Jody Bräul is used to travelling over the U.S. border for ski and hiking trips with friends, but now they wonder if the gender-neutral marker on their passport could be problematic.

Nunavik’s 14 villages rely heavily on diesel power, so the region is exempt from most oil-powered heating bans in Quebec. The housing bureau says those exemptions could be hurting Nunavimmiut as fewer people are training in oil-powered heating, and parts for repairs are becoming hard to come by.

Earlier this month, the governments waved the project through and onto the licensing phase — which is in the purview of the Yukon Water Board — but subject to a raft of new provisions, many of which deal with salmon, First Nations’ land use and, connected to those, vested rights.

Justice Annie Piché said preventing Frederick Blake Jr. from acting as grand chief could cause uncertainty to the Gwich’in participants. 

Whitehorse transit fares are likely going to be increased incrementally, thanks to an unexpected funding boost from the territorial government.

The government of Nunavut announced the opening of the new Chesterfield Inlet air terminal building on Wednesday.

The fate of an Inuvik man serving a nine-year prison sentence is now in the hands of three Northwest Territories Court of Appeal judges.

Yellowknife RCMP issued a public appeal for help identifying a suspect in the alleged assault of a taxi driver last month.

The federal election leaders’ debates happening this week will be available to watch with Inuktitut translation.

The French debate, set for 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday, and the English debate on Thursday, starting at 7 p.m. ET, will be available in Inuktitut and 14 other languages, the Leaders’ Debates Commission announced Tuesday.

The CBC and Société Radio-Canada are producing the debates, which will also be available on networks including CTV, APTN, CP24 and Global, the commission said in its announcement.

The French debate will also be offered in Inuktitut (Nunavik dialect), East Cree (northern and southern dialects) and Innu (eastern and western Innu dialects).

Thursday’s English debate will be available in Inuktitut (South Baffin dialect), Plains Cree (Y dialect) and Ojibwe (western dialect).

In its announcement, the commission said APTN will make all languages, as well as described video, available on YouTube channels for both debates. Those channels will remain available for several days following the debates. Also, the debates with Inuktitut translation will be available on CBC Gem.

Information on where to watch the debates in the various languages will be available on the Leaders’ Debates Commission website, with updates, on the day of each debate.

Leaders included in the debate are Mark Carney for the Liberals, Pierre Poilievre for the Conservatives, the NDP’s Jagmeet Singh and Yves-François Blanchet for the Bloc Québécois.

The federal election is April 28.

Nunavut’s Conservative, Liberal and NDP candidates might not agree on a lot, but they all say the Inuit Child First Initiative is top of mind.

“If we’re going to address health issues, we should address it early and the Inuit Child First program, I would start there,” Conservative candidate James T. Arreak said.

“I believe the government must support the [initiative].”

Liberal candidate Kilikvak Kabloona took her support one step further. She told attendees at an April 4 campaign event in Iqaluit that she is running in order to secure funding for the Inuit Child First Initiative in four-year cycles.

“I was asked to put my name forward so I can work for Inuit, with the first objective being to advocate for a long-term Inuit Child First Initiative with permanent funding,” she said.

“I’m meeting people at community events and a lot of people are very concerned about the Inuit Child First Initiative.”

NDP candidate Lori Idlout, the incumbent MP, said she’s also hearing from constituents across the territory that the program is important, and that a lack of information about when funding might flow again is causing some stress.

“I am hearing concerns from the communities that they’re not even sure that it’s been extended at all,” said Idlout.

“At first, when I visited with communities, there was relief that the program was extended. But now here we are, three weeks into the campaign, only to hear that the Liberals have backtracked again.”

The Inuit Child First Initiative is a program that runs in parallel to Jordan’s Principle. It provides funding from Indigenous Services Canada to Inuit children and youths for education, services and food programs.

The program was set to expire March 31.

On March 8, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree, on behalf of Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, announced the Inuit Child First Initiative would get a $121.7-million, one-year extension.

At the time, Anandasangaree said he wanted to “make sure that there were no gaps in the services,” while warning the extra money still required parliamentary approval. At the time, Parliament was scheduled to resume March 24.

Prime Minister Mark Carney dissolved Parliament on March 23, though, and called an election for April 28. This means Parliament will not resume — and new Inuit Child First Initiative money will not flow — until after the election.

Meanwhile, non-profit organizations have had to reduce services and child health advocates are concerned a lapse in the Inuit Child First Initiative food voucher program is having an effect in the communities.

