Rideau Hall consultant to probe clerk's office GNWT hires same firm that investigated governor general to conduct workplace review Online first at NNSL.com Giant Mine townsite coming down Volume 49 Issue 97 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021 75 CENTS ($1 outside city) Snowbuddy's (open for) business Business Sports Bengali YK rink photo courtesy of Bill Braden Anthony "Snowking" Foliot waves the flag Chef to opens Brier of the snow-monarchy to mark the open- ing of Snowbuddy's Winter Garden on make spicy tournament Great Slave Lake, March 2. The event is house calls this week free this year, but patrons will have to sign up for spots in advance. $1.00 outside Yellowknife Publication mail Contract #40012157 "One of the most surprising things I've heard is how many kilometres people still rack up in a week when it's –40." 7 71605 00100 5 – David MacMillen hosts the Happyfeet podcast for runners by runners, page 7. 2 YELLOWKNIFER, Wednesday, March 3, 2021 news YELLOWKNIFER, Wednesday, March 3, 2021 3 Did we get it wrong? Yellowknifer is committed to getting facts and fact FILE names right. With that goes a commitment to acknow- ledge mistakes and run corrections. If you spot an NWT COVID-19 SITUATION AS OF MARCH 2 error in Yellowknifer, call 873-4031 and ask to speak to an editor, or email [email protected]. We'll get a Active cases: 5 347 correction or clarification in as soon as we can. Days since first confirmed case: Confirmed cases: 74 Days since last confirmed case: 8 Recovered cases: 69 Common symptoms: Runny nose or congestion (50 NEWS Completed tests: 14,681 per cent), cough (53 per cent), muscle aches (32 Negative tests: 14,612 Scan for the per cent), fever, (32 per cent), headache (37 per Briefs latest GNWT Pending tests: 14 Covid-19 statistics cent), malaise (26 per cent), fatigue (26 per cent) Vaccine priority groups expand Source: Office of the Chief Public Health Officer in YK, Hay River and Inuvik The Health and Social Services Author- ity has expanded vaccine priority groups in Yellowknife, Hay River and Inuvik. As of March 1, first dose appointments Giant Mine townsite to are available to resident frontline workers who interact directly with the public and are unable to work virtually. That includes workers age 18 and over in: Schools (teachers, teacher assistants or support workers, school bus drivers, front- come down next year facing administrative workers, daytime jani- tors) • Day homes and day cares • Hotels • Grocery stores • Drugstores • Banks • Libraries • Postal service • Liquor stores • Gas stations and convenience stores • Customer service agents at airports • Media (reporters and camera crews) Previously announced priority popu- lations can also still book their vaccine appointments if they have not already. – Natalie Pressman City still waiting on CanNor funding for Mall visitors centre The planned move of the visitor's centre out of the city hall basement is still awaiting a finalized funding commitment from the federal government. In December, city staff presented council with a plan to re-establish a visitors centre at Centre Square Mall that would have street access to 50 Street. The plan is to establish the services at the former bay that once housed the Bank of Montreal across the street from the former Smart Bee Convenience Store. The city is hoping to get $400,000 from CanNor. Mayor Rebecca Alty said with federal support, the move could bring a lot of benefits for the downtown, the city and the tourism industry when it picks up after the image courtesy of the City of Yellowknife pandemic. The Giant Mine townsite deconstruction component of the remediation project will take place during summer – Simon Whitehouse 2022. Moving forward on Freeze pad preparation for arsenic chambers, non- CAB appointments The City of Yellowknife is moving for- hazardous waste landfill expected this summer ward on adding members of the commun- ity to the Community Advisory Board on by Simon Whitehouse aspects of the project, noting the team's ous businesses. Homelessness. The board advises council on Northern News Services ongoing going work to finalize the overall Andrei Torianski, socio-economics man- issues of homelessness. The Giant Mine townsite will be torn project design and update monitoring and ager with the project team, said the team put Council went in-camera during Mon- down over the summer of 2022 as part of management plans for the Mackenzie Valley together a socio-economic strategy in 2019. day's governance and priorities committee a remediation project set to begin this year, Land and Water Board. That was followed by an implementation to adjust the terms of reference to provide council heard on March 1. Some of this summer's "early works" of plan last year to find the most ways to benefit for the RCMP member to be a non-voting The news came during the project team's remediation will include the preparation of Northerners, particularly through