The Week's News: NWT loses a 'beacon of light'
Tom Frith was a young helicopter pilot helping to battle a wildfire in Fort Good Hope
Hello readers, this is Emily, Cabin Radio’s assistant editor.
People across the Northwest Territories and abroad are mourning after a young helicopter pilot helping to battle a wildfire in Fort Good Hope lost his life in an accident at the community’s airport.
Great Slave Helicopters described Tom Frith, who is originally from Australia and has worked for the NWT company since 2018, as a beloved father and a beacon of light.
Everyone here at Cabin Radio is thinking of Tom's family and his many friends in Canada, Australia and beyond, including members of our own team.
In a statement, NWT environment minister Jay Macdonald expressed his sympathy for Tom’s family and friends, and thanked fire crews for their “unwavering support and hard work.”
“The safety of our responders is the top priority every wildfire season,” he said. “The bonds formed through this incredibly challenging work run deep, both personally and professionally. This is a devastating loss for our fire crews and wildfire management teams who work tirelessly to keep us safe, and I encourage staff to access the counselling services that have been made available.”
As it continues to investigate, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada says the failure of a tension torsion strap resulted in the accident. That has led operators across North America to ground some helicopters for inspection.
Residents in Fort Good Hope remain under an evacuation order as fire crews continue to combat the wildfire at the community’s doorstep.
Meanwhile, residents in Edzo are on evacuation notice, meaning they aren’t required to leave the community but should be prepared to do so, as a separate wildfire burns nearby. Thankfully, the territory’s wildfire agency says there is no imminent threat to Edzo but conditions could change.
Also in the news this week, Yellowknife may be a no-horse town since last summer’s evacuation but the city’s equestrian community is still going strong; a Hindi-language movie was screened in Yellowknife thanks to the efforts of some residents; and we met the NWT’s Miss Teenage Canada contestant.
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
Our most important stories
Wildfire research
What we’re reading
Stories to catch up on
Yellowknife’s equestrian community keeps going – without horses
Since they were evacuated last year, horses haven’t returned to Yellowknife. Here’s how two riding instructors are working to keep the city’s equestrian community going.
Edzo Elders spend their pension on Housing NWT arrears
Every month, their pension comes in. Then some goes straight out to cover arrears. Here are some of the complexities behind the housing debts many Elders face.
Legal aid concerned about children’s lawyer budget cuts
The premier says cuts at the Office of the Children's Lawyer remove an administrative role. Some lawyers say that misinterprets the work the office is doing.
Hindi-language movie at Capitol Theatre will be ‘Yellowknife’s first’
"We had to convince them there's an Indian community in Yellowknife." Some residents are bringing the Hindi version of sci-fi epic Kalki 2898 AD to the city.
Health services scaled back over Yellowknife TB outbreak
A tuberculosis concern that developed weeks ago in Yellowknife was only publicized for the first time in a Wednesday radio interview.
Meet the NWT’s Miss Teenage Canada contestant
A 16-year-old Yellowknife resident is heading to Toronto this month to represent the Northwest Territories in the Miss Teenage Canada pageant.
What’s with all the fluffy Yellowknife trees right now?
White, cotton-like fluff floating in the wind around Yellowknife seems to be everywhere lately. Here's what that is and why it's doing that.
Enterprise mayor resigns after four months
Sandra McMaster resigned from her position as mayor of Enterprise after four months leading the small hamlet through its wildfire recovery and other issues.
Diamond mine builds NWT’s largest off-grid solar plant
The Diavik diamond mine, set to close in 2026, opened one of the NWT's largest solar plants to deliver power through the years-long process of shutting down.
Cyber attack leads to some bare shelves at YK Co-op
The general manager of Yellowknife's Co-op says a cyber attack has temporarily "crippled" the store's distribution centre in Edmonton.
Tsiigehtchic completes switch to hamlet status
"We finally made it." The formal paperwork that declares Tsiigehtchic a hamlet went out last week. The next step is electing a municipal mayor and council.
The Bay ‘won’t even ship to Yellowknife’ right now
Once, the Hudson's Bay Company was a trading giant of northern Canada. Now, residents in Yellowknife can't even get The Bay to ship there.
In pictures: Explore the Sǫǫ̀mba K’è Multicultural Festival
Meet some of the people who created food, dance, music and energy behind this year’s Sǫǫ̀mba K’è Multicultural Festival in Yellowknife.
Kimberly Fairman set to become NWT Conservative candidate
Kimberly Fairman is the unofficial winner of the contest to become the NWT's Conservative candidate in the next federal election, defeating Jackie Jacobson.
Inuvik obstetrics closes again, families will be sent to Yellowknife
Families expecting to give birth in Inuvik are being told they'll be cared for in Yellowknife after another shutdown of the Beaufort Delta hospital's obstetrics unit.
A sweaty Canada Day brings food, dance and reflection
A highly prized food truck, wolverine fur, orange T-shirts and one of the year's hottest days so far were features of Yellowknife's Canada Day.
Watch: Fire research in a tiny mock town
Researchers recently burned mock cabins at an experimental site outside of Fort Providence to learn more about how to protect structures from wildfire.
What we’re reading
Climate change is worsening the housing crisis — we must tackle the two together
For Nature, Julia Christensen, project director of At Home in the North, writes about the inextricable link between climate change and the North's housing crisis. "For decades, leaders in Fort Good Hope have warned that industrial development would have disastrous consequences locally — for the climate and Indigenous ways of life, as well as for infrastructure, transportation and accessibility. Now, those predictions are being borne out."
What 6 degrees of warming means for a community built on ice
As part of a Vox series on Indigenous solutions to climate change, Joseph Lee explores how Inupiat in Point Hope, Alaska, are adapting to warming. “You can’t really change the Arctic. You can only change with the Arctic.”
She lied to get her twin daughters Inuit status and is about to be sentenced for fraud. Again.
Pretendians, or people falsely claiming Indigenous heritage, have been a hot topic in Canadian news. This CBC article by Juanita Taylor, Kate Kyle and Aloysius Wong explores a unique case in Nunavut, where a woman was convicted of fraud for claiming her twin daughters were Inuit in order to access funds intended for Inuit beneficiaries. Karima Manji was recently sentenced to three years in prison.
The Problem With Erik: Privilege, Blackmail, and Murder for Hire in Austin
In this fascinating long-form piece for Texas Monthly, Katy Vine and Ana Worrel write about a tragic murder-for-hire case involving blackmail and the heir to an auto-dealership empire. "If you drive around Central Texas today, you’ll eventually see a truck with a Charles Maund Toyota license plate holder, marked by the company’s logo—the shape of Texas colored like the state flag. Some day, years from now, a driver might see one of those and wonder: Whatever happened to Charles Maund Toyota? A silence will follow. And that will be Erik Maund’s legacy."