The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday that an Iqaluit man who was set to be retried for murder will no longer face a new trial.

The ruling reinstates the 2021 acquittal of Daniel Hodgson, who was accused of second-degree murder in the 2017 death of Bradley Winsor at a house party in Apex.

Hodgson had put Winsor in a chokehold, believing he was going to hit a woman. Hodgson was acquitted after a trial in Iqaluit in May 2021.

Judge Susan Charlesworth cited in her decision to acquit that there was a lack of evidence that Hodgson intended to commit murder when he put Winsor in a chokehold.

The Crown appealed that decision, and in October 2022, a panel of Nunavut’s Court of Appeal judges ordered a new trial for Hodgson, stating Charlesworth did not fully assess Hodgson’s argument of self-defence and didn’t properly consider the dangers of a chokehold.

Two months later, Hodgson’s lawyers filed an appeal of the Court of Appeal decision to the Supreme Court, and in May 2023 the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.

Hodgson’s lawyer, Michael Lacy, submitted to the Supreme Court during Thursday’s hearing that the acquittal was legal and should stand.

Crown lawyer Julie Laborde argued Charlesworth had not addressed the totality of Hodgson’s actions in her acquittal, failing to consider what a reasonable person would have done in the same circumstances.

She cited that Hodgson himself said he did not change the amount of force he was using in the duration of the chokehold. Laborde said Charlesworth failed to consider this admission in her ruling.

The Supreme Court justices pushed back on that submission, repeatedly asking the Crown to clarify where the trial judge had made a legal error in her decision that would constitute grounds for an appeal.

Justice Michelle O’Bonsawin said she was concerned the Crown’s submission was “going back into the shoes of the trial judge” by reconsidering the evidence, rather than pointing to an error of law.

The nine justices listened to arguments for roughly two hours before they left the courtroom to discuss the case in private for about 25 minutes.

In issuing the ruling, Chief Justice Richard Wagner said they all agreed Hodgson’s appeal should stand and his 2021 acquittal is reinstated.

The reasons for the decision will be published at a later date, according to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Daniel Hodgson was acquitted by a trial judge of second-degree murder in the 2017 chokehold death of Bradley Winsor, but the Nunavut Court of Appeal ordered a retrial. The Supreme Court of Canada has now restored his original acquittal.

The City of Yellowknife says it's working to introduce newer buses this spring after weeks of interruptions over "mechanical issues."

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada issued helicopter safety recommendations and called for change following a fatal 2021 crash in Nunavut.

The Transportation and Safety Board has issued four recommendations for the federal government aimed at providing pilots with more training and equipment to help in low visibility.

Chants resonated along Montreal’s Saint-Catherine Street on Valentine’s Day as hundreds of people converged to march for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

“When I say Nuna, say back, ‘Nuna Back!” the crowd shouted.

For 33 years, Feb. 14 has been dedicated to calling governments to action to provide safety for Indigenous women and girls in their communities.

Kinngait-born Sarah Carrière led the nighttime march, screaming the chants until her vocal chords gave out. Carrière has been an active member in Montreal’s Indigenous community ever since she moved there from her hometown seven years ago.

“It is super important that everyone keeps showing up,” she said in a speech at the end of the march.

“We need all the love and support because we are constantly grieving. Constantly in a state of grief, it is exhausting.”

Two Inuit names were prevalent at the march: Linda “Charlie” Uqaituk Kirshner and Alasie Tukkiapik.

People light candles to commemorate Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada during the march. (Photo by Cedric Gallant)

Kirshner is a 15-year-old who has been missing since Aug. 17, 2023. She was last seen near Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park in the Plateau Mont-Royal neighbourhood of Montreal.

Tukkiapik, 41, was from Kangiqsujuaq. She was missing for six months in 2023, until her body was found in a Montreal apartment last year.

Laura Aguiar, a co-ordinator with Iskweu Project, read a statement from Tukkiapik’s family.

“Alasie Tukkiapik was a mother, a sister, aunt and daughter,” Aguiar said. “Her joy and warmth were palpable to all those who knew her. Her life ended tragically and in a dehumanizing way.”

The statement alleges Tukkiapik’s family attempted to file a report with police for more than two weeks, yet were dismissed.

Even though they had not heard from Tukkiapik for an extended period of time, the family was told she was not in imminent danger, the statement read.

