Leaders in Fort Resolution, N.W.T., have concerns about the response to an extended power outage in the community on Saturday.

A family living in a public housing unit in Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., says they've been dealing with an infestation of mice for years, and they've received little help from Housing N.W.T.

In a written decision on Monday, N.W.T. Supreme Court Justice Nicholas Devlin said he reached a “split conclusion,” approving funds for Ron Barlas's legal defence but denying additional living expenses.

A jury trial began for Robin Williams, accused of crimes including assault and sexual assault between 2014 and 2022. He has pleaded not guilty on all counts.

Witness testimony in the trial of a former Yellowknife city councillor accused of assault began in Northwest Territories Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Nunavut is returning to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts after a one-year hiatus. A lack of available players and the closure of Iqaluit's curling rink, which was used as a backup set for the production of a TV show, caused Nunavut to withdraw last year.

The Nunavut Housing Corp. said Tuesday it has found homes for tenants who lived in 19 of the 36 units that were destroyed in the Jan. 10 fire that levelled the Noble House apartment complex in Iqaluit.

For residents who were living in the 17 other occupied residential units at 1088 Mivvik St., temporary accommodations have been found at hotels and other places.

“Our team is working diligently to ensure the remaining tenants are rehomed as quickly as possible,” Alexandria Webb, senior communications officer with Nunavut Housing Corp., said in an email to Nunatsiaq News Tuesday.

Most of the building’s residential tenants were living in government staff housing. Several businesses as well as MP Lori Idlout also had offices there.

No injuries were reported in the fire, which remains under investigation by the Iqaluit fire department with support from the Nunavut Fire Marshal’s office and Iqaluit RCMP.

“Efforts are ongoing to transition tenants from hotels into more permanent accommodations as soon as suitable units become available,” Webb said.

“This process involves carefully co-ordinating timelines, preparing the units, and ensuring they meet the needs of the tenants.”

Students at Joamie School share words of support with displaced tenants from the Noble House fire last week. (Photo by Daron Letts)

Displaced tenants began moving into other housing units last weekend.

Tenants who were not relocated to hotels can phone the housing corporation’s emergency contact line at 867-222-1304 if they have arranged alternate temporary accommodations, require a hotel room, or need further assistance.

Webb said the housing corporation is collaborating with Northview REIT, the building owner, to secure long-term housing for families and individuals who lost their homes to the fire.

As well, the housing corporation worked alongside two members of the Canadian Red Cross and the City of Iqaluit to find shelter and supplies for tenants who lost their homes.

“Support was provided through electronic financial transfers and prepaid cards,” said Jason Small, a Canadian Red Cross spokesperson.

“At this time, (Red Cross) support has concluded for everyone who registered for assistance.”

The housing corporation is leading the Government of Nunavut’s effort to assist staff who lost their homes.

The GN announced last week that funding through its Emergency Income Assistance program can help people replace essential items such as clothing, toiletries, food, baby bottles and formula, and other necessities.

All Nunavummiut can apply, regardless of whether they are current Income Assistance clients.

People affected by the Noble House can visit the Income Assistance office in building 607, phone 867-975-5278, or email [email protected] for support.

The GN said anyone who lost their driver’s licence or general identification card in the fire can visit the Department of Motor Vehicles office at building 1104-C to receive a certified true copy of the documents to use as government-issued photo identification until a replacement card arrives.

The territorial government also said that any residents who are struggling with their mental health or who know someone is struggling can reach a counsellor by phoning 867-975-5900.

Imperial Oil’s current water licence in the N.W.T. is set to expire in March, and the process of issuing a normal renewal is on hold because the entire operation in Norman Wells, N.W.T., is now the subject of an environment assessment. 

Health workers in Nunavut have a month’s supply of vitamin D on hand for people across the territory.

Vitamin D, which humans mainly absorb from sunshine, contributes to healthy bones and teeth. Due to Nunavut’s lack of sun in winter months, many Nunavummiut need to find supplementary sources, the Health Department announced Monday in a public service announcement.

Nurses at health facilities across the territory, including those working in Iqaluit Public Health’s maternal and child programs, can provide the nutrient to people of all ages.

