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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Here's who's running for chief of Ndilǫ, N.W.T.
Yellowknives Dene First Nation members will elect the new chief of Ndilǫ, N.W.T. on Monday. CBC News spoke to each of the four candidates vying for the job. Here's what they had to say about why they're running. Fred Sangris Fred Sangris, who lives in Ndilǫ, is the incumbent candidate in the race. He said he wants to be re-elected to carry on some of the big projects he's been working on over the years, including the Akaitcho land claims and self-government process, and getting an apology from the federal government for the harms caused by Giant Mine. He said the biggest issue in his community is one that's felt across the territory: adequate housing. "We've been managing to build housing. Thanks to the federal government, we got some funding to build some houses but that's not enough. We have to continue building a lot in the future," he said. Elizabeth Liske Elizabeth Liske, who lives in Yellowknife but grew up in Ndilǫ, said she's running to bring a new perspective to the role, as she comes from a different generation than the other candidates. Liske said she has experience that makes her qualified for the role. "I've sat on different boards, so I have some experience with governance and making decisions," she said. Liske said she would focus on dealing with social issues, as members have concerns with the amount of drugs in the community. "There needs to be a focus on the trauma that Indigenous people have experienced and that drugs are a way of dealing with that. So overall, just healing needs to happen," she said. Liske said other issues she's heard from people include the self-government negotiations, Giant Mine as well as receiving the cows and plows settlement. Shirley Tsetta Shirley Tsetta, who lives in Ