group calls for new shelter before winter · shelter before winter 'concerned citizens'...

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$1.00 outside Yellowknife "Once the parents make that decision, then they call the child into the room and have that discussion with the child."

– Premier Caroline Cochrane responded to an accusation of excessive secrecy at the legislature with a back-to-school metaphor, page 3.

Group calls for new shelter before winter'Concerned citizens' want GNWT and city to work together to help vulnerable people

Volume 49 Issue 51 WEDNESDAY, SEptEmbEr 9, 2020 75 CENtS ($1 outside city)

Online first at NNSL.comBusiness shifts to survive pandemic

Blair McBride/NNSL photo

Christine Barker and Greg Smith hold their giant Pur-ple Top White Globe turnip on Sunday. They've been growing it since June. It is 9 inches wide and 6 inches high and Smith estimates it weighs 10 lbs.

Swinging for thefences inslo-pitch tourney

Sports

NewsYk'r makes TeamCanada in businesscompetition

Head-turning turnip haul

2 yeLLoWkNIfer, Wednesday, September 9, 2020

yeLLoWkNIfer, Wednesday, September 9, 2020 3news

Cabinet agreed that Julie Green, the new-est member of cabinet, was the best fit for health minister, Diane Thom, the former holder of the health portfolio, told reporters during the first press conference held by the new cabinet on Tuesday morning.

Asked how she felt about losing the health portfolio, Thom said the process of the new cabinet appointments was done through con-sultation and "we all agreed that Minister Green is the best fit for this," she said, with-out elaborating.

Premier Caroline Cochrane introduced cabinet ministers Green, R.J. Simpson, Caro-line Wawzonek and Thom, who attended the press conference in person, as well as Shane Thompson, who joined the conference virtu-ally. Paulie Chinna was not able to take part.

The new appointments of cabinet mem-bers, announced by Cochrane on Friday, took effect on Tuesday at noon.

Green said she received the health file after she asked for it.

"I have a lot of knowledge about health. I don't have a lot of formal education on health," Green said. "I've been a longtime member of the Standing Committee on Social Develop-ment – we've been very involved with the community and health and social services over that time."

In last week's cabinet shuffle, Thom was made the new minister of Infrastructure and minister responsible for the Northwest Ter-ritories Power Corporation. She retains her role as deputy premier.

In response to a question on how fast she can get up to speed on the responsibilities of the Infrastructure file, Thom said she's "doing great things all week" and would be meeting her acting deputy minister on Tuesday.

Thom said concerns around project pro-curement involving Indigenous groups in the NWT is "one of the many areas I mean to look at."

Addressing the new 150-member Covid-

19 Coordinating Secretariat, an organization inside the Department of Health and Social Services that was formed last week, Coch-rane said most of its $87.1 million budget over two-and-a-half years would be spent on staff wages.

"We will have people that are dedicated, their whole jobs would be (based on) Covid-19 response," she said.

"It brings 150 new positions to the North. In a time when the economy isn't great, 150 positions in the North – that money stays in the North, that money will circulate in the North. That will be money well spent."

However, the funding for the Secretar-iat is aimed at a "worst-case scenario" and assumes that every dime of the budget would be spent.

"We're hoping for a better case scenario, of course," Cochrane said.

Centralizing resourcesShe added that the organization was

formed to centralize resources in the pan-demic response.

"(Our) response wasn't sustainable. When Covid hit we didn't have a department, we didn't have a game plan," Cochrane said. "We were all doing this off the sides of our desks. They were working seven days a week off the side of their desks and then they had to go back and do their normal jobs. It wasn't sustainable. Employees were burning out.

"Every department is affected by Covid-19. This way it's more sustainable (and) more accountable. Hopefully we'll find a vaccine fairly soon and the Covid Secretariat won't be long term."

The premier also addressed an allegation from Katrina Nokleby, MLA for Great Slave, who was removed from the executive council in August.

Nokleby, the former minister of Infra-structure and Industry, Tourism and Invest-ment, claimed on Aug. 26 during an extra-ordinary session of the assembly that a toxic culture of secrecy in the government dispar-aged her character and it isn't what the public

deserves.Cochrane said that accusation was unfair,

before offering an analogy on whether chil-dren should be part of every conversation with their parents about sending them to school during the pandemic.

"When the parents are sitting down talk-ing about that, is that the time you want your child in (to hear that)? 'Do we send you to school, do we not send you to school?' Once the parents make that decision, then they call the child into the room and have that discus-sion with the child.

"It's to avoid mass confusion, is what I'm saying. Is it fair that we tell the public every time we have a thought? Is that fair to share with the public? The idea is that once we have a decision, at that point we go to the public."

If the same issues that arose with Nokleby come up again, Cochrane said she wouldn't handle it differently.

"There are processes to make us more transparent and accountable. But being more accountable doesn't mean you're transparent all the time. Being transparent means show-ing what you can, as much as (you can) when possible. When you're still in deliberations, you need to look at all of the information you have before you make a final decision. I wouldn't change that process."

The premier acknowledged the relative inexperience of some of her newly-elected ministers when they were selected to cabinet last year.

"But these ministers have learned by fire. No other assembly in our history has had to do so much work and so fast off the side of their desks and full-time, more than full-time. I'm extremely proud of the work they've done.

"This was a chance for us all to sit down together, look at our strengths, look at our experiences and decide where we're best fitted. We all know each other now, we've had a year to work together. There's no more excuses that we're all new to our portfolios, except for one, we'll give one a few more months," Cochrane said with a laugh while looking at Green.

