Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
FEBRUARY4FEBRUARY18FEBRUARY11FEBRUARY252014THEYEARINREVIEWNWTjuniorcurlersbringhomenationalfairplayawardsThoughneitherthegirlsnorboysNorthwestTerri-toriesjuniorcurlingteamsplacedattheCanadiancham-pionshpstheywererewardedfortheirpostiveattitudesandsportsmanship.HeritageFundcontributionsuppedto25percentRegularMLAspressureFi-nanceMinisterMichaelMilt-enbergertoincreaseHeritageFundcontributionsto25percentupfromvepercentin-creasingthepoolofnancialresourcesavailabletofuturegenerations.FederalgovernmentcutsEIbenetstoNortherncapitalsTheCanadiangovernmentcreatesanewpolicyenforc-ingstricterregulationsonemploymentinsuranceinYellowknifeWhitehorseandIqaluitinordertobringtheNorthscapitalcitiesonparwiththerestofCanada.QueenannouncesshewontinterferewithdevolutionTheQueendeclinestotakeactiononarequestregardingBillC-15insteadreferringthemattertotheGovernorGen-eral.DeneleaderBillErasmustakesthisasapositivesigntheCrownacknowledgesFirstNa-tionsequalstatus.TlichotakesfedstocourtoverproposedsuperboardsTheTlichogovernmentini-tiateslegalactionagainstthefedsoveritsdevolutionlegisla-tionthatalsomakeschangestotheNWTsregulatorysystemseliminatingregionallandandwaterboardspreviouslyes-tablishedthroughlandclaims.IndigenousgroupsprotestPeelwater-sheddevelopmentAboriginalpeoplesfromAklaviktoDawsonCitymarchinsolidaritytopro-testagainstresourcedevel-opmentinthePeelwatershedandwhattheyclaimarevio-lationsoftheirtreatyrightsbytheYukongovernment.TuesdayJanuary1320157JamesQavavauqAnyoneknowingthewhereaboutsofpleasecontactAnnieBellemareat613747-7800ext.2058.AndreAirutAnyoneknowingthewhereaboutsofpleasecontactAnnieBellemareat613747-7800ext.2058.NorthernJournals2014StoryoftheYearAfireseasonfortherecordbooksNWTgetswake-upcallonclimatecostsByMEAGANWOHLBERGOnlyoneresourcemayhavedriedupfasterthantheforestandwaterwaysoftheNWTlastsummerthemoneyrequiredtoghttheinfernalimpactsofoneoftheworstdroughtsinageneration.ThemostintenseforestfireseasontobefoughtonNWTsoilindecades2014ssummerofsmokewontsoonbeforgot-tenbyresidentsfirefightersandfinanceofficialswhospentthreesolidmonthsbattlingblazeafterblazeacrossthesouth-ernhalfoftheterritorywithnohelpfromMotherNature.Entirecommunitiestransportationroutestransmissionlinesandhydrostationswerethreatenedforweeksonendwithmassiverecomplexesnearlyclaiminghomescaus-ingpoweroutagesandmakingairqualitysopooritkeptresidentscoopedupfordaysatatime.Twomajorvalues-atourismlodgeandafamilyhomestead-wereclaimedinthein-fernoasrecrewswererenderedpowerlesstodealwiththeextremerebehaviourthatburned3.5millionhectaresofforestandre-quiredemergencycrewsfromjurisdictionsacrossthecountrytojoininthesuppres-sionefforts.Asmop-upworkconcludedinthefallthefinaltallywasreleased55million-morethanseventimestheoriginalbudgetof7.4million-spentfightingwildfiresattimesburninguptoonemilliondollarsaday.AsMinisterMichaelMiltenbergerputitlastfireseasonwasoneforthere-cordbooks.Thatheftypricetaggrowsevenfurtherwhenfactoringinthesubsequent20-mil-lionbailouttheterritorialgovernmentwasforcedtogiveitsCrownhydrocorporationtheNTPowerCorp.afterresidentsbalkedatitsproposed13percentratehikejustmonthsagosaidtobetheresultoflowwaterlevelsontheSnarehydrosystemalsocausedbythedrought.The75-milliontotaltakesahugebiteoutofthe100-millioncushiontheNWTmaintainsbetweenitsspendingandthe800-millionfederalborrowinglimitestab-lishedbyOttawaleavingmajorquestionsaboutwhatcouldhappenifMotherNatureattemptsanencoreperformancenextyearwithoutaraiseddebtceilingfortheterritory.Sucharepeatisnotunexpected.Recordsshowasteadyincreaseinthecostofreght-inginrecentyearswiththeNWTgovern-mentspending17.2milliononresuppres-sionin2012-13.Thatspendingballoonedto21.4millionin2013-14pastitsoriginalbudgetof7.5million.Powerrateshavenobetterrecordwhenitcomestoincreases.ThelatestgeneralrateapplicationfromtheNTPowerCorp.issueda26percentincreasetoresidentsoverthepastfouryearsandcostsareexpectedtocon-tinuemountingalongsiderisingdieselcostsforcingofcialsintoafrenzyoverwhattodoaboutthefutureofNWTenergy.Andwhenitcomestotheclimateitselfweatherisbecomingnearlyunpredictable.Seasonedfirecrewsstruggledlastyearastheyfacedoff-the-chartdroughtcodesandhighlyunusualwindsontopoftensofthousandsoflightningstrikesthatcamewithoutrain.NWTresidents-andthedwindlingcar-ibouherdsthatrelyontheforestfortheirvitalwinteringrange-cantaffordanotherfireseasonlikethelast.SowhilesomeNorthernerslookforwardtothecomingbreakfromthecoldnextsummeritsmorelikelythatthemajorityisfacingthemeltingofthesnowwithsometrepidationastheywonderwhetherornotaburningNorthisthenewnorm.PhotoKellyPennycookENRTheBirchCreekrecomplexragesalongHwy.3betweenFortProvidenceandYellowknifeinearlyAugust.ThemassiveamalgamationofwildresinterferedwithtrafcforweeksoverthesummerattimescuttingoffBehchokoandYellowknifefromtheroadnetworkfordaysatatimeandbillowingsmokeintocommunitieswhereresidentswereforcedtoremaininsideduetopoorairquality.