The food voucher program provides $500 per month for every Inuit child or youth under 18 for food, with an additional $250 for diapers and baby formula for families with children under the age of four.

“I have family and I have friends that access this program, so I have seen that it’s so meaningful for them. And supporting children is about supporting the future of Nunavummiut,” Arreak said.

This sentiment was echoed by Idlout, who placed blame on the Liberals for making a promise they have not been able, so far, to keep.

“[Inuit] rely on these programs for their well-being, and for them to have to be in limbo because of what’s going on in politics is such an injustice,” she said.

Kabloona, on the other hand, handed the Liberal party credit for introducing the initiative in the first place. She said that’s why her party is the choice for keeping it alive.

“It was the Liberal government that introduced the Inuit Child First Initiative, and we need a Liberal government for the continuation,” Kabloona said.

– With files from Arty Sarkisian and Nehaa Bimal

A judge dismissed a request to temporarily prevent Frederick Blake Jr from acting as Gwich’in grand chief and following through on some board resolutions.

The GNWT's first big assessment of flood risk this spring suggested average conditions around Nahanni Butte and Fort McPherson and low river flows elsewhere.

All three of Nunavut’s federal election candidates will participate in a debate Thursday, hosted by CBC Radio.

The Liberal, Conservative and NDP campaigns confirmed to Nunatsiaq News that their candidates will take part in the in-person debate being held in Iqaluit. The broadcast will run from 1 to 3 p.m. in English and Inuktitut, CBC spokesperson Tanya Koivusalo said in an email.

Two candidates — Kilikvak Kabloona of the Liberals and Lori Idlout from the NDP —are also set to take part in a forum organized at the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre on April 22 at 6 p.m.

Conservative candidate James Arreak will be away in Kitikmeot that week, he said in an email to Nunatsiaq News.

The theme and format of the forum have not been announced yet.

Less than two weeks remain in the three-way campaign for Nunavut’s only seat in Parliament with the election scheduled for April 28.

Northwestel says it upgraded its security software as the company deals with the growing issue of phishing and spoofing scams.

Updated on April 6: We're tracking where the NWT's election candidates say they will be and when, so you don't miss a chance to see them.

A broken breaker at a power distribution substation caused Saturday's extended power outage in Yellowknife, Naka Power says.

We've turned all four of our one-on-one interviews with NWT election candidates into a podcast. Listen here and get links to the transcripts.

Has there been a Yellowknife outage longer than Saturday's four-hour-plus blackout? Not for years, as far as we can tell, but we want your stories.

The federal election is just a few weeks away, and CBC Yukon has been talking to voters and asking what matters to them and what they want to hear from their candidates.

Youth and young adult take on the Cree Regional Youth Winter Journey, where they walk from Waskaganish on March 18, to arrive in Eastmain on March 25.

One of Yellowknife's longest power outages in decades caused the cancellation of a travelling musical about residential schools, booked for just one night.

There was a lengthy power outage in Yellowknife and Behchokǫ̀ on Saturday afternoon. The Northwest Territories Power Corporation says power was restored in Behchokǫ̀ about one hour after the outage began, but some parts of Yellowknife are still without power.

Nunavut’s NDP candidate in the federal election Lori Idlout spoke about food prices and infrastructure during a meet-and-greet in Iqaluit Saturday afternoon.

Ten people stopped by the Elders’ Qammaq to catch up with Idlout as she seeks re-election as Nunavut’s member of Parliament in the April 28 federal election.

“Nutrition North is not working that well in Nunavut,” Idlout said, speaking to Nuantsiaq News after the meeting.

Capping the price of groceries, which the NDP added to its platform over a week ago, could work as an alternative to subsidizing grocery stores in the North, which Nutrition North does.

Idlout also proposed reforming Nutrition North to subsidize hunters and harvesters in Nunavut

“Everyone talks about how important hunters and trappers are, and how hard it is to be a hunter and trapper, especially with the price of big-ticket items like snowmobiles and boats,” Idlout said, adding that these supports are also “a way of keeping Inuit culture alive.”

Premier P.J. Akeeagok and Iqaluit-Manirajak MLA Adam Arreak Lightstone attended the meeting. The two territorial politicians were also at Liberal candidate Kilikvak Kabloona’s event Friday.

Akeeagok asked Idlout about supporting what he describes as “nation-building” projects, such as the Iqaluit Hydro project, the Kivalliq Hydro-Fiber Link, the Qikiqtarjuaq port and the Gray’s Bay road and port.