Did we get it wrong?Yellowknifer is committed to getting facts and

names right. With that goes a commitment to acknow-ledge mistakes and run corrections. If you spot an error in Yellowknifer, call 873-4031 and ask to speak to an editor, or email [email protected]. We'll get a correction or clarification in as soon as we can.

Now minister of Infrastructure, Diane Thomsays Julie Green is the right person for the job

Green in the legislature with the health portfolio

by Blair McBride Northern News Services


Julie Green, the new minister of Health, was deemed the best fit for the role, former health minister Diane Thom said on Tuesday.

NewsBriefs

YK 1 bus pass sales extendedFor any Yellowknife Education District

No. 1 (YK 1) families still in need of a 2020/2021 bus pass, the busing service First Transit will be open on Thursday Sept. 10 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

First Transit will open its doors no earlier than 4:30 p.m. and the sales will close at 5:30 p.m. sharp. First Transit is located at 107 Kam Lake Road.

– Natalie Pressman

Food Rescue Yellowknife receives funding for delivery

vanFood Rescue Yellowknife is receiving

$10,000 from Farm Credit Canada (FCC) for a delivery van to distribute food from local suppliers to community organizations.

The grant is part of FCC's AgriSpirit Fund, a $1.5 million fund being given to 92 community groups across Canada to support community improvement projects.

"We are honoured to support the projects that help keep these communities as vibrant hubs for rural Canadians," said FCC vice-president Sophie Perreault in the release.

The next FCC AgriSpirit Fund applica-tion period opens March 1, 2021.

– Natalie Pressman

Unemployment rate reacheshistoric high in NWT

The NWT's unemployment rate rose to a historic high of 11.3 per cent in August, according to a Labour Force Activity report from the NWT Bureau of Statistics, released Friday.

The unemployment rate rose slightly due to 200 more people seeking employment.

However, the number of employed people in the NWT also rose by 200 in August, marking an employment rate of 62.6 per cent, a 0.4 per cent increase from July. The job gains were driven exclusively by youth aged 15 to 24 years.

– Blair McBride

Three Yk charities get boost from Field Law Fund

Three Yellowknife organizations were the recipients of the annual Field Law Com-munity Fund charity donations as the region-al winners were announced on Sept. 8.

Every year the law firm donates money to individual or group charities in Alberta and the Northwest Territories to provide finan-cial support to those in need.

The community fund has been running since 2013 and this year donated $12,000 to the NWT, as well as $24,000 each to Edmonton and Calgary organizations.

The biggest winner in the NWT this year was the YWCA NWT, which took $6,000 to help its Moon Time Period Kits for Northern Teens project.

The project provides period kits to teens who either miss school or other activities because they can't afford monthly menstrual products.

The Inuvik Native Band received $4,000 to aid its Indigenous Mental Health Support Circle project involving "knowledgeable Seniors/Elders."

The third recipient, the Kole Crook Fiddlers Association, was given $2,000 to help with that organization's Bringing Back Music North of 60 program. The money will support scholarship support to youth aiming to attend weekly music lessons during the school year.

– Simon Whitehouse

4 yeLLoWkNIfer, Wednesday, September 9, 2020 news

A new citizens group is urging the City of Yellowknife to take immedi-ate action on securing a day shelter before the onset of winter and a pos-sible second wave of Covid-19.

Concerned Yellowknife Residents for a Day Shelter Downtown formed about one week ago and launched its Facebook page on Friday, said organ-izer Nick Sowsun.

Its call to action comes almost two weeks after Yellowknife city coun-cil rejected a proposal to make the city-owned Mine Rescue Building on 49 Avenue a new shelter. It was formerly the site of Side Door Youth Ministries.

"We were caught off guard when city council rejected the proposal without having an opportunity to hear from street-involved residents, or front-line workers, medical profes-sionals, or organizations that work with the street-involved," said Sow-sun. "We were disappointed that the city didn't have an opportunity to hear those perspectives.

"That's when we started organiz-ing a response. We said, 'What should we do?'"

The group posted on its Facebook page a list of seven actions it wants the city to take, among them working immediately with the GNWT to find a suitable location for an emergency shelter downtown or reconsideration of the Mine Rescue site, using an evi-dence-based approach to its assess-ment of the value and location of emergency day shelters. The activists want the municipality to honour its

2017 pledge to eliminate homeless-ness in 10 years.

"We're (also) asking the city to follow through with its 2019 commit-ments to reconciliation. The major-ity of the street-involved people are Indigenous. They're survivors of residential schools or the children of residential school survivors," said Sowsun, adding that the city's actions to find a day shelter would also help "combat stigma against the street-involved population and to fight sys-temic racism."

Sowsun said his organization isn't recommending any possible shelter locations as it believes that decision is one for the local and territorial governments.

"We shouldn't be the ones to choose the location. The city and the GNWT need to decide on that based on best evidence and all the factors that would go into a decision like that," he said.

The group, which had 160 mem-bers on Facebook as of Tuesday morning, has been speaking with some city councillors whom Sowsun said were disappointed with council's Aug. 24 decision to reject the Mine Rescue Building shelter idea. The organization has also spoken with representatives of the territorial gov-ernment.

"As we understand it, the GNWT wants to work with the city on this issue. The GNWT seems to be a willing partner," said Sowsun. "From my perspective, it's now on the city to be a willing partner and to address this issue."

However, Coun. Niels Konge dis-

putes that the city should choose pos-sible shelter locations.

"The shelter falls directly under the GNWT realm of responsibility," he said. "So it is for them to sort out. Council has the responsibility for conditionally permitted uses, such as shelters. Council decided as a group to not support the Side Door loca-tion. That cannot be reconsidered now for six months, according to our rules.

