by Global News found that Nunavut was charged 53% more per day on average for a child to live in an Ontario group home compared to what children's aid societies in the province paid, and some children received inadequate care. “You see the fear and the sadness in the child or youth’s eyes as they are leaving everything that they know,” said Cassandra Yantha, a former social worker in Nunavut. “It is a system that is built on racism and removing children from their families.”
The harrowing 5,000-mile flight of North America's wild whooping cranes
Rene Ebersole wrote this fascinating article for National Geographic featuring beautiful images by conservation photographer Michael Forsberg. It details conservation efforts and the migratory journeys of whooping cranes in North America.