The seventh annual Kakpik Fashion show took place last Sunday in Arviat, Nunavut, featuring 97 handmade garments made by 22 seamstresses in the community. 

According to Statistics Canada, 25 per cent of Canadians are "dissatisfied" with their sleep. And some clinicians say the challenges of getting good sleep may be greater for people living in the North.

METCAN is a collaboration between the Hay River Métis Nation and ARCAN Construction. They pride themselves on creating high-quality homes designed specifically for the challenges of northern living.

Parts of the Mackenzie Valley Winter Road are opening ahead of what is expected to be an extraordinarily busy resupply season after the summer barges failed.

The City of Yellowknife and Naka Power said they had reached an agreement on how Naka Power's share of residents' power rates will change this year and next.

After several years in development, the cellphone service went live last Sunday in the remote northern town of Atlin, B.C. — just in time to be a "festive seasonal gift for the community," according to the local First Nation. 

RCMP officers faced harsh winter conditions while arresting a suspect following an incident early Wednesday in Clyde River.

On Wednesday at about 1:25 a.m., officers were called to a residence in the 200 block. With a blizzard reducing visibility and poor road conditions, they used snowmobiles to reach the location, the RCMP said in a news release Friday.

After the officers arrived, they arrested a 36-year-old male suspect. In the release, RCMP say the man attempted to resist arrest and disabled the officers’ snowmobile.

Efforts to walk the suspect back to the detachment failed, as police say he continued to resist and attempted to escape.

With weather conditions deteriorating, the officers sought refuge in a nearby home with the assistance of a local resident.

With help from a hamlet official and a heavy equipment operator, one officer retrieved a police vehicle using a snowplow. The officer then transported the other officer and the suspect back to the detachment.

After the storm subsided, a resident helped repair the damaged snowmobile.

The suspect is charged with assault causing bodily harm, resisting arrest, mischief, and escaping lawful custody. He was released and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 24 in Clyde River.

The release did not explain the reasons for the initial call for assistance that the officers responded to.

Environment Canada reported blizzard conditions during the incident with -17 C temperatures, a wind chill of -33 C, and gusts up to 80 km/h creating near-zero visibility.

In the news release, the Clyde River RCMP expressed gratitude to the hamlet, its heavy equipment operator and local residents who offered assistance.

Some NWT MLAs say the GNWT's new Indigenous employment policy gets it wrong. The territory says it's part of a bigger set of changes. Listen to the full story.

An RCMP search at Yukon's economic development department on Friday follows another that happened in June at the same department, though police would not confirm whether it's part of the same investigation.   

A woman died following a snowmobile crash in Kuujjuaq on Wednesday, police say.

Nunavik Police Service officers responded to a call of a single-vehicle crash shortly after 8 p.m. and found a 37-year-old female who was driving the snowmobile unresponsive and injured, Deputy Chief Jean-François Morin said in an email to Nunatsiaq News.

He said she was the only rider on the snowmobile.

“She was transported to the local hospital where she unfortunately was pronounced dead shortly after,” Morin said, adding the incident remains under investigation.

In the dead of night, a caller told RCMP they were hurt on a trail near Enterprise – then the call dropped. Now, police want the public's help.

Gary Anandasangaree, the federal Crown-Indigenous relations minister, has taken on a second job as northern affairs minister following a cabinet shuffle announced Friday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Anandasangaree was sworn in by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon at Rideau Hall. He was one of the four minister to get new portfolios, with eight new faces added to Trudeau’s cabinet.

“Our team is focused on the things that matter most to you — making life more affordable, growing the economy and creating good jobs for the middle class,” Trudeau said in a government news release announcing the changes.

“Together, we will keep building a strong future for the middle class, and for all Canadians.”

Previously, responsibilities for the department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada were divided between two ministers — Anandasangaree with Crown-Indigenous relations and Dan Vandal on Northern Affairs and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.

But in October, Vandal announced he will not seek re-election and would leave the cabinet once his replacement was named.

In recent months, Vandal was one of eight ministers who have either quit cabinet or announced they won’t run in the next federal election.

That list includes former deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland, whose resignation Monday — the day she was to deliver the fall economic update — rocked the government.

In her resignation letter, Freeland said she and Trudeau were “at odds about the best path forward for Canada.”

Since then, calls for Trudeau to step down have intensified including from several members of his own caucus.

On Friday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said his party will introduce a motion of non-confidence to bring down the Trudeau government in the next sitting of the House of Commons in January.