It took Tukkiapik’s sister, who lived near Edmonton, to file a report with police in Alberta, who then transferred the file to Montreal police, according to the family.

“Even though Alasie is dead, it is still my responsibility as her mother to take care of her, and this is why I need to know what happened to her,” Aguiar read from the statement.

A group of Indigenous women stand in Cabot Square in Montreal at the beginning of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls march, which is organized every year in the city on Valentine’s Day. (Photo by Cedric Gallant)

Carrière talked of Nunavut in an interview next to the stage.

She said she wants to return to her home community, but fears returning means that violence will follow her there.

“Our communities are isolated, much smaller, and everything is a lot more in your face,” she said.

“We see the violence happening in our communities, and it’s almost like it has been normalized.”

Carrière called for governments to stop doing research and instead support action. She also called for investment into the preservation of Inuktut languages and other Inuit-led initiatives.

“Stop spending money on assessment,” she said. “Give us the money to deliver our own programming that we know works. But also give us the resources, the extra support that we need.”

Two women known for their work helping Inuit and preserving culture have been honoured by Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada.

Janine Lightfoot is Inuk Woman of the Year, the organization announced in a news release Wednesday.

Alyssa Carpenter is Pauktuutit’s Young Inuk Woman of the Year.

Lightfoot, who lives in Makkovik in Nunatsiavut, is described in the release as a passionate advocate for revitalizing Inuit language and culture in an area deeply affected by language erosion.

She completed the Aurniarvik program for Inuktitut as a second language at the Pirurvik Centre in Iqaluit, where she lived and worked for several years.

Lightfoot continues to find ways to work Inuktitut into all areas of her life, the release noted, and holds a degree in political science and native studies.

She has initiated free weekly Inuktitut classes, organized workshops centred around hunting and culture, and established a memorial bursary for high school students prioritizing Inuktitut.

All of that was done in memory of her grandmother, Clara Ford.

Carpenter, the organization’s Young Inuk Woman of the Year, lives in Whitehorse and is a social worker.

Most of her experience has been within the grassroots and non-profit sector, working with various levels of government in both Yukon and the Northwest Territories, primarily with Arctic and northern Indigenous youth.

Carpenter is a founder and project director of the Western Arctic Youth Collective, based in Canada’s Western Arctic region. The collective focuses on empowering young people and promoting positive change in the community through on-the-land programming. Carpenter is a laureate of the Arctic Inspiration Prize Youth Category for 2020.

The non-profit Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada represents Inuit women from across the country. Its mandate is to improve awareness of the needs of Inuit women and encourage them to participate in social, cultural, and economic development.

Inuit organizations are already planning action following last week’s Supreme Court of Canada decision affirming Indigenous Peoples’ jurisdiction over child and family services.

“We, as Inuit, are really excited about the ability to take advantage of this act and its implementation,” Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national organization for Inuit in Canada, said in an interview.

At issue was the law ensuring Indigenous Peoples’ jurisdiction over their own child and family services — previously known as Bill C-92 — that was passed in 2019.

Three years later, the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled the law was partially unconstitutional after the government of Quebec argued the law infringed on its provincial jurisdiction.

The federal government appealed, and in a decision Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously ruled “the act is as a whole is constitutionally valid.”

The law affirms Indigenous Peoples have sole authority over protection of their children and Indigenous organizations can make decisions on child welfare that are culturally informed.

Obed said Indigenous organizations were prepared for the court’s decision and are ready to act quickly.

“The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation [of the Northwest Territories] has passed a piece of legislation and they’re hoping to start on the implementation of that very soon,” he said.

“We know that in Nunatsiavut, and in Nunavik, they have notified government on their intention of creating legislation or an equivalent to be able to take over certain services.”

In a news release Friday, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Aluki Kotierk called the court’s decision “encouraging in light of our desire for self-determination for Nunavut Inuit,” adding governments “have continually failed vulnerable Inuit children, youth and families.”

The release said NTI, which is responsible for ensuring terms of the Nunavut Agreement are carried out, is well-positioned to develop programs and services for intervention and prevention regarding family and children’s services.

Kotierk said “the court’s decision confirms our right to help lead these endeavors in Nunavut.”

Obed said laws and systems will look different in each region, depending on the region’s ability to take on responsibilities itself or work with existing service providers.

The key, he said, is that with Indigenous jurisdiction over child and family services, the love and care children receive from their families will be at the centre of decisions.