"It is up to the GNWT to do this and then, when they have one, they need to go through the development permit process that is in place just like any other business/organization and resident would have to. They have options. Wall tents in the (legislative assembly) area, the old hospital, wall tents around the hospital, work with Arctic Indigenous Wellness Founda-tion or other organizations. But let's be very clear, the city is a partner in this, but we are not and should not be the lead. The GNWT off-loads a lot of things already onto the city."

Mayor Rebecca Alty said the City is working with the territorial gov-ernment's Department of Health and Social Services (HSS) to find a solu-tion to the shelter issue.

"As the day shelter is a GNWT program, HSS is considering alter-nate options and locations, and they are reviewing all options with City staff to seek to expedite finding a solution that can work – for the pro-gram and within City Bylaws.

"If the GNWT decides to go with a tent/temporary structure, City staff have offered vacant and available land to locate the structure, given

tents on City owned land do not require development permits. If a tent is not feasible, other options are continuing to be raised and we will work with them through any relevant permitting processes."

Sowsun hopes city councillors put the shelter issue back on the agenda for the next city council meeting.

"The important context is that the Salvation Army closed its day shelter space, the library is closed and the

Day Centre and Sobering Centre is at capacity. There are a lot of vulner-able street-involved people who won't have anywhere to go this winter. Some of them have co-morbidities, many of them are seniors. They're vulnerable to the flu and to Covid," he said. "This will be a dangerous winter, more than most."

Yellowknifer has inquired with GNWT departments for comment and is awaiting a response.

Concerned Yellowknife Residents for a Day Shelter Downtown counts 162 membersGroup mobilizes to spur shelter search


Nick Sowsun, an organizer with the new group Concerned Yellowknife Residents for a Day Shelter Downtown, is urging the City of Yellowknife to work with the GNWT to secure a shelter location before winter and a possible second wave of Covid-19 arrives.


yeLLoWkNIfer, Wednesday, September 9, 2020 5

The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA) on Friday outlined what it would do in case an outbreak or multiple outbreaks of Covid-19 occur in the fall.

"The hardest is yet to come with Covid in the NWT," said out-going territorial medical director Dr. Sarah Cook, who presented the plan to reporters during a video conference.

While the plan isn't new for people working in the NWT's health-care system, Cook said, the NTHSSA decided to release it to the public now because the season of wider spread respiratory illnesses is approaching as students return to school and more people return to work.

The purpose of the plan is to build confidence in the health care response to the pandemic, inform the public what it can expect from the perspective of patient care and help NWT residents understand the capacity of the health-care system as it faces the pandemic, the NTHSSA said in a separate press release.

The plan structures its pandemic response according to four stages of outbreak severity.

In the first stage, referred to as "minor" in the plan, there are isolated cases of Covid with initial admissions to Stanton Territorial Hospital. Resources are reallocated and non-essential services are reduced.

Detecting and contact tracing is mobilized, community trans-mission is prevented through actions by the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer. In-person healthcare interactions are reduced by replacing them with virtual care, where appropriate.

"We were in that stage a few months ago," Cook said.In stage two, or "moderate," there is community transmission

of Covid. Resources must be actively managed to respond to rising needs as more people are admitted to Stanton. Delays of critical patient transfers should be expected.

All efforts must be made to reduce the spread and maintain sustainability of resources and delay the progression to the third stage.

The third, or "major" stage involves facing increasing num-bers of critically ill patients being admitted to Stanton for active care. Some patients with moderate symptoms would be sent to Inuvik Regional Hospital. It is possible some would be moved out of the territory by medevac. It is expected that 50 per cent

of the 100 inpatient beds at Stanton would be full, and early discharges would be the goal to keep more inpatient beds available. Any external resources available would be prepared for activation.

The fourth stage, "critical," has some or all of the health care resources in the NWT operating above capacity. Scarce resource allocation decisions would be needed, with all resour-ces and external agency supports used to return to the third stage as quickly as possible.

Partnerships with the Alberta health care system would be accessed to secure more resources, if needed, such as machines

that pump oxygen into a patient's bloodstream. There are no such devices in the NWT, Cook said.

Where necessary, additional staff would be added to the health-care system or reallocated as required, including mov-ing staff to other communities.

The plan states that 80 per cent of people who test positive for Covid will have mild symptoms. They will stay at home if they can self-isolate and will be visited by a health-care pro-vider or receive virtual assessments.

If their condition worsens, patients will be offered care based on symptom severity and goals of care, based on a patient's values when they have a severe illness. If they choose comfort care, or palliative care, it will be provided at Stanton, Inuvik Regional Hospital or Hay River Regional Health Centre.

Non-Covid services still offeredNon-Covid-related health services care would still be

offered during outbreaks, but Cook said that a proper balance must be found.

"Non-urgent care, such as elective surgeries, would be ramped down," she said, referring to how those surgeries were postponed in the spring. But urgent care would be maintained.

To manage resources, face-to-face health encounters would shift to virtual encounters over the phone, by video or secure messaging; and patient movement would be reduced by decreasing unnecessary trips to health care facilities.

Cook emphasized that the response plan is focused on health care services and is separate from the new Covid Co-ordinating Secretariat that was announced on Thursday.

The response plan contains a section on making decisions while working with scarce resources, such as medevac flights, critical care beds and ventilators.

Those decisions would become particularly sensitive in cases where patients were already medically vulnerable before contracting Covid. For that purpose, the NWT Scarce Resource Triage Committee was set up to help with decision making.

"We need the ethical framework so people don't act on unconscious bias," said Cook. "The Triage Committee has an Indigenous Elder and ethicist. They would guide triage choices to avoid biases and overcome systemic racism."