“Getting enough vitamin D is important for everyone, especially pregnant women, babies and young children,” the announcement said.

Children with a lack of vitamin D can develop rickets, a “painful bone condition that causes bones to soften and bend.”

People can also seek other sources of vitamin D, including fish, maktaaq, bird and fish eggs, milk, margarine and yogurt that are enriched with the nutrient.

Daily vitamin D dose recommendations are as follows:

• Babies under the age of two — 800 IU daily.
• Pregnant women — prenatal vitamin plus 1,000 IU of vitamin D daily.
• Breastfeeding women — encouraged to breastfeed for as long as possible and take 1,000 IU of vitamin D daily.
• Children two to 18 years and adults over 50 years — 400 IU of vitamin D daily in the form of a multivitamin.

Refills are also available at pharmacies. The Non-Insured Benefits Plan covers the cost of vitamin D for all ages. It also covers the cost of prenatal vitamins and multivitamins for children up to 11 years old.

People can get more information at their local health centre.

Rankin Inlet elders, hamlet officials and Government of Nunavut representatives celebrated the completion of the community’s long-term-care facility Tuesday.

“We won’t need to go to Ottawa to see our loved ones,” Mayor Harry Towtongie said at the start of the ceremony, attended by about 70 people including elders.

Many Nunavut elders who need long-term care must go south, often to Ottawa, to receive the level of service they need.

The Government of Nunavut  approved Rankin Inlet’s $59.4-million facility in 2019 as part of a plan to provide 156 extended-care beds to elders in the territory by 2030.

The 24-bed centre will start operating in the spring, Nunavut Housing Minister of Lorne Kusugak said.

Construction was expected to be completed in 2023, but was delayed by payment issues between the project’s contractor and subcontractor.

“It wasn’t easy. The MLAs worked really hard on this, and even we were tired of waiting for it to be completed,” Kusugak said.

Check back later for full coverage of the construction completion ceremony.

Premier P.J. Akeeagok says he isn’t sure if he’ll get the chance to meet Donald Trump next month when he travels to Washington, D.C., but he plans to use the trip to tout Nunavut’s potential.

“I think Nunavut has so much to offer the world, especially in North America – both Canada and the U.S. – on critical minerals, and it is from that viewpoint where I will continue to push hard,” Akeeagok said in an interview.

“We need to see investments to unlock this potential.”

On Wednesday, Akeeagok is flying to Ottawa where he will meet with his fellow premiers ahead of a trip to Washington the group is planning to take on Feb. 12.

The premiers are on a mission to discuss U.S.-Canada trade relations with the Trump administration.

Trump officially becomes the U.S. president on Jan. 20. He has been vocal since his election in November about imposing a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods imported into the U.S.

The president-elect has based this move on what he sees as a need for more border security between the two nations and to erase the U.S.’s trade deficit with Canada.

Trump has also been critical of Canada for not meeting its defence-spending obligations under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Canada is expected to spend the equivalent of two per cent of its gross domestic product, which is the total value of goods and services produced within the country.

The $41 billion Canada currently spends on defence is 1.35 per cent of Canada’s GDP, according to the Office of the Parliamentary Budget officer.

Akeeagok said he plans to continue his mission of advocating for defence and nation-building projects in Nunavut — such as the Grays Bay road and port and Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link — to improve security, help access to Nunavut’s minerals and resources and meet defence-spending obligations.

“I’ve really signalled right from the beginning that, although there’s these challenges that are before us, I think there’s some real solid solutions that we could provide,” he said.

In addition to threats of tariffs, Trump hasn’t ruled out the use of military force to take control of Greenland, Nunavut’s neighbour to the east.

On that topic, Akeeagok said Nunavut and Greenland maintain a strong connection through culture, trade and the many families that live across both regions.

“I know Greenland has sought independence, it’s within their space, and it’s really up to them to decide what their future is for them,” Akeeagok said.

“I don’t know what the next steps really are on what’s going to happen at this point. I know we’re monitoring it closely as well as a country, and that’s something we’ll continue to monitor moving forward.”