Prior to Bill C-92 becoming law, “conditions outside of the families’ control” often led to decisions being made by non-Indigenous governments and organizations to remove Indigenous children from their families, Obed said.

He noted “poverty or even access to medical care were often [factored into] deliberations and decisions provinces or territories made about Inuit children.”

In addition to jurisdiction and oversight, Obed said the law will “allow us to focus more on providing supports for families and children.”

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami works with the federal government on the Inuit Child First Initiative, which ensures children have access to essential health, social and educational products, services and supports.

Funding for all Inuit children, regardless of where in Canada they live, can be requested through the Inuit Child First Agreement.

RJ Simpson says it's old and won't work. Kieron Testart says it has the right tools to probe 2023's fire season. What does the Public Inquiries Act actually do?

Yellowknife has 36 new public housing units on the way but it'll be a year or two before they're available and they won't increase overall capacity. Here's why.

Do you have the next Nokleby? A budding Bob McLeod? An O'Reilly already? The deadline to sign your kid up for Youth Parliament has been extended.

All the talk right now is of wildfire reviews. But an after-action review of the 2022 Hay River flood is still going, with residents asked to fill out a survey.

N.W.T. MP Michael McLeod says his government is still committed to building transportation infrastructure — despite recent comments from the federal environment minister that seemed to suggest otherwise.

The president of the union representing N.W.T. public servants says the threat of cuts to government services during a health-care crisis, skyrocketing costs of living, and extreme climate events "seems very short sighted."

Police in Whitehorse are looking for witnesses after a pedestrian was hit by a vehicle on Second Avenue downtown on Tuesday morning.

Yellowknife RCMP asked for help locating a man wanted in connection with armed robberies at various city stores that followed a similar pattern.

Crews are escorting supply trucks through the snowbound Inuvik-Tuk Highway as the road's closure nears the two-week mark, the GNWT says.

You get a call on your landline: a relative has been in a car accident and their lawyer needs cash. Don't bite, Inuvik RCMP warn – it's a scam.

Iqaluit’s new $7 taxi fare for riders 65 and older came as a surprise Wednesday to at least one elder, who said an extra $2 per ride is a big increase.

The City of Iqaluit announced to the public Wednesday that the new elders’ taxi fare of $7 — a 40 per cent increase over the previous five-dollar fare — was taking effect immediately.

“I don’t like it at all,” said Bert Shoo, who is a regular at the Elders’ Qammaq.

“I don’t think they [should] have to pay $7 now because [elders] don’t make money.”

The new fare was recommended at a Feb. 1 taxi review committee meeting.

It was approved at Tuesday’s city council meeting, with councillors Simon Nattaq and Sam Tilley voting against it.

Coun. Methusalah Kunuk, who sits on the taxi committee, explained the reason for the increase. During the council meeting, he said taxi companies reported people had been abusing the reduced elders’ fee, which was lower than the $9 fee the general public pays.

“Certain calls that they get from units are not elders,” Kunuk said, speaking in Inuktitut through the city hall interpreter.

Regardless, Shoo said he’s not happy with the change and wishes it wasn’t the case. He and other elders often rely on taxis to get around quickly, and the two-dollar increase will add up.

“It’s going to be a lot for elders,” he said.

It’s not just the elders’ taxi fare that will see an increase this year.

The regular fare is due to increase to $9.25 in April. That price change is part of a two-year implementation plan council approved two years ago.

A dementia specialist from Ontario was in the Yukon this week, running workshops for local physicians and talking about potentially opening a specialized dementia clinic in Whitehorse.

The Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments now has two members for Nunavut.

Jeremiah Groves and David Omilgoitok are the board’s new members, Dominic LeBlanc, the federal minister responsible for democratic institutions, announced Wednesday.

Groves is executive director of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association and former director of operations with Qikiqtaaluk Corp.

Omilgoitok is president and chief executive officer of Kitikmeot Corp., and former board chair of Qulliq Energy Corp. He’s also a former deputy minister of executive and intergovernmental affairs with the Government of Nunavut.

The pair join four other new appointees on the advisory board: Sofia Mirza and Ash Modha for Manitoba and Jennifer Molloy and Dale Eisler for Saskatchewan.

The advisory board is an independent, non-partisan body mandated to provide the prime minister with merit-based, non-binding recommendations on Senate appointments.

It consists of a federal chair, two other federal members and two ad hoc members from each province or territory where a vacancy is being filled.