Health authorities are trying to obtain all the necessary medical and personal protective equipment (PPE), Cook said, but all other jurisdictions are doing the same, leading to supply shortages.

"We have three ventilators on order that haven't arrived yet," she said.

That would add to the 13 ventilators, including ambulance transport ventilators that the NWT already has, as Cook said in March.

The rush for more resources also means the NWT has yet to receive more GeneXpert and BioFire rapid testing devices.

Cook said a significant announcement would be made in the next week about Covid testing capacity.

news

'We have three ventilators on order that haven't arrived yet,' medical director says

GNWT image

Dr. Sarah Cook, outgoing territorial medical director, is pictured in a file photo with chief public health officer Dr. Kami Kandola. Cook presented the Department of Health's Covid-19 plan to reporters during a video conference Sept. 4.



getting jiggy with itGreg Smith holds a giant purple top white globe turnip on Sunday. He has been growing it since June. It is 9 inches wide and 6 inches high, and Smith estimates it weighs 10 lbs. "We might cook it this week in a Jiggs Dinner, it's a Newfie thing where you cook lots of vegetables with salt beef in a pot and share it as a family." Smith grew the turnips and carrots in a repurposed fibreglass water tank from a fire truck. "It's nice because it's waist-high and you don't have to bend over to plant and harvest," he said.

GNWT outlines plan for fall wave of Covid-19 infections

yeLLoWkNIfer, Wednesday, September 9, 2020 7news

An aspiring entrepreneur who links snowboarding with NWT furs might soon give Yellowknife another claim to fame on an international stage.

Yellowknifer Joel Dragon Smith has advanced to the final rounds of the Arctic Future Challenge, a competition for young business people from circumpolar countries.

Dragon Smith, an avid snowboarder, is advancing a business plan based on the fur warmers made by Aurora Heat, his family's business that his mother Brenda Dragon started in Fort Smith. They source materials from the Mackenzie Valley Fur Program, which receives its furs from trappers across the territory.

"My mom grew up with that traditional knowledge of trapping and furs," Dragon Smith said. "And I used to go snowboard-ing for hours outside but then I would come back and my hands and feet would be really cold. So she started giving us fur to put in our mitts. That was sort of an 'aha' moment, because they work so well but they're not accessible for everyone."

The warmers are made of sheared bea-ver fur, the very soft inner fur that is left over when the waterproof guard hairs are removed.

"I just want to bring that into the global snowboarding community. I'm also targeting the younger snowboarders. The younger gen-eration seems to be more passionate about social change and social justice. They're more aware of the history with Aboriginal history and intergenerational trauma. They're looking for ways to support truth and recon-ciliation."

"I'm really proud of my business plan and our product. It's an all-natural product. It really hits that sustainability aspect. Not only that but there are so many things behind Aurora Heat that really creates positive impact for the North and preserves cultural heritage and traditional practices. It gives people identity and pride in that trapping

lifestyle. I think we're kind of losing that as we go forward in time. I think it's something worth supporting."

He submitted his entry to the internation-al competition in July, and was informed that he won the Canadian round in August.

The contest was founded in Iceland in 2019 to boost entrepreneurship and innova-tion among Arctic youth, and to raise aware-ness of the Arctic as a region with investment potential, according to its website.

Applicants are between 18 and 29 years of age and their entry projects must sup-port at least one United Nations Sustainable Development Goal in the Arctic region.

"I thought it was awesome to just win the nationals," said Dragon Smith. "We should have been going to Iceland for the award ceremony and there was going to be work-shops and I was going to meet all these people. It was going to be in October but with Covid they cancelled it and they're changing it to a virtual award show."

Online voting by the public has already begun. In his category of Best Arctic Youth Business Concept, Dragon Smith is compet-ing against contestants from Russia, Iceland, Sweden, Greenland and the U.S.

The other Canadian company in the com-petition is Tundra North Tours, in Inuvik, which entered the Arctic Youth Startup of the Year and Arctic Youth Founder of the Year categories.

After the voting, a jury will make final decisions on one winner in each category, which will be announced in October. Win-ners will receive a cash prize of 25,000 Dan-ish krone ($5,200) and mentoring suited to the winners' business plans.

"Even winning the nationals was a big opportunity to ... showcase products," Drag-on Smith said. "There's lots of potential for spreading the word and showing our prod-ucts and getting into potential markets in Iceland, or talking to people around there that might know other places. It's fun to be in the competition like that. I get to represent Canada!"

Joel Dragon Smith pitching his family's fur company as a supplier to snowboarders

Yellowknifer joins Team Canada in circumpolar business competition



Joel Dragon Smith holds a pair of beaver fur warmers, the focus of his business plan which has advanced to the final rounds of the Arctic Future Challenge for aspiring young entrepreneurs in circumpolar countries.


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Editorial & Opinions

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Alongside lockdown measures that have trapped victims of domestic abuse with their tormentors, reduced capacity at the day shelter on 50 Street is an example of an act inspired by public health designed to keep people safe that actually puts some in greater peril. Time is running out for the GNWT and the city to work together to create more capacity in Yellowknife's social safety net before winter.

at this time of year, many of us are debating whether to turn the heat on in the car, running from the sound of frost being scraped from a windshield and rotating our wardrobes.

some are being reminded by the single-digit overnight temperatures that there are one or two devices on the vehicle that could use the attention of a mechanic. and, judg-ing from the shrinking stock at Yellowknife dealerships, many are deciding the winter would be better weathered with new wheels alto-gether.

so as we brace for what's com-ing with the memory of that -45 C nightmare that was most of last winter fresh in our minds, one truth rises like your breath on a septem-ber morning: leaders need not be elected.

