Hello! It’s Ollie, Cabin Radio’s editor. Newsletter maven Emily is on assignment in Fort Providence.
Quite the day for news, Thursday – culminating in groups of healthcare workers opposing an apparent plan to use “virtual” physicians in Yellowknife’s emergency room.
The idea is that if no staff can be found to physically be in the ER, a doctor somewhere else can join by video link and advise nurses. The NWT’s associations of doctors and nurses are deeply displeased by this prospect, as is the Union of Northern Workers.
Meanwhile, the fallout continues from the GNWT’s lead testing at Yellowknife’s William McDonald School. Our main report from Wednesday outlines what, exactly, testers have now found. Watch for more reporting to come in the next 24 hours from us, including:
What you should know about your own pipes and city water
How school staff feel about the lead results at William Mac
How the NWT’s chief public health officer sees all this
That last one is super interesting. Dr Kami Kandola is not only one of the territory’s leading experts on the health consequences of lead in your water, but also a parent of a kid who went to William Mac. I asked her how she felt when reading the results this week that showed elevated lead. Her answer is coming up soon on our site.
OK, on with the rest of the big news this week.
IN THIS NEWSLETTER
Our best stories
What we’re reading
Stories to catch up on
1. NWT contestant joins 11th season of The Amazing Race Canada
"We want to represent all Indigenous women." A contestant from Wrigley will take part alongside her BFF in the latest season of The Amazing Race Canada.
2. GNWT considering territory-wide school cell phone policy
The NWT government is considering the introduction of a cell phone policy across all schools. Here's one example that territorial education leaders really like.
3. NWT’s nominee program reopening to fill 21 more spaces
The NWT Nominee Program, which was the subject of political controversy after Ottawa cut the number of applicants the territory can accept, will briefly reopen.
4. Homeowner ‘unaware of drug dealer in Whatì crawlspace’
Whatì RCMP say they have arrested a 19-year-old after receiving tips that a drug dealer was operating from a crawlspace beneath a home in the community.
5. Cybersecurity experts deliver warning over northern tech
If you work for a northern government or business, or care for an Elder, some Canadian cybersecurity experts say you need to know "the threat is already here."
6. Mayor says YK trucked water issue has parallels with carbon tax
Hiking trucked water rates to correct a City of Yellowknife deficit is "a parallel discussion" to carbon tax, the mayor said as council discussed the proposal.

7. Larga applies to build 75-room lodge on Yellowknife’s Borden Drive
Larga Kitikmeot asked the City of Yellowknife for permission to build a four-storey, 75-room medical travel lodge near the end of a largely residential street.
8. Firth twins to be inducted into Canada Games Hall of Honour
Northwest Territories cross-country skiers Sharon Firth and the late Shirley Firth Larsson will be inducted into the Canada Games Hall of Honour this summer.
9. Four candidates running in August’s Ndılǫ chief election
The Yellowknives Dene First Nation announced that four candidates are running to be the next chief of Ndılǫ. The election is set for August 18.
10. What’s in the City of Yellowknife’s draft climate action plan?
The City of Yellowknife wants your feedback on its draft climate action plan. Here are some of the actions in the draft – and issues the city is thinking about.
What we’re reading
The problem with stepping in for Emily to draft this newsletter is she actually reads other things. I read The Tempest by Shakespeare this week. What do you want from me? It was good. For something a bloke wrote 400 years ago, it passed a solid couple of hours. Hamlet next. (This is the strangest kind of mid-life crisis but if reading Shakespeare is how my creeping sense of mortality manifests itself, so be it.)
I did also read Sketched Out, an article for the New York Times in which Christoph Niemann – an illustrator and graphic designer – explores what artificial intelligence will mean for his career. This piece is notable for its beautiful layout. I had as much fun admiring the look and feel of the article as I did reading the reporting.