In addition to changes in the Crown-Indigenous relations and northern affairs department, the cabinet includes eight new faces and three more ministers changing their portfolios:

• Anita Anand remains minister of transport, also taking on the internal trade portfolio;
• Steven MacKinnon becomes minister of employment, workforce development and labour;
• Ginette Petitpas Taylor becomes Treasury Board president;
• Quebec MP Rachel Bendayan becomes minister of official languages and associate minister of public safety;
• Quebec MP Élisabeth Brière is minister of national revenue;
• Winnipeg MP Terry Duguid is minister of sport and minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada;
• Ontario MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith is minister of housing, infrastructure and communities;
• Nova Scotia MP Darren Fisher is now veterans affairs minister and associate minister of national defence;
• Ontario MP David McGuinty is public safety minister;
• Ontario MP Ruby Sahota becomes minister of democratic institutions and minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario;
• Newfoundland and Labrador MP Joanne Thompson becomes minister for seniors.

A small cluster of trailers along the Ingraham Trail near Yellowknife is the focus of a battle over Indigenous land rights.

Not allowing a police officer’s incident reports to be used in his own assault trial “would undermine public confidence in our system of justice,” a Nunavut judge says.

Justice Christian Lyons released a written copy of his decision Dec. 17, explaining why he allowed Crown prosecutor Yoni Rahamim to use two incident reports filed by Const. Luke Tomkinson while cross-examining the officer last month.

Tomkinson faces charges of assault with a weapon and uttering threats, stemming from a Feb. 15, 2020, incident in Arctic Bay.

The officer is accused of pointing his stun gun at Andrew Muckpa, a man positioned a few metres away from him, while Tomkinson and another officer were making an arrest.

After the incident, Tomkinson filed two reports — a supplementary occurrence report and a subject behaviour/officer response report — which were mandatory RCMP filings.

Tomkinson’s defence argued that the two reports were compelled statements and that using them in trial would violate his rights against self-incrimination. The Crown argued the opposite.

“Prohibiting cross-examination on Const. Tomkinson’s reports would have the potential effect of hamstringing the truth-seeking function of the trial, as Const. Tomkinson could testify in a way that deviates from what was recorded in his reports and not be impeached in any way,” Lyons wrote in his decision.

“Const. Tomkinson was not coerced by the state to write his reports, and was not in an adversarial relationship with the state when he wrote them,” Lyons wrote.

“If he is cross-examined on his reports at trial, the risks that future police reports would be less reliable, or that future state abuse would result, are minimal.”

This “evidentiary issue,” as Crown prosecutor Rahamim described it in 2023, put Tomkinson’s trial at a standstill for more than a year.

The trial started Oct. 17, 2023, and was halted three days later.

Crown and defence lawyers deliberated in September over whether or not the reports were admissible, before resuming and concluding Tomkinson’s trial in November.

During the November trial, Rahamim scrutinized Tomkinson’s memory of the 2020 incident, drawing upon discrepancies between the reports, video evidence and his recollection of how things unfolded.

Lyons is yet to deliver his verdict on the case as a whole.

Tomkinson is due back in court Jan. 6, 2025.

The government permit issued for Santa's reindeer to cross into Canada this year suggests St Nick has taken a position on an ages-old Christmas controversy.

Ed Picco has seven grandchildren ranging in age from 18 months to 14 years old. Thanks to them, Picco became an award-winning Christmas decorator.

“We are doing this for them,” he said, talking about three of his grandkids who were playing around the indoor Christmas tree at his house in Iqaluit.

Each holiday season for the past 14 years, Picco has spent three weekends in a row putting up two Christmas trees, several toy Santas and countless lights outside his house.

Ed Picco shows some of the old family Christmas decorations at his house, which won second place in the Iqaluit Holiday Lights Contest. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)

“People will call my wife and say, ‘It doesn’t seem like Christmas ’til there are lights on your house,'” Picco told Nunatsiaq News, after yet again being named one of the winners of the City of Iqaluit’s annual Christmas lights contest.

“We’re quite excited about that,” he said, adding their house has never earned the first-place prize, always coming in second or third.

This year, they won second place.

The Holiday Lights Contest is an annual event in which Iqaluit elders determine the best-decorated home in the city. Prizes are awarded to the top three finishers.

To judge the 2023 lights contest, elders were driven around on a bus with Santa Claus to see the houses in person.

This year, though, the bus was out of service so city staff took photos of each decorated home and met with the elders to help them choose the winners, City of Iqaluit spokesperson Geoffrey Byrne said in an email.

The top three finishers in this year’s contest are: 317-2 Ataani Lane (first); 2428 Paurngaq Cres. (second); and 5177-B Qajisarvik Rd. (third).