More than 160 of them have banded together in a social media sort of way to express the fact that they're "upset" that city councillors rejected, more or less out-of-hand, a proposal to host a temporary shel-ter for street-involved people at the former sidedoor for youth location downtown.

these vulnerable individuals would otherwise avail themselves of the sobering centre/day shelter on

50 street, but the capacity there has been severely curtailed by Covid-19 safety measures. alongside lock-down measures that have trapped victims of domestic abuse with their tormentors, this is an example of an act inspired by public health designed to keep people safe that actually puts some of them in great-er peril.

there's been a little bit of finger-pointing in terms of who is respon-sible for addressing this gap.

Coun. Niels Konge isn't wrong when he points out that it's the GNwt's responsibility to provide the service and that the city is not and should not be the lead on the project. But the Concerned Yellow-knifers – group founders Nick sowsun and Neesha ishmael chief among them – are disturbed that councillors shot down the shelter proposal without consulting any street-involved people or the profes-sionals who work with them, and

with good reason. with the vote, which felt a bit like the throwing of a time bomb out the window of a mov-ing vehicle, the council painted the temporary shelter as detrimental to business. Konge rightly argued that the GNwt needs to select a location and go through the same approv-als process any other party would. But this is exactly what the GNwt did. in fact, they selected a location that, until a few weeks prior, was being used for a similar purpose: a resource for a more vulnerable sub-set of a vulnerable population. it was the city council that closed that door.

this fledgling facebook group has taken it upon themselves to uphold a fundamental function of our dem-ocracy: keeping the feet of our elect-ed decision-makers to the fire. the root of this metaphor is that discom-fort spurs movement. well, there's a whole bunch of seasonal discomfort on the horizon. More of it whips into town off the bay every night.

Kudos to ishmael, sowsun and the rest of the group. with their help keeping the focus on the issue, the city and the GNwt will feel greater pressure to work together to find a workable solution for those in need before flu season, a second Covid-19 wave or both arrive on all our door-steps.

New shelter-concerned group is an inspirationyellowknifers tired of hearing about where a temporary shelter can't go are trying to force the conversation in a new direction

Northern News Services

THE ISSUE:SHelTeR SHoRTAGe

WE Say:CommuNITY STepS IN


Should the new aquatic centre projectbe a priority for the city?

april Wu"I think it should be a priority because people need more rec-reation choices in the winter."

Estelle Couture"It should keep going ahead. My family uses the pool a lot. It would be beneficial for every-one."

David Couture"It should be. The funds are already there."

Jasmine Bonnetrouge"I think so because the pool we have now is too small."

Chris Walcer"I think so. More rec-reational facilities are needed but it's hard to finalize them during Covid."

ashley Janes"It should be built while the opportunity is there. It might get more costly if there are delays. recreation is very important."

WE asked you!with Blair McBride

[email protected]

Covid-19 bureau a bizarre new GNWT priority

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commentary

Taxpayers in the Northwest Territor-ies have every right to be upset about last week's announcement about a new 150 person Covid-19 response secretariat which will add another healthy dose of civil servants to an already top-heavy bureaucracy.

The last thing we need is more salaries to pay when economic recovery looks dubious at best and when the needs of the pri-vate sector are too often forgotten. It's no small wonder that there is a ground swell of resentment against the size of the civil service in the NWT already.

Now it seems, it's getting worse.

We are being told that those who birthed the idea hope some of the funding will come from the federal government. Either way, it's money that could be spent on other urgently needed services such as housing, mental health, addictions treatment, small and medium busi-ness aid and environmental protec-tion and we will be requesting it at a time when all governments everywhere are almost tapped out.

It seems as though we've forgotten that there are other critical issues needing our immediate attention. This single-minded focus on preparing for a second wave of Covid-19 more than five months in while the first wave fortunately missed us can only make a frustrated public even angrier while inciting more fear when calm is required. This dramatic increase of a Covid-19 team now will do little to allay that.

Though Covid-19 does of course need our special attention, it cannot be our sole focus as we try to move ahead in the best way we can.

Students have just returned to school and across this country all eyes are watching to see how they do and the effect on Covid-19 numbers. We know that teachers are con-cerned about exposure and class sizes. In creating this secretariat, did we consider how we can best support our teachers, children and parents?

Do they have all the supplies they need and support staff ready in the wings? They will be needed. Does the "secretariat" include these boots on the ground or is it just more cumbersome administrative personnel?

Have the number of mental health pro-fessionals been increased to respond to the growing demands of those suffering from domestic or child abuse or even stationed in

schools for the kids and teachers?Has money been allocated to

deal with the housing crisis in a more permanent way? We remem-ber too well the frightened look of the homeless stuck on the streets of Yellowknife last April.

What about environmental issues and looking for green ways to meet our energy needs? Let's not forget that climate change was our number one issue before Covid-19 hasn't gone away. People in California are being reminded of that daily as they attempt to deal with wildfires raging out of control.

Let's not forget too, that it was only recently that Alberta said it

would be dropping its environmental protec-tion regulations thus threatening water com-ing into the territories directly affecting our people, land and animals. Will the secretariat be addressing that?

At no time during my recent travel through B.C did I see or hear the same kind of single focus attention which is happening in the NWT. As some say, it takes on the appearance of fear mongering here rather than problem solving. True, there has been a slight increase in Covid-19 numbers in B.C. but people are being respectful of social dis-tancing, hand washing and wearing masks.

People are aware. People want to do the right thing. Most know we are in this togeth-er. And they want to see some level of careful movement forward. No more fear, please. We need that for our mental health.

