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Alberta buys big with renewable energy stake AimCo Albertas Crown fund manager bought a 200-million stake in a renewable energy giant last week. See page 3. Northern climate research to be featured at COP21 Canadian filmmaker Mark Terry who has been creating documentaries about climate science since 2009 has a new trick up his sleeve. See page 15. HOLIDAY SHOPPING IS HERE The tea bake sale and bazaar circuit has begun. See page 11. Are the days of the Athabasca Delta school numbered The Misikew Cree First Na- tion has served notice it in- tends to build its own school with language immersion in Fort Chipewyan. See page 14. Ho ho ho Mahsi Cho Duncan MacPhersons legacy lives on with Fort Smiths Santa sleigh and its iconic Muffaloose. See page 10. V IS IT W W W .N O R J.C A A national award winning independent newspaper serving northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories since 1977 1.00 December 2 2015 Vol. 39 No. 31 By DALI CARMICHAEL On Nov. 24 the federal govern- ment revealed its plan to accept 25000 refugees from Syria over the next three months. As many as 3000 will be placed in Alberta. The following day Minister of Jobs Skills Training and Labour Lori Sigurdson Deputy Minister AndreCorbouldandHealthMinister SarahHoffmanEducationMinister David Eggen laid out what this in- take would look like in the province. Twelve ministries have come to- gethertoensureourprovinceisprop- erly prepared to step up and support children women and men fleeing their homes because of violence and strife Sigurdson said. Yesterday the federal government announced its plan to welcome 25000 refugees from Syria here by the end of Febru- ary. Were very pleased to be here to hear the process has been slowed down to ensure the re-settlement of these vulnerable people is done in a well-coordinated manner. Inadditiontothe250000funding originallycommittedbytheprovince the government has designated an- other 1 million through the Alberta RefugeeResettlementGrantInitiative. Five communities have been pre- pared to take in those refugees Ed- monton Calgary Red Deer Medi- cine Hat and Lethbridge. Throughoutthelastseveralmonths housing medical employment and educationneedshavebeenconsidered astheprovincepreparesfortheinux ofrefugeessettoenterthecountryat the end of February 2016. Health Minister Sarah Hoffman indicated that while many refugees entering Alberta will likely be spon- soredprivatelytheprovinceisprepar- ing services including housing for at least2100publically-sponsoredpeople. Later this week Minister of Jobs SkillsTrainingandLabourLoriSig- urdsonwillbemeetingwithfederal immigration minister John McCal- lumandhercounterpartsfromacross the country to determine how much fundingthefederalgovernmentwill be providing for this transition. Looking North of 60 Thetransitioningterritorialgovern- mentintheNorthwestTerritoriesmay notbeinapositiontoaidrefugeesjust yethowevercommunitygroupshave stepped up and are working on their owninitiativestoaiddisplacedSyrians. In the capital folks at the Calvary Community Church are in talks about sponsoring refugees. The main decision is how many weregoingtobringinwhetherwere going to bring in a single person as our rst kick at this cat or whether were going to bring in somebody with a child said spokesperson Jason Knight. We do have a lot of support thats been pledged. Another group Yellowknifers Supporting Syrian Refugees is tak- ing advantage of a federal govern- ment program matching dollar for dollar funds raised towards aiding Syrian refugees. Thats the route that our group took initially because of the election we werent sure what was going to happen in terms of bringing refu- gees to Canada and certainly we have been looking at what it would take to sponsor somebody said or- ganizer Lindsay Dufarmer. On Dec. 5 the grassroots group is hosting a Syrian meal and si- lent auction fundraiser at Sir John Franklin High School. They are also accepting donations before the dinner as of press time 800 had been raised. Previously the group has also hostedwebinarsessionsoftheRefu- gee Sponsorship Training Program providing a resource for individuals interested in supporting refugees. InHayRiverstirringsofactionhave startedtotakeplacethoughanymajor fundraisersorsponsorshipeffortlikely wont happen until the new year. There are a lot of people who are interested as well theyve messaged me and said hey count me in said Georgine Stark a prospective volun- teer. She began looking into ways to raise funds and sponsor refugees be- foretheelongatedelectionseasonhit. Stark was surprised to also re- ceive some vitriol as she investi- gated her options. Ivegottenquiteabitofackfrom people she said. Its probably just one or two per cent that are really negative but theyre very vocal and they post all kinds of stuff on Face- book thats where I get it from. So far the territory has also do- nated25000totheUnitedNations High Commissioner for Refugees. For more information on Yellow- knifers Supporting Syrian refugees head to httpswww.facebook.com groups1656810787870997frefts. Alberta NWT prepare for Syrian refugees Biathlon season kicked off in the South Slave with the rst Polar Cup of the year last weekend. Biathletes from Hay River and Yellowknife including senior shooter Michaela Crook descended on Fort Smith Nov. 28-19. For more pictures and results head to pages 8-9. PhotoDaliCarmichael