The top prize is a round-trip ticket to Ottawa, the second-place finisher wins a $500 Arctic Ventures gift card, and for third place there is a $200 Arctic Ventures gift card. The names of the first-place and third-place finishers were not available.

Picco said he is happy with the outcome, both with the second-place finish and the not-so-in-person judging.

“There are a lot of nice houses decorated this year,” he said. “We were surprised.”

Vivian Rose Akpik-Picco, left, Astrid Akpik-Picco, Quatra Akpik-Picco and Ed Picco gather around their indoor Christmas tree. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)

He said cars still slow down as they pass his house, and decorations provide an opportunity for the whole family to gather together in early December to see the house light up.

Picco said they will keep some of the decorations on until spring, as they can become fragile and break because of the winter cold.

“It’s the labour of love,” he said, adding that next year the decorations will be up as usual but he might try to slightly change things up to keep the tradition going.

The Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services has announced its new leadership for the coming year.

Shirley White-Dupuis has been re-elected as chairperson, a role she will continue to hold from the 2023-24 term, said a news release Wednesday from the board.

The release contains the results of its Dec. 11 election, where elected Executive Members appointed new leaders from the 14 northern villages to the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services Board of Directors and sub-committees.

Claude Gadbois has been elected as vice-chairperson.

The executive committee will include members Victoria Tukkiapik and Sally Nuktie, as well as Jennifer Munick-Watkins as secretary.

The audit committee comprises Gadbois, Nuktie, Tukkiapik, Peter Iyaituk and Annie K. Novalinga.

The governance and ethics committee includes Adamie Alayco, Larry Watt, Sarah Beaulne, Casey Mark and Munick-Watkins.

The watchdog of the service quality committee features Munick-Watkins, Alayco, Samuilie Qumaluk, and Gadbois, as well as the regional service quality and complaints commissioner.

While the board of directors consists of one representative from each northern village within the region, positions for representatives from Umiujaq, Inukjuak, Akulivik, Kangirsuk, Aupaluq and Kangiqsualujjuaq remain vacant.

The position for a representative from the Kativik Regional Government also remains vacant.

White-Dupuis expressed her honour in welcoming the newly elected colleagues.

“I am confident that this team will work on innovative solutions and uphold the values of accountability, collaboration, and service excellence for the benefit of all Nunavimmiut,” she said in the release.

Aircraft maintenance engineers at Calm Air are in the process of moving to a new union that specializes in the representation of aircraft maintenance crew.

The airline’s approximately 70 employees voted nearly 96 per cent in favour of the move, said Bret Oestreich, national president of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association which now represents them.

The Canada Industrial Relations Board certified their application on Dec. 11.

The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association represents licensed and unlicensed aircraft maintenance technicians, engineers and skilled trade groups in the aviation industry.

Calm Air workers approached the union in June for representation. At the time, they were represented by one of Canada’s largest private sector unions, Unifor.

They wanted representation that was more tailored to their specific employment circumstances and felt that Unifor, which represents employees in 24 different sectors of private industry, wasn’t prioritizing their needs, said Oestreich.

Unifor represents retail, wholesale, roads, transit, telecommunications, fishery, and food and beverage employees.

“There’s really not a lot of commonality with those other groups,” Oestreich said. “That’s why we have been extremely successful, because we only represent [aircraft maintenance engineers] and skilled professionals in aviation.”

Aircraft maintenance engineers and technicians work directly on aircraft and support equipment and facilities at airports.

Justin Gniposky, organizing director for Unifor, said in an email to Nunatsiaq News that “We refute that Unifor has a ‘one size fits all approach.’”

He said aircraft maintenance engineers are represented through Unifor’s aviation council, aerospace council and skilled trades group.

“For months, Unifor and the local fought for Calm Air maintenance workers by listening to their concerns and working with members to dispel misinformation by Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association circulating around their workplaces,” Gniposky said.

Oestreich said workers will continue to be represented by the new union under their current agreement, which expires at the end of the year.

While it is still too early to say exactly when collective bargaining will begin for a new contract — local representatives need to be elected, priorities must be determined, proposals need to be created — he said they would likely be ready to meet at the bargaining table in three to four months.

The employees and national representatives met after their move was certified.

They had “genuine smiles” on their faces, Oestreich said.

“I think the biggest thing for them is they were such a small group within Unifor, they never had any true representation.”

The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association already represents engineers, technicians and skilled trades unions for Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, L3 Harris MAS, Spirit Airlines, Sun Country Airlines and WestJet Airlines.