Adding to an already unwieldy and top heavy bureaucracy is not the way to go. Insti-tuting holistic programming for a broad range of essential needs is.


image courtesy of GNWT

Premier Caroline Cochrane announced the creation of 150 new government jobs that will directly co-ordinate and deal with the response to the Covid-19 pandemic on Thursday.

NOTES from the trail

Nancy Vail is a longtime Yellowknifer concerned with

social justice.

10 yeLLoWkNIfer, Wednesday, September 9, 2020 commentary

Pay equity act to be enacted"On Labour Day, we celebrate Canada's

workers. We celebrate the contributions that they have made to build our coun-try, a country that we love. We also salute Canada's labour movement, which has fought tirelessly for better wages, workplace safety and equal rights for all Canadians.

Together, every day, we are building on the labour movement's efforts to improve health and safety, worker's rights, labour laws, employment equity and diversity in Canada's workplaces. We thank Canadian workers for their incred-ible contributions and hard work that have made Canada a prosper-ous country. We need to continue to build on our successes and make further progress to make sure work-ers enjoy even better conditions and wages in the future. To this end, I am work-ing to ensure a $1 minimum wage for feder-ally regulated workers.

I have taken a highly collaborative approach to my role as Minister of Labour. I know that we solve problems best when we solve them together. I have convened calls with my provincial and territorial counter-parts, and have met regularly with repre-sentatives of organized labour and employ-ers. I have also convened meetings bringing government officials, organized labour and employers together. As the way we work evolves, the key to creating the greatest benefit for Canada and for all Canadians is to both seize new opportunities and ensure that workers are protected.

We are currently in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the great chal-lenge of our times. Frontline workers have stepped up, keeping essential services and

products available to Canadians. From gro-cery clerks, to truck drivers, to workers in

health care, transportation and telecommunications, I want to salute everyone whose work puts them out in contact with people every day. We must celebrate the commitment, hard work and self-sacrifice of front-line workers over the past few months. As we enter this recov-ery phase, we will continue to rely on their commitment to our prosperity and safety. Our frontline workers deserve our gratitude and respect.

Women are on the frontline, serving and supporting their communities during these dif-ficult times. I recognize that women are among the hardest

hit in this pandemic. That is why closing the gender wage gap remains a key priority for the Government of Canada. To this end, we continue to work towards implementing the Pay Equity Act, which is planned to come into force in 2021. It will ensure that women and men in federally regulated workplaces receive equal pay for work of equal value.

Further to this, we are raising awareness of the wage gaps experienced by women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and visible minorities through new pay transparency measures. The new measures will prompt employers to take action to examine their practices and show leadership in reducing these gaps. These are concrete ways to make sure that everyone is treated fairly in the workplace.

Covid-19 has disrupted the lives of mil-lions of Canadians, leaving no part of soci-ety untouched, changing the way Canadians

work across the country. As Minister of Labour, my number one priority throughout this pandemic has been the health and safety of Canada's workers. I have worked closely with the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, which has provided valu-able guidance to Canadian workers and businesses to help them operate during a pandemic: tip sheets, e-learning courses available free of charge and an online space, Pandemic Info Share, where businesses can share resources and advice.

Covid-19 has also dis-connected us from our regular support networks. I am committed to mak-ing mental health a key component of occupa-tional health and safety. Our government has taken a number of important steps to protect and sup-port Canadians experi-encing stress and anxiety due to Covid-19, launch-ing, among other initia-tives, Wellness Together Canada, an online portal that provides access to a virtual network of psychosocial supports. Continuing to support the mental health of Canadian workers will be critical as we move forward.

Both our ability to contribute to society and our mental health are deeply affected by how others treat us. Harassment and vio-lence in the workplace cannot be tolerated. Our government has made changes to the Canada Labour Code and created new regu-lations to better protect Canadian workers, including the most vulnerable, from harm-

ful behaviours. We are also on track for the new Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations to come into force in January 2021.

The workplace has changed significantly over the past few decades, particularly as more employees have shifted to working vir-tually through digital platforms, which have made it easier for us to respond effectively to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is important that

we continue to gather data and evidence to be able to plan a thought-ful and prosperous way forward into the future world of work and the "new normal."

We have to make sure that workers, whose status is not clearly cov-ered by federal or prov-incial laws, are not fall-ing through the cracks. We also must ensure that the many people who are now working from home are able to achieve work-life bal-ance, and are protected by labour laws. It must

be possible for workers to disconnect at the end of the workday if they choose to, with-out fear of repercussions.

As we reopen and continue to build a stronger, more resilient country, I will continue to consult and work with unions, workers, employers, government colleagues, experts, Indigenous partners and my prov-incial and territorial counterparts to take the steps needed to create healthy and safe workplaces for everyone during the pandem-ic and our recovery."

GUEST Comment

Filomina Tassi is the federal minister of

labour.

" I am committed to making mental

health a keycomponent of

occupational health and safety."

Filomena Tassi

yeLLoWkNIfer, Wednesday, September 9, 2020 11photo story

The business of competi-tive softball is now over for 2020 as the Yk Slopitch Asso-ciation's championship games wrapped up last night.

All four divisions started its title contests on Monday, the culmination of the double-knockout playoffs which began late last month.

There was the possibility of two championship games in each division as no team was eliminated until they lost two games. Here's some of the action from the first set of championship games on Mon-day at Fritz Theil Park.

See the next edition of Yellowknifer for the full recap.

Let the finals commence

Laura Busch puts bat to ball.

Alex Brockman eyes a pitch that travelled deep.

trevor reynolds rounds third and heads for home as third base coach linda Khounkhong keeps an eye on the play.

