On EDGE: Opinion The first sign Ethel Blondin Andrew was in danger of losing to Dennis Bevington in 2006 came not from any poll, but an unexpected phone call from Paul Martin, in the waning days of the campaign. Martin did not call to outline a new northern initiative, but to emphasize some point in
OPINION Before I arrived in Yellowknife from Toronto the idea of settling on the shores of Great Slave Lake was an alien concept to me. Little did I know the city would end up being the perfect landing spot for a city boy looking for a job and a place to call home. Yet after
On the surface of things, Wednesday’s announcement that the GNWT is kicking $29.7 million over to NTPC to cover the costs associated with low water in the Snare System is a story about the effects of climate change and a government making the tough choices needed to fight it. That’s certainly the narrative the government is selling: “Despite tight
Dirty windows: new lobbyist reporting rules still aren’t transparent Amid the flurry of business during the Legislative Assembly’s frenzied final week before summer vacation, there was tabled a small item by the government that mostly escaped media notice. The GNWT issued its response to the assembly’s February motion calling on the government to establish a
Michael Miltenberger is leading a second European tour in as many years to sell space and time on the fibre optic cable now working its way down the Mackenzie Valley and promotion of Inuvik’s satellite station facility as a cool place to locate a dish. “As the MVFL moves towards scheduled completion in mid-2016, the
Chattering class: the Yukon has 59, Nunavut has 32, and we have a mere 27 After ignoring pleas for more consultation on devolution, the territorial government has marked a pile of surplus federal devolution cash for spending on a handful of communications flacks to tell the public what a great job it’s doing. Michael Miltenberger
It was fun while it lasted. In previous budget years, the North has enjoyed favoured status, reaping specific policy goodies nestled in each document: $300 million for housing here, a new economic development agency or research centre there. These are not insignificant line items. And they’ve generally been accompanied by handfuls of smaller initiatives that
Now that the territorial government has set the date of the next election, it’s time to turn to electoral boundaries and the City’s legal challenge, which has been gestating behind closed doors since last October. Evidently it’s sensitive stuff, not to be shared with voters and taxpayers, so sensitive that councillors who work for the
The cynics among us might describe politics as the delay between the identification of a problem and the action taken to do something about it. You might forgive NWT electricity customers for feeling that way after NTPC’s most recent rate hike went into effect April 1. Despite months of churning debate over the NWT’s cost
On EDGE | Opinion Even by the stilted, hidebound standards of budget speeches, Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger’s offering yesterday was pretty dull. The most oratory verve was found near the beginning, where, in an attempt at invoking an epic timeframe, Miltenberger measured the time since this government has taken office in days—1,197 to be exact.
Is consensus government, brainchild of Sir Frederick Haultain (above), a 19th century relic? | Illustration by Augustus Kenderdine On EDGE | Opinion Yukon premier Darrell Pasloski’s decision to fight the next territorial election on the future of the Peel Watershed is an assertion that elected authority trumps a court ruling. It’s either political suicide or a calculated gamble. However
After more than 20 years of deliberation, the Northwest Territories is finally establishing an ombudsman’s office to investigate citizen’s grievances against government. “An ombudsman assists people, free of charge, who feel they have been treated unfairly by government and helps people understand their rights when it comes to government administration,” explained Deh Cho MLA Michael
A major overhaul of child services in the NWT was tabled by Minister of Health and Social Services minister Glen Abernethy. The “Building Stronger Families: An Action Plan to Transform Child and Family Services” outlines a number of initiatives to remedy a system found woefully inadequate by the Auditor General and the standing committee on
EDGEitorial In a move worthy of a dictatorship in some distant banana republic, the Northwest Territories unelected premier, cabinet, and a handful of MLAs in what passes for the official opposition in the territory’s sorry pantomime of consensus governance have voted to extend their term in office, likely until sometime in 2016. The gang of
by Jack Danylchuk EDGE YK Online On EDGE: Opinion November 11, 2013 Hansard doesn’t record gestures or expressions, but it’s hard to imagine that a wink, a blink or a nudge didn’t pass between Bob McLeod and Michael Miltenberger after the premier’s brief contribution to the debate on electoral boundaries. “We shouldn’t be increasing seats because