Billed as "a snackable mash-up of the Muppets and Planet Earth," the made-in-Yukon educational series "Northern Tails" has quickly found an audience with its retro appeal.

A new research paper based on interviews with elders in the N.W.T. says Indigenous traditional knowledge could help make the circumpolar health care system more environmentally sustainable.

Widely expected to run for the Liberal leadership, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney used his NWT hometown to make a point on Jon Stewart's Daily Show.

A self-described Belgian “serial explorer” who just finished skiing, kayaking, cycling and sailing his way from Nunavut to the southernmost tip of South America says he is ready for a rest.

For a little while.

“It was my dream to do this trip,” 35-year-old Arnaud Maldague said last week in an interview from his home in, Brussels.

On Dec. 4, he finished his seven-year-long expedition through the Americas from the Arctic to Antarctica. It started in Kugaaruk in January 2018.

The total distance covered in the 17-country expedition was 34,697 kilometres, done in one continuous trek rather than in segments.

Maps show the approximate route of Arnaud Maldague’s Manneken Trip from Kugaaruk to South America. (Map courtesy of Arnaud Maldague)

It took twice as long as Maldague initially planned, partly because he lost nearly two and a half years during the COVID-19 pandemic due to travel restrictions.

And even though he had spent two years training and preparing for the trip, in some areas it took him longer to adjust to the local conditions and means of transportation than he had anticipated.

The trip was self-financed; Maldague, who worked at a sports store before setting out, says he put “everything he had” into fulfilling this dream, including using some money his mother left him when she died.

Maldague embarked on his one-man fuel-free adventure seven years ago in Kugaaruk when it was -50 C with wind chills.

From there, he skied for 1,705 kilometres to Churchill, Man., sleeping mostly in a tent and surviving encounters with two polar bears, including one that tried to get into his tent while he slept and only ran away when he fired his gun in the air.

Then he cycled his way south from Churchill to Minnesota for 1,959 kilometres; kayaked the full length of the Mississippi River; cycled again from New Orleans, La., to Belize; and sailed for almost 10,000 kilometres in the Caribbean.

And then, after another roughly 12,800 kilometres of cycling, horseback riding and canoeing, he finally reached Cape San Pío in Argentina, the southernmost tip of mainland South America.

Arnaud Maldague sails with a model of Manneken Pis, a fountain in Belgium that he named his 17-country fuel-free expedition across the two Americas after. (Photo courtesy of Arnaud Maldague )

Maldague called this journey from North to south the ‘Manneken Trip,’ after Manneken Pis, a famous 55.5-centimetre bronze statue in Brussels that depicts a little boy urinating into the basin of a fountain.

In Brussels slang, Manneken also means “little guy” or “dude.”
“And I am not very tall myself,” said Maldague, who stands 5-foot-6.

He added: “It’s not to be taken too seriously. And it was not a good idea,” explaining that few people outside of Belgium understood the reference.

Now that the trip is done, Maldague is looking for partners to create either a documentary or a book based on his travels. He has his memory and many hours of footage to draw from.

This wasn’t the first time he set out on his own to see the world — in 2012, he cycled 13,000 kilometres over eight months from Belgium across Europe and parts of Asia, with a few shortcuts by plane.

Maldague said he is ready to rest right now, but is already looking for potential future trips.

Maybe back to the Arctic. Or to Antarctica. Possibly the North Pole or South Pole.

He said he doesn’t feel unique or special because of his adventurous spirit and the Manneken Trip.

“It feels nice to be able to go for your dreams,” he said.

“That’s just something to be thankful for.”

An inspection faulted reusable food containers at the Ekati mine. A former worker said there are broader issues, while the mine operator defended its practices.

"She is the light of our life and our little miracle." Hope and Dan Sapozhnikov welcomed daughter Sophia, the first baby born in the NWT this year.

The NWT will restart an immigration program so popular that the territory hit its 2024 federal cap halfway through the year. This time, the cap isn't yet clear.

A judge allowed the release of $120,000 to help fund Ron Barlas' appeal in the Denesoline self-dealing case, but rejected other requests Barlas' lawyers made.

The Sahtu Land and Water Board appears set to fast-track a renewed water licence for Imperial Oil's Norman Wells facility "to prevent a potential emergency."