Government of Nunavut offices are preparing to close for the holidays, but many services will remain open at full or reduced capacity.

All GN offices close at 5 p.m. on Dec. 23 and won’t reopen until 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 2, except for designated facilities that must stay open, the GN announced in a news release this week.

Facilities that will continue offering services are:

Qikiqtani General Hospital in Iqaluit will continue to have full inpatient, pharmacy and emergency services. Other city health services will be offered at reduced capacity, such as ambulatory care clinics, rehabilitation and laboratory services, home and community care service, and surgical services for emergencies only.

Qikiqtani, Kivalliq and Kitikmeot Region community health centres will still provide 24-7 on-call services for urgent and emergency care.

Prenatal clinics for high-risk clients, urgent and emergency appointments, and medical travel services at community health centres will remain open. Continuing care centres and elders’ facilities will be fully operational during the holiday period.

Tuberculosis care delivery will function at full capacity.

While Kivalliq and Qikiqtaaluk laboratory and diagnostic imaging services will remain fully operational, the same services in the Kitikmeot Region remain open for urgent and necessary testing requirements only.

Medical travel and boarding homes in Churchill, Edmonton, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Yellowknife and Iqaluit will continue to operate at full capacity.

The Department of Family Services family wellness division will have on-call services available in all three regions.

The Department of Community and Government Services will operate at reduced capacity and on an emergency basis, such as the safety services division and facilities management.

Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet beer and wine stores will be closed from Dec. 25 to 27 and Jan. 1 and 2. Liquor import permits and community orders will not be processed from Dec. 23 to Jan 2.

The Nunavut Liquor and Cannabis Commission will continue selling low-alcohol content products through its Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet stores during the holiday closures, but with reduced hours.

The employee and family assistance program will be available by phone throughout the holidays.

The Nunavut Court of Justice and community justice offices will be closed, but legal registries will remain open except on Dec. 25, 26 and Jan. 1.

Emergency protection orders will be available by calling 1-844-534-1038 or contacting local RCMP detachments.

All correctional facilities in Nunavut will remain open.

Emergency wildlife and emergency spill response will be available 24 hours per day.

All airports in the territory will remain open, but the Nunavut Airports Division will be open for emergencies only.

Qulliq Energy Corp.’s customer care and employee offices will be closed Dec. 23 to Jan. 2, but essential service staff will continue delivering power supply.

Nunavut Housing Corp. can be contacted for emergencies.

Most Nunavut Arctic College buildings will be closed including the Kitikmeot Campus in Cambridge Bay, the Kivalliq Hall Offices in Rankin Inlet, the Sanatuliqsarvik Trades Training Centre in Rankin Inlet, the Nunatta Main Campus in Iqaluit and the Nunavut Research Institute.

However, Nunavut Arctic College family housing and some student residences will remain open in Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit.

For the complete list of what GN services will remain open during the holidays, visit the GN website.

The North has nine more people ready to become seafarers. The Western Arctic Marine Training Centre celebrated graduates of its bridge watch rating program.

The Conservatives and NDP have NWT candidates named for the next federal election. The territory's Liberals defended the alternative approach they are taking.

The one-person bureau NNSL had sustained in Inuvik will end with the closure of the Drum newspaper, the company confirmed. Reporting will come from Yellowknife.

"This is by far our biggest haul." A giant delivery of donated toys arrived in Yellowknife, requiring a team effort to distribute them throughout the city.

Yukon homeowners can apply for a maximum of $24,000 per household. There are additional rebates available to install heat pumps in homes that use oil, propane or electric baseboards. The fund is intended for low- to median-income households.

The N.W.T. government's new Indigenous Employment Policy, announced this week and set to take effect in April, is a step in the wrong direction according to some MLAs.

Jordan's Principal cases are piling up in Eeyou Istchee, which may make obtaining funding for sports and recreation more difficult.

Nunavut’s electricity generation company is asking the territorial government for an increase to monthly service charges and rates.

Quilliq Energy Corp. submitted a general rate application on Wednesday, which will be reviewed by the minister responsible for QEC with input from the territory’s Utility Rates Review Council.

The proposed changes include an increase in monthly service charges for residential customers to $36 from $18, and for commercial customers to $16 from $8 per kilowatt hour.

QEC is also seeking to increase its electricity rate by 9.5 per cent.

If approved, the changes would go into effect April 1, 2025.

“The operational costs that are required to generate electricity in Nunavut currently are higher than the revenue that we’re collecting from our customers,” Ernest Douglas, president and CEO of QEC, said during a news conference Thursday.