“I’m definitely in support of all of them,” Idlout said, adding that they will reduce Nunavut’s “reliance” on Ottawa.

Idlout also argued that Canada could spend two per cent of its GDP on defence by supporting housing construction, Canadian Rangers, and improving the territory’s airports and marine infrastructure.

Canada and other countries are under pressure from the United States to increase defence spending to that level — a commitment all NATO members have agreed to. Canada’s defence spending is about 1.37 per cent of its GDP now.

Idlout, who was elected in 2021, looked back on the past three and a half years in office. She said the biggest highlight has been seeing “how much Nunavummiut cared about each other.”

Akeeagok, who became premier shortly after Idlout was elected MP, said she has been “accessible” that whole time. He said he’s thanking all the candidates who are stepping into this race.

“You have to be able to work with anyone,” he said.

Idlout, who the NDP re-nominated as a candidate in October 2023, said she welcomes the new candidates who joined the race over the last week.

“I’m thankful that there is a race because it opens up dialogue about what’s important to Nunavut and it helps illuminate to Nunavummiut how important democracy is.”

Idlout plans to campaign in Gjoa Haven, Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet and Baker Lake this week.

Conservative candidate James T. Arreak has been campaigning in Pangnirtung according to his Facebook page.

Liberal Kilikvak Kabloona has launched her campaign in Iqaluit.

The Green Party is also running a candidate named Brennan Wauters.

Yellowknife, Ndılǫ, Dettah and Behchokǫ̀ lost power on Saturday afternoon in at least the second significant weekend outage of the past month.

The recommendation comes after a week of witness testimony at the coroner's inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death of Kimmirut resident George Arlooktoo, who stabbed himself during a confrontation with RCMP officers on Feb. 9, 2019. 

Bill 310 would give the Yukon Medical Association (YMA) representational rights, making it the sole bargaining agent for doctors on matters of compensation. The legislation would also establish dispute resolution and binding arbitration for doctors.

The competition is heating up for Toonik Tyme’s second snowmobile race from Iqaluit to Kimmirut and back, Sunday — this time without qamutiks.

Start time is 10 a.m. on the ice near the causeway across Frobisher Bay from Iqaluit city centre.

Registration remains open until race time. So far, 16 racers have signed up.

“My only advice is that they drive safe and get hydrated the day before the race,” said Jamie Anilniliak, who took first place in the Toonik Tyme race from Iqaluit to Kimmirut with qamutik, last Sunday.

Instead of racing this weekend, Anilniliak plans to serve as “gas man” for racer Joshua Kilabuk, positioning himself at Mount Joy.
Because this weekend’s racers are not pulling qamutiks, the traditional wooden sled used by Inuit hunters, they will each have a person stationed along the route to gas up their machines one time during the 240-kilometre race.

Eleven of the 17 racers from last weekend’s contest have re-registered to compete again this weekend, including second-place finisher Alex Kilabuk and fourth-place finisher Davidee Nowyook.

Gary Eeseemaile shares stories from the trail after experiencing mechanical issues during the first Toonik Tyme race last Sunday. He plans to race again this weekend. (Photo by Daron Letts)

Racers Lodie Ipeelie Jr., Kyle Oolayou, Gary Eeseemaile, and Robert Pudluq did not manage to finish last weekend’s race, but they plan to participate again on Sunday.

The prize pool depends on the number of participants, with the intention being to put all of the entry fees into the pot, said Stephen Johnson, administrator of 123Go!, the organization that oversees Toonik Tyme, Iqaluit’s annual spring festival.

The organization will add an additional $10,000 on top of the registration amounts collected. The entry fee per racer is $500.

Without the qamutik, race times will be quicker than last week, said Pitseolak Alainga, president of the 123Go! board, during a pre-race meeting Thursday at the Arctic Winter Games Arena.

During the meeting, Alainga stressed the importance of sportsmanship among the competitors, as well as the need for multi-organization support to keep Toonik Tyme sustainable as a festival.

He encouraged the racers at the meeting to approach their employers and other local associations to consider contributing to the financial and volunteer needs of Toonik Tyme.

The rest of the 60th annual Toonik Tyme spring festival begins with a civic holiday on April 11 and runs until April 20.

Corey Payette's residential school musical, Children of God, plays to a sold-out Yellowknife house on Saturday. Payette walked us through some of the backstory.

The Gwich'in Tribal Council and its components are still in court over how the council is being run following a dispute about an election. Here's the latest.