Sou Chanthalangsy prepares to drive one into play.

Chris Pedersen delivers a pitch to home plate.

Veronica mcDonald eyes up a pitch to put into play.


SLOPITCH feature

by James McCarthy


RCMP name Yellowknife detachment commander

The HCMS Yellowknife, a coastal patrol frigate whose home port is at the docks of Canadian Forces base Esquimalt, B.C., is scaf-folded and expected to undergo refurbishment.

David Sproule, a former Yellowknifer and current resident of Victoria, captured a photo-graph of the ship that bears Yellowknife's name at the shipyard. Sproule is a retired member of the military, having spent 18 years in the regu-lar force and several years in the reserve army.

Sproule said that every five to 10 years the ship is enshrouded in the harbour to receive upgrades for several months before being relaunched.

Over the winter, it is expected the vessel will be sanded and repainted, and workers will upgrade the ship's engines. Inspecting the equipment onboard and updating ship software are also common components of refurbish-ment.

The frigate is 55.3 metres long and 11.3 metres wide. It weighs 970 tonnes. It was chris-tened on June 5, 1997.

It celebrates Yellowknife's imagery with a crest that depicts a raven holding a miner's powder knife to symbolize gold mining.

Insp. Dyson Smith, a longtime RCMP officer throughout the North and across the country, has been named the new Yellowknife detachment com-mander.

The Northwest Territories RCMP provided a statement on Friday after-noon that Smith will replace Insp. Alex Laporte, who moved to a new position in Ottawa last month.

"I want our police force to be close to the people," stated Smith. "I sincere-ly believe that, as a public service, we are accountable and we must be open to dialogue with our partners and the community.

"We have a strong, dedicated team of employees at the Yellowknife detachment. During my mandate, I will make it a priority to showcase the excellent work that this team does on a daily basis to make our community safe and secure"

According to a Sept. 4 news release, Smith has 20 years of experience in many different policing environments across Canada, "including in rural, remote communities, for federal units, municipal units and headquarters."

The release states that he has worked at five divisions including in Alberta, Nunavut, Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories.

At G Division, Smith has worked for the RCMP's federal drug section.

In 2018, he became officer in charge of the North District, overseeing 11 detachments and 13 communities. He also managed the G Division Relief Section.

Insp. Smith is originally from Nova Scotia. He has a bachelor's degree from Saint Mary's University in Halifax, majoring in sociology with a minor in criminology.

He and his wife Nichole have three children.

photo courtesy of the NWT rCMP

Insp. Dyson Smith, the new detachment commander with the Yellowknife RCmp, was publicly named to the position on Sept. 4.

by Simon Whitehouse Northern News Services

the HmCS yellow-knife patrol frigate is currently scaffolded in the point Hope Harbour in Victoria. The ship will under-go some repairs and upgrades during the winter months before being relaunched.

photo courtesy of David Sproule

by Simon Whitehouse Northern News Services

HMCS Yellowknife undergoes repairsFormer resident of capital and retired military man spots ship in drydock

Insp. Dyson Smith has served across the country

news


A Yellowknife business owner has responded to the pan-demic by opening not one, but two businesses.

Luna Liu is the owner of Destination NWT, a tourism operation that offers travel packages for English and Mandarin-speaking travellers.

But like almost all operators in the tourism sector, the Covid-19 pandemic flattened her business activity.

"We stopped all the tourism business on March 15. No income from (then on)," said Liu.

Covid forced her to think about how she could survive the economic downturn as the NWT entered the lockdown in March and pandemic restrictions cut off hopes of a quick recovery in tourism.

"Before I was very busy with international tourists. I wasn't thinking about local marketing. I had to think about what I could do," said Liu.

One idea was to tap into the 'staycation' market, and on Aug. 1 she opened up 7th Aurora Lodge for local residents to rent. The lodge on Madeline Lake can accommodate up to 10 people at once.

It proved successful and was fully booked for August. Book-ings for September and October are already filled as well.

"I don't think the rental fee is very high. It's reasonable. But I only want to get the rental fee to cover my mortgage, it's enough. I don't really want to earn a lot from the locals. Just to cover my costs, including water and housekeeping and maintenance."

Not being the type of person to sit still for long, and with more free time due to a lack of tourists, Liu turned her attention to a culinary idea that had been on her mind for a long time.

"She feels the food selection is still limited in Yellowknife and she wanted to try something on her own," said her husband Liang Chen.

Her initial plan was to open a food truck serving spicy Szechuan and traditional Chinese cuisine. But she kept experiencing delays in receiving the government health permits for a food truck and so she opted to open a commercial kitchen for a delivery service instead.

The permits for that came through, and last weekend her company ABC Food Services fed its first batch of 20 hungry customers.

People place their orders one day in advance and the meals are cooked in her commercial kitchen by profes-sional chef Simon Chai, then delivered in containers to custom-ers' doors.

"The idea is to use local ingredients but in the traditional Chinese way to cook it," said Chen. "And to be as authentic as she can be, but definitely not something you would get at a buf-fet. Everything is cooked to order so when she does the delivery it should be hot to the touch."

But Liu and her husband stress that while it might be exciting to see more businesses doing things in the city, their earnings from the lodge and food delivery don't come close to making up for the losses from their main tourism business.

"She's keeping everything reasonable just to make sure that she can pay the bills and then still provide a service to locals. It's just to keep busy and stay afloat," said Chen.

Although the pandemic gave his wife the opportunity to finally pursue her food business, for Chen there is no silver lining to the effects on business, and he said the worst thing about it is not knowing when it will end.