Environmental experts are worried the cumulative effects of gas, oil and fuel spills aren't being adequately tracked in parts of the North. Last year, Nunavut and N.W.T. together recorded hundreds of contaminant spills, some of them small and others in the thousands of litres.

Yellowknife city councillors say work camps to provide people with temporary housing are much-needed — but the location matters and the Engle Industrial Business District isn't the right spot for it.

"It's challenging to know the full extent of the issue right now because... there hasn't really been like a like national report or study done on it like in detail," says Kahsenniyo Kick with the Survivor Circle for Reproductive Justice.

RCMP say they were called to a home in Hay River about a “possible hostage-taking” on Friday morning. Three people are facing charges and police believe the situation to be related to the drug trade — but they say they haven't been able to substantiate the claim it was a hostage-taking.

Friday's Hay River police operation led to the arrest of a man accused of taking part in a West Edmonton Mall shooting and crimes in Fort Resolution, RCMP said.

A new health app that makes it easier for Inuit patients to communicate with their health-care providers is now available for Android users.

The Tukisiutik application provides audio translations in English, French and Inuktitut for health-related vocabulary such as parts of the body and symptoms.

It is downloadable for free on Android, the Nunavik Board of Health and Social Services announced in a news release Monday.

The app was made available for iOS users in the fall.

Described as a “pioneering health tool,” the app offers three tabs — body, symptoms and pain level. With just a few clicks, the app takes care of providing audio translations in all three languages for what part of the body the patient may point to, what symptoms they are feeling, and their pain.

Next to those three tabs is a volume symbol, which opens up a list of questions, directives, interventions and follow-up related sentences.

“The launch of Tukisiutik on Android, combined with the updated iOS app, ensures even more Inuit, regardless of their device or location, can benefit from this important tool,” Nathalie Boulanger, director of professional services at Ungava Tulattavik Health Centre, said in the release.

The app was produced from a collaboration between Health Canada and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer.

The NWT Power Corporation is planning brief power outages in the South Slave as it tests the Taltson hydro facility following refurbishment work.

A company wants to build a work camp in an industrial district near Yellowknife's airport. Officials agree accommodation is needed – but, they say, not there.

YWCA NWT says it has appointed Darlene Powder as its first in-house Elder. She will help provide feedback and guidance related to truth and reconciliation.

Premier P.J. Akeeagok will be in Ottawa this week and in Washington in February when he and his provincial and territorial counterparts discuss Canada’s relationship with the United States.

Akeeagok’s office confirmed Friday he will join the premiers Wednesday in a first ministers meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to plan a united front on Canada’s trade relationship with the U.S.

President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration is set for Jan. 20, and he has been threatening to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian exports to the U.S. since November, when he was elected.

Canada’s premiers are also planning a trip to Washington, D.C., Feb. 12 — less than four weeks after Trump’s return to the White House — to highlight the importance of this country’s trade relations with the U.S. in the face of tariff threats.

Akeeagok’s office said the Nunavut premier will attend. Quebec Premier François Legault tweeted last week that he will also be there.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who acts as chairperson of the Council of the Federation, is leading that initiative.

“The U.S. sells more goods and services to Canada than it sells to China, Japan and Germany combined,” a Jan. 10 news release from the Council of the Federation said.

The economic partnership between the two countries is worth more than a trillion dollars annually, the release said.

The delegation plans to meet with members of Trump’s administration, members of Congress and business leaders during the trip to Washington.

The Council of the Federation is made up of premiers from all 13 Canadian provinces and territories, and enables them to work together on issues that matter to Canadians.

Trudeau and the premiers have been in talks for the past several weeks about developing a common front against the tariff threats.

Retaliatory tariffs are reportedly on the table, including on items such as American steel products, ceramics, and Florida orange juice.

From freezers to flesh-eating beetles, this is the extraordinary way in which NWT mice, voles and shrews are preserved in collections across North America.

Sauna, cold plunge, relax, repeat. Arctic Duchess Adventures is open again on Yellowknife Bay with a much larger facility than last year. Here's what to expect.