Filling the vacancies means the advisory board can now move forward with recommending a replacement for former Nunavut senator Dennis Patterson, who retired in December after turning 75.

The appointees will represent their respective provinces and territory on the advisory board for two years. Their appointments can be renewed at the end of their two-year tenure.

N.W.T. Premier R.J. Simpson says he does not support an independent public inquiry into the 2023 summer wildfires that led to the evacuation of around 70 per cent of the territory. 

"We want to start talking about this seriously." Over a dinner featuring dishes from dozens of nations, the NWT's Black community focused on mental health.

An investigation is underway after a fatal helicopter crash on Lake Athabasca near Fort Chipewyan, Alta., on Monday. The pilot was killed when the aircraft crashed into the ice on the lake.

People in Rankin Inlet are being asked to conserve their energy until Feb. 24, but that doesn’t appear to be causing a big issue in the community.

Hamlet senior administrative officer Darren Flynn told Nunatsiaq News on Wednesday he believes people have been amenable to conservation efforts.

“I think the community’s coping well,” he said.

Qulliq Energy Corp. asked people in Rankin Inlet to limit their power use for two weeks in a Feb. 9 public service announcement because it needs to make emergency repairs to its generator engines.

The announcement asks people to lower their thermostats to 20 C and avoid using high-energy appliances, such as stoves and dryers, until 7 p.m.

QEC didn’t offer any more details about the situation and declined a request for an interview.

Flynn said 5 p.m. is usually the peak energy time for the hamlet, when everyone is coming home and starting up their appliances. That’s why the energy corporation is asking people to wait until 7 p.m.

“I think people have been doing that,” Flynn said.

He added that unusually warm weather has helped with conservation efforts. Temperatures have been hovering at around -18 C or warmer, although the forecast predicts a cold snap starting Wednesday.

Flynn said he spoke to the president of QEC about the situation last week and learned that three of five generator units are functioning well. One of the two units currently out of commission could be back up by Friday.

“I think they’ll be back to pretty normal operations by the weekend,” Flynn said.

In terms of the hamlet itself, he said most of its building energy consumption is mechanical and not as affected by the need to conserve power.

Rankin Inlet resident Qalujjaq Komaksiutiksak, who works at the snowmobile repair and service store Combustion Rankin, said neither his work nor his home life have been affected by the request to conserve power.

“I do everything by hand,” he said.

“I don’t use any fancy technology that needs power other than a welder every once in a while.”

Enterprise's first mayoral election after the destruction of 2023's wildfire brought an 84-percent turnout: 54 people voted, narrowly selecting a new mayor.

Fifty-four of 64 eligible voters in Enterprise cast ballots Tuesday to elect a new hamlet council. Sandra McMaster won the mayor's seat with 29 votes to incumbent Michael St. Amour's 25 votes.

Iqaluit city councillors voted Tuesday night to appoint Amber Aglukark to council, filling a nearly three-month-old vacancy.

“I am humbled to be chosen,” Aglukark said in a written message after the meeting.

“I am prepared to sit at the working table alongside the other councillors.”

Aglukark was one of eight people who responded to a call for candidates to fill the vacancy created by Jack Anawak’s exit from council.

Anawak resigned Nov. 6 after being charged with impaired driving, days after being sworn in.

As part of the application process, candidates were asked to answer three questions relating to their experience on council, what they would contribute if appointed, and what they think are the most important qualities of a councillor.

Responses were published in the council meeting package, and provided to councillors to review.

There were no speeches. Only three candidates — Colin Allooloo, Lewis Falkiner MacKay and Lili Weemen — were present at Tuesday’s meeting when the vacancy was filled.

In her two-and-a-half-page application, Aglukark listed her experience as a leader with the Iqaluit Qimussiqtiit Katimajingit dog team society and Qulliit Nunavut Status of Women Council.

“I can guarantee my background and experience in policy and education will be brought to the working table,” Aglukark wrote in her application.

Councillors cast their votes in secret ballots, ranking their choices.

After a 10-minute break, Aglukark’s victory was announced. The rankings of the other seven were not announced.

Filling municipal council vacancies can be one of two ways in Nunavut. Councils can choose the runner-up from the previous municipal election or put out a call for nominees and vote based on who applies.

In January, council backed the public call for nominees after two months of working with city administration on a policy for filling vacancies.