Douglas cited inflation, maintenance of aging infrastructure, diesel fuel, transportation and other administration-related fees as reasons for the proposed increase.

He said there will be “minimal impact” to residential customers because the service charge is covered by the territory’s electricity subsidy program and that 50 per cent of the energy rate is also subsidized.

“We’re really trying to make the impact on Nunavummiut folks that are feeling the most pressures as little as possible,” Douglas said.

Nunatsiaq News contacted the territory’s Utility Rates Review Council but it is unable to comment on applications.

The council is seeking public feedback and invites Nunavummiut to submit their comments to [email protected] by 5 p.m. on Jan. 24.

Future infrastructure projects, like a deep sea port in the western Arctic, will add to the impact of increased vessel traffic on marine mammals, say researchers.

The Whitehorse hospital's mental wellness unit will open in June after several months' delay. Critics say the delay was not necessary.

Educators are in line for a 14 per cent wage hike over three years. Substitute teachers will get an extra 10 per cent on top of the base increase, while education assistants will get an extra seven per cent.

A “disturbing” message about a spotlight being shone into the flight deck of an incoming aircraft has prompted Pangnirtung hamlet council to issue a safety warning.

“We want to let people know that this happened and discuss the potential implications of disorienting or blinding pilots during their approach into Pangnirtung, so that it never occurs again in the future,” Jack Hicks, the hamlet’s SAO, told Nunatsiaq News.

The incident happened on the afternoon of Nov. 23, according to a message the hamlet office received from Canadian North airline.

In the message, Canadian North said someone on a boat in the fjord several times directed a spotlight into the Canadian North cockpit as the plane was landing.

“While both the captain and first officer recovered from the incidents and were able to land successfully, the intense glare could have jeopardized the crew’s ability to operate safely,” the message said, according to the hamlet’s Facebook post.

The message did not say how many people were on the plane.

According to the federal Aeronautics Act, penalties of up to $100,000 in fines and five years in prison can be levied against anyone convicted of shining a light into the flight deck of an aircraft.

Hicks said he believes this is the first allegation of lights being shone toward a landing plane that the hamlet has been informed of. He said he is not aware of any other investigations taking place.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is aware of the incident but is not investigating, a spokesperson told Nunatsiaq News.

“After verifying with our regional managers, they confirmed that this occurrence is not considered a reportable occurrence under the Transportation Safety Board regulations,”said spokesperson Hugo Fontaine.

Canadian North has not responded to a request for comment.

The family of a Resolute Bay woman allegedly murdered by her son remembered her this month as a “gentle one,” a master of coil bannock, a music holder, an accordion lover and one “full of love.”

Babah Kalluk, 44, was charged Nov. 23 with first-degree murder, assault and indignity to human remains, according to court documents.

Zipporah Kalluk is identified in the documents as the victim.

RCMP announced the charges Nov. 25 in a news release, which said police arrested Babah Kalluk on Nov. 22 after they were called to a home to check on someone’s well-being.

Zipporah Kalluk’s family raised money online after her death to bring extended family to her funeral. The GoFundMe page, dated Nov. 29, was organized by Sandra Kunuk Inutiq, on behalf of Celine Kalluk.

“Our family is devastated to share that she did not pass peacefully, but violently,” the fundraiser’s description said.

“Violently by the hands of her own son.”

It goes on to call a lack of mental health care a “scourge” on Nunavut communities and that Zipporah Kalluk’s son needed this help.

The fundraiser, which intended to raise money so family could travel to Resolute Bay for the funeral, has received close to $43,000 as of Thursday.

Any additional funds are to be donated to an unspecified mental health cause.

No members of the Kalluk family offered comment on Zipporah Kalluk, her funeral, or the fundraiser, when asked by Nunatsiaq News.

Babah Kalluk was flown to Iqaluit and remains in custody. His next court date is set for Jan. 7, 2025.

Nancy Karetak-Lindell is Nunavut’s new senator, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday in a news release.

Karetak-Lindell is a former Nunavut MP who was elected in 1997 and played an important role in negotiations that led to the establishment of Nunavut as a territory in 1999.

As a Liberal MP, she represented Nunavut for more than a decade. Karetak-Lindell also previously served as a councillor in Arviat and in 2023 she was named to the Order of Canada.

The territory’s lone seat in the Senate has been vacant since the retirement of Dennis Patterson last December.

Check back for updates to this developing story.

NNSL, which prints the NWT's only English-language newspapers, is closing down the Inuvik Drum's print edition. The company said online coverage will continue.