training, member and appoint new members. annual update at this week's municipal Gov- an AR1 freeze pad, where the team will blast giving employment notices to the community Mayor Rebecca Alty said on Tuesday that ernance and Priority Committee meeting rock and begin freezing arsenic chambers at and procurement. the five appointees are to be approved at a and ahead of a virtual information session a major rock outcrop near Baker Creek. The project is expected to employ 204 noon meeting next Monday. planned for the public on March 2. This summer will also see the construc- people this year and a peak 312 workers next The appointees include Deanna Cornfield Natalie Plato, deputy director of the Giant tion of a non-hazardous waste landfill that year. The work force is expected taper to 27 who will represent the public at large, Cpl. Mine Remediation Project, said the team is will take in all debris and waste over the in 2031. Mireille Chantelois of the RCMP, Robert ready to begin clean-up efforts this summer course of the project as well as the beginning "In a sense, our goal is to contribute Warburton from a landlord association or but has seen some adjustments to the sched- of some backfill underground stabilization towards strengthening our local remediation non-government housing sector, Yellowknife ule – chief among them that the deconstruc- work, Plato said. capacity," Torianski said. "We continue to Legion president Tammy Roberts from a tion of the townsite will take place next sum- Last month, the Giant team began pre- host Industry Days for the local business Veterans Affairs Canada or veterans serving mer instead of this year, as had been planned. paring for winter drilling in around the community and we review and modify our organization, and Charles Wyman, a repre- "So those buildings will be taken down," Yellowknife Bay and gave a description of procurement tools. The goal is to ensure sentative of a Yellowknife business. she said. "There are some hazardous materi- the multi-faceted project that will carry on that organizations responsible for health and There still remains a vacancy as the city als, with asbestos being the predominant one. into the 2030s. safety as well as infrastructure are aware of is looking for a representative of a city non- That will be separated and bagged according our changing labour demand, forecasts and government health organization with a focus to the regulations and any other hazardous Socio-economics and benefits to locals work sequence schedule. on mental health. materials will be taken out as well. Beyond the more physical objectives of "We monitor our labour demand and – Simon Whitehouse "Those materials will be placed in the the initiative, the project team also touched we inform the local community of labour onsite landfill on our site." on how it's attempting to maximize the bene- demand and schedule of upcoming activ- Plato also touched on several other fits of the project for Northern and Indigen- ities." 4 YELLOWKNIFER, Wednesday, March 3, 2021 news Women on the water for film fest Two Yellowknife-made canoe films become crowd favourites at Top Knight by Blair McBride turned freelance filmmaker. Northern News Services It featured a group of 24 Almost 80 people filled Dehcho and Inuit youth who the Top Knight on Saturday in July did a 12-day canoe trip for movies about the North, on lakes and rivers along the women and the environment Ingraham Trail. for the fifth annual Paddling "It was a cross-cultural Film Festival. trip about youth gaining new The event was part of skills and confidence. They the festival's world tour, put definitely went through some together by Rapid Media who struggles with portages but provided a package of films they came out feeling really for local screenings. The NWT positive about themselves," Recreation and Parks Associa- Cluderay said. tion (NWTRPA) organizes the Robertson won the Best Yellowknife editions of the Canoeing Film at last year's festival. Paddling Festival for Family Among the several Can- Routes, his movie about a adian and international films family of four embarking on shown, two were locally made. a summer-long trip across the Nahanni School Trip was NWT. filmed by students from Sir "The local (films) always John Franklin high school and hit close to home for people as its title suggests is about a in Yellowknife because people canoe trip down the Nahan- they know are in them, doing ni River. Artless Collective things they could do in the helped the students produce NWT," Cluderay said. Rapid Media image the seven-minute video. This year's Paddling Film Festival featured two Yellowknife-made films on canoeing along with other "It was a really cute video," More women represented said event organizer Rachel The Arctic-focussed Ocean movies from Canadian and American directors, and was organized by the NWT Recreation and Parks Cluderay, who is also On the to Asgard, directed by Brit- Association.