Council asked administration in late November to come up with a policy. Administration came back with a proposal in late November that essentially parroted the Nunavut Elections Act.

Coun. Romeyn Stevenson criticized the proposal during council’s Dec. 12 meeting, calling it a “shell” of what he’d like to see. He indicated that he wanted to see a directive to only put out a call for candidates and a set timeline for the process.

A revised policy came back to council in January that preserved the option to appoint the runner-up and included a more specific timeline. Council opted at that meeting to put out a call for candidates and sent the proposed policy back to administration again for tweaking, this time criticizing it for being too prescriptive.

MacKay, who finished ninth in the 2023 election and would have been eligible for appointment had council opted to go that route, emphasized “community support and legitimacy” and the most important qualities of a councillor in his application.

His application also included an endorsement from former mayor Mary Wilman calling for his appointment, and past quotes from Mayor Solomon Awa and Coun. Simon Nattaq that expressed support for appointing the runner up.

Those comments are dated Oct. 27, 2020, when council was debating how to fill a vacancy.

Despite not being selected Tuesdsay, MacKay said he’s going to keep engaging in city politics just as he has been since the election. He has attended every meeting this term, sitting in the gallery.

“I think there’s room for council to improve the transparency of this decision process in the future,” he said in an interview after the meeting.

“I wish Amber all the best on council, I’ve had the pleasure of working with her and I think she’ll do well.”

Aglukark is scheduled to be sworn in at the next council meeting, according to city spokesperson Aleksey Cameron.

“I look forward to putting my experience and knowledge at the forefront,” Aglukark said in her message.

“I know I can be a voice for Iqalummiut at all levels.”

A stop in Cambridge Bay is part of the second stage for a group of explorers continuing their attempt at a pole-to-pole trip around the world.

The team of eight was about 210 kilometres from Cambridge Bay as they continued across the frozen Arctic Ocean south of Qikiqtaryuaq, formerly known as Fishers Island, when one member, Andrew Comrie-Picard, spoke with Nunatsiaq News on Tuesday.

With winds low and the temperature -32 C, he said they expected to reach Cambridge Bay by midday Wednesday. They’ll likely stay for a day, he said, depending on the weather.

“It’s a fairly narrow window, even though the winter seems long,” said Comrie-Picard. “We have to get moving north and be as far north as we can as the light allows. We only move in the light, because we want to be able to see what we’re doing.

“Basically, we are chasing the rising sun,” he said. “We have to move north as quickly as we can in order to get to the North Pole as quickly as we can and get back down [to Greenland] as quickly as we can.”

The hard part is estimating how long it will take to reach the North Pole from Canada’s northern border.

“It’s over old pack ice, which is very slow going. Some days, you might make 20 kilometres a day, but some days you make hundreds of metres.

 “For instance, right now we have a good-sized crack in the ice and snow that sits on top of it, so we have to have good visibility.”

In the end, the weather rules, he said. The expedition is led by retired Russian businessman and professional mountaineer Vasily Shakhnovsky.

Transglobal Car Expedition team members prepare to cross a large and recent pressure ridge with a crack in the ice on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy Transglobal Car Expedition)

The eight team members on the trip include scientists, explorers and adventurers from Canada, Russia and other European countries. About 18 other members aren’t on this trip but are providing support from their home countries.

The first stage of the trip involved driving from New York to Yellowknife in January and February. In all, it’s expected to be done in seven stages and wrap up in 2025, having covered 50,000 kilometres.

Until Cambridge Bay, the expedition will have travelled in two Ford F-350 trucks plus another carrying their gear.

After that, they will board four Yemelyas — enclosed six-wheeled amphibious vehicles specially designed for harsh Arctic conditions.

The expedition carries electromagnetic sensors constantly measuring the depth of ice in front of them.

 “Right now, we’re on 1.47 metres of ice. We’re constantly monitoring that,” said Comrie-Picard.

 Two years ago, the team learned “ice can change really quickly.”

During an earlier expedition in 2022, a rapid change in ice thickness led to a truck sinking into the ocean.

A Transglobal Car Expedition ice truck, designed in Iceland and built in the U.S. sits on the frozen Arctic Ocean. (Photo courtesy Transglobal Car Expedition)

That truck sank 11 metres to the ocean floor near the Tasmanian Islands in the Franklin Strait. It was recovered five months later.

On that trip, trucks and the Yemelyas reached Resolute Bay, southeast of Bathurst Island. The team wanted to push further north but sent their Ford F-150s back to Cambridge Bay, retracing their route.