"We actually have a lot of interest from travel agencies and from Canadian and international travellers who want to start booking. And we have some VIPs from other countries as well that want to come," he said. "But we can't give them any cer-tainty. I think that's actually worse than knowing your losses just because where is the hope of restarting? It's constantly put-ting people off. The people that want to come here and enjoy our activities, but we have to tell them, 'You can't, and we don't know when you can.'"

Still, the restrictions and difficulties of the pandemic have accelerated some business trends that were just waiting for someone like Liu to jump on.

"The pandemic kind of taught us two things: I don't think she'll ever evolve to a full sit-down restaurant and I think the food truck and the delivery business actually might become a norm for quality meals. They're convenient, and because of the reduced overhead costs of not having to pay a lease and then servers, we can reduce the food costs quite a bit more than if it was served in a restaurant. That's something the pandemic taught us and we're trying to explore if there's anything there for us," Chen said.

business

with Blair McBride

focuson business

Tourism operator shifts gears to open Chinese food business, lodge

Simon Chai, left, a profes-sional Chi-nese chef and luna liu, owner of the new ABC Food Services, and also owner of tourism oper-ation Destina-tion NWT. Simon Whitehouse/NNSL photo


photos courtesy of ABC food Services

ABC Food Services cooks up authentic Szechuan cuisine and other traditional Chinese dishes.

'We stopped all the tourism business on march 15. No income'


In a year which provided all sorts of what-ifs, maybes and will-we-evers, it was nice to know that sports seeming-ly turned into it-happeneds, definites and yes-we-wills.

The Yellowknife Tennis Club managed to pull togeth-er a full season of tourna-ments this summer and it all wrapped up on Sunday with the finals in the Fall Tour-nament. Dozens of players signed up to try and win the last competitive event of the 2020 season and when all was said and done, five cham-pions left with the spoils.

The men's singles final saw Alex Godfrey come out on top as he beat Moham-med Mahfuzur Rahman in straight sets: 6-4, 6-4.

Godfrey said Rahman made him earn it.

"Mohammed's a great player and we play a very sim-ilar style," he said. "We defin-itely had a lot of good rallies so it was a tough afternoon." Those rallies Godfrey men-tioned were numerous as both players seemingly matched each other shot-for-shot all the way through, but the big

difference in both sets was a late break of serve by God-frey each time.

"We were on serve until the last game," said Godfrey. "I broke him at 5-4 in both sets so it was a really tight match, could've gone either way, for sure. Even though it was straight sets, I got lucky to pull it off in the end."

In the women's singles, Tamara Jovic hit the top of the mountain as she defeated Mercy Mupedsizwa in straight sets to claim victory: 6-1, 6-0.

As easy as it reads on paper, Jovic said it wasn't your standard routine victory.

"We had a few games at deuce and (Mercy) was play-ing really well," she said. "I think I just knew how to close it out. Just tried to stay strong mentally."

Jovic has had plenty of deep runs in tournaments this season but she said that experience wasn't the decid-ing factor.

"It was my first time playing her so I didn't know what to expect," she said. "Her serve was really good, though."

In the other divisions,

Jovic and Rahman teamed up to win the mixed doubles crown over Hiro Kobayashi and Randy Rivers by a score of 6-1, 6-4 while Nikki Gohil and Jean Tuyishime needed three sets to get past the duo of Damien Healy and Joey

Borkovic: 4-6, 6-1, 6-0. The women's doubles title went to Kobayashi and Anita Ogaa as they beat Tina Hendrickson and Elizabeth du Plessis.

With the tournament sea-son now over, Godfrey, who serves on the club's board

of directors, said everything went as well as it could have gone, considering that it could have been a lost season.

"We got lucky that our return-to-play plan was approved by the chief public health officer," he said. "I

think because of the lack of options out there, a lot of people turned to tennis as a way to get out and be active. The club took advantage of that and we ended up having one of the better summers we've ever had.

Yellowknife Tennis ClubFall Tournament ends competitive season

Last champions of the court

James McCarthy/NNSL photos

Alex Godfrey returns a backhand during action in the men's singles final of the Yellowknife Tennis Club's Fall Tournament on Sunday.

mercy mupedsizwa serves at full extension dur-ing action in the women's singles final of the Yellowknife Tennis Club's Fall Tournament on Sept. 6.

by James McCarthy Northern News Services

SportS hotline • JameS mccarthyphone: (867) 873-4031 • email: [email protected] • Fax: (867) 873-8507

Sports & recreation

yeLLoWkNIfer, Wednesday, September 9, 2020 17sports & recreation

While some people were enjoying the last long week-end of summer – and the offi-cial start to fall, according to many – a bunch of folks were busy getting in one last good hack at the Yellowknife Golf Club.

The Labour Day Scram-ble saw a total of 15 teams of four players hit the links in the hopes of winning the final team event of the season. Scramble rules meant all play-

ers teed off from each hole, followed by players hitting the next shot from whoever had the best tee shot and so on.

The final results weren't known as of press time.

Teeing it up on Labour Day

Chad Hinchey watches his tee shot head for the green at the 6th.

Jim Paul, right, tries to bend the ball into the hole on the 8th green as Ron lafond, left, Dan Rintoul, Joe Remo and Daryl Snow watch on. It would fall for birdie.

Garrett Hinchey chips onto the green at the 6th.

Joe remo putts for – and makes – birdie on the 8th.


GOLF feature

by James McCarthy

Casper mantla tries his luck at chipping onto the green at the 6th.

Daryl Snow watches his drive head down the fair-way at the 8th.

group calls for new shelter before winter · shelter before winter 'concerned citizens'...

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