The ice had been more than thick enough on the trip north, but on the group’s return five days later, it was just 10 centimetres thick and in some places there was open water.

Comrie-Picard said Inuit hunters from Taloyoak were familiar with the area where the truck went down.

“They knew that area was a tricky area for ice,” he said, adding the hunters told him the unstable ice made it a great area for seal hunting.

“And that’s just, you know, the kind of local knowledge you can’t get until you’ve met those people and developed those relationships,” Comrie-Picard said.

 He said that trip had an Inuit guide, but he was from Cambridge Bay and didn’t know the area like the people of Taloyoak did.

 “Over the last two years, we’ve really developed those relationships to a far, far deeper degree,” Comrie-Picard said.

 In another coincidence, two of the hunters from that previous trip just happened to be at the hotel the team was staying at when they reached Yellowknife last week.

The group shared laughs and talked about the ice this year.

“We were all hugs and exchanging stories,” he said.

“There’s no resource like talking to a bunch of elders that spend so much time on the land. The relationships I have been able to develop with these folks [are] really terrific.”

Kuujjuaq’s airport will get a new cargo warehouse and an existing hangar bay will be extended for aircraft maintenance under a $14.5-million plan to improve service by Air Inuit announced by Transport Canada.

The new warehouse is expected to increase storage capacity, allowing for better food preservation. And extending the hangar for aircraft maintenance will improve the transportation corridors between Montreal and the whole of Nunavik, according to a Feb. 9 news release.

“We’re investing to reduce food losses caused by delays,” said Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez in the release.

“With stronger supply chains, we’re helping people get the goods they need, when they need them, at a reasonable price.”

A spokesperson for Air Inuit declined to say when work will start or how long it will take.

The project is being carried out through the federal National Trade Corridors Fun, which is focused on transportation and infrastructure projects in Canada’s North.

The NWT is deciding whether to hold a public inquiry into the handling of last year's wildfires, but some reviews are already happening. Here's a guide.

Coleville Lake's one-room school has long needed replacing. The GNWT says the First Nation needs to submit a cost estimate before a new school can be built.

Extra federal cash will help the NWT find more healthcare staff, look after seniors and improve cultural safety, among other things. Here's the breakdown.

New homes will soon be ready in Kátł'odeeche First Nation (KFN) in the N.W.T., to replace those lost to flooding and wildfires over the last two years.

The Canadian and N.W.T. governments have signed two agreements worth $36 million in federal funding, aimed at improving health care in the territory.

In 1981, Derek Lindsay answered a contract to come to Inuvik, N.W.T., for two weeks. As is common in the North, that short stint became a lot longer.

Whitehorse city council has turned its eye to the sky to debate the maximum building height in the downtown core. The current height limit is 25 metres, and some councillors think it should be higher.

Last week's guilty plea from an Ontario woman charged with Inuit identity fraud is being welcomed by many in Nunavut — though some are now wondering whether Karima Manji will pay back the $158,000 fraudulently obtained for her daughters' education.

After decades of trying, a historical society is nearly ready to open up a museum, honouring the history of Yellowknife.

Daniel Young is the new interim deputy minister for the Department of Finance, according to a Government of Nunavut news release Tuesday.

“We value Dan’s leadership and are happy to have his knowledge of our government operations,” Premier P.J. Akeeagok said in the release.

Young was raised in Nunavut and has spent the past 16 years with the GN, including time as director of fiscal policy, director of the Nunavut Liquor and Cannabis Commission and recently as assistant deputy minister for the fiscal management branch.

Young takes over from Jeff Chown, who retired from the GN in January.

Akeeagok thanked Chown, calling him “a key public servant” in his time with the territorial government. Chown’s career included being deputy minister of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs as well as secretary to the cabinet.

Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., is experiencing food and medical shortages as it deals with an ongoing highway closure. 

The Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ Film Festival is back for its fifth annual journey into Indigenous storytelling. Here are some selections from this week's lineup.

All of Nunavik’s Hudson coast communities are now connected to a fibre optic network.

Kativik Regional Government chairperson Hilda Snowball made the announcement Monday in Salluit.

Akulivik, Ivujivik and Salluit are the final three communities to receive a connection to the Eastern Arctic Undersea Fibre Optic Network, which was built in two phases.

Phase one linked Chisasibi, Kuujjuaraapik, Umiujaq, Inukjuak and Puvirnituq to the network in 2022. There is still the possibility that an overland link could stretch to Kangiqsujuaq.

So far, more than 1,800 kilometres of subsea fibre-optic cable is in place.

“KRG continues its diligent work to shrink and eventually eliminate the digital divide that separates Nunavik from southern Quebec and the rest of Canada,” Snowball said in the release.

Kuujjuaq and the rest of Nunavik’s communities are expected to receive their connections by 2025, according to KRG.

The project is the result of a $165-million partnership between KRG and the Quebec government.

Three separate drug busts in recent days by N.W.T. RCMP have resulted in nine people being charged with drug crimes.

Youth participants in the Redfish Arts Society welding program will receive career opportunities thanks to a partnership with a mining company with a stake in the Kitikmeot region.

B2Gold Corp., which acquired the Back River gold deposit in April 2023 and aims to open the Goose gold mine there next year, and Redfish announced the initiative Monday in a news release.

The goal is to train youth in the hamlet in welding and metal fabricating, skills that could help them secure jobs in Nunavut’s mineral development sector including with B2Gold, the release said.

“This partnership will elevate the training we offer to a new level and expose Inuit youth to amazing career opportunities,” said Attima Hadlari, Redfish Arts Society Inc. chairperson, in the release.

The non-profit Red Fish Arts Society was created in 2023.

Works by the group include large-scale welded bison, wolves, the Inuit sea goddess Sedna and the popular red fish art pieces that are on display in Cambridge Bay and across Canada.

The Baffin Island caribou harvest for 2023-24 season is closed.

Nunavut’s Environment Department made the announcement Monday.

The closure is effective immediately because the total allowable harvest of 400 caribou has been reached.

Any remaining tags are void and should be returned to a local wildlife office or hunters and trappers organization, the department said.

The seasonal limit was established by the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board to support recovery of the Baffin Island caribou population.

Imposing the limit provides harvesting opportunities for future generations, the department said.

RCMP say they have seized drugs in two separate incidents: one involving a silent 9-1-1 call in Norman Wells, the other following an apartment search in Inuvik.

An Iqaluit courtroom was a site of ceremony Monday where, for the first time, a Nunavut appeals court chief justice was sworn into the role in territory.

Chief Justice Ritu Khullar was appointed Chief Justice of Alberta in November 2022. As Alberta’s chief justice, she also takes on the role as chief justice of the appeals courts in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.

Several judges, lawyers, court staff, dignitaries and other members of the public attended ceremony at the courthouse.

Chief Justice Neil Sharkey remarked on the significance of the event in his opening remarks, calling it “historic.”

Premier P.J. Akeeagok shared his praise for Khullar as well.

He spoke of Khullar, whose parents are teachers from India, as a woman of colour from rural Alberta. That life experience will help her handle sensitive files related to vulnerable Inuit from Nunavut’s hamlets, Akeeagok said.

“I am confident you will excel in your role,” he said.

“May your wisdom always guide your decisions.”

Dignitaries gathered for the swearing in of Nunavut Court of Appeals Chief Justice Ritu Khullar in Iqaluit Monday. From left: Premier P.J. Akeeagok, Justice Christian Lyons, Commissioner Eva Aariak, Khullar, Justice Jo’Anne Strekaf, Justice Minister David Akeeagok, Justice Kevin Feth and Chief Justice Neil Sharkey. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)

Joanne Smith, president of the Law Society of Nunavut, also praised Khullar’s appointment, calling it a “great achievement” for any lawyer or judge.

She encouraged Khullar to engage with Nunavut’s community of lawyers.

A question and answer session is scheduled for later this week between Khullar, along with appeals court justices Jo’Anne Strekaf and Kevin Feth, and law society members.

Khullar delivered a brief series of remarks after the ceremony, saying she was happy to be there and excited for the opportunity to continue her work in Nunavut.

“I’m hoping that the light of the qulliq will guide me,” she said.

“Becoming chief justice is the greatest honour of my life.”

Khullar has been practising law since 1998, according to a biographical handout from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office. She was appointed to the Court of Queen’s bench in Alberta in 2017 and joined Alberta’s court of appeals as a justice in 2018, which also hears cases from the N.W.T. and Nunavut.

She was born in Fort Vermilion, in northern Alberta, and spent her childhood in Morinville, Alta., which is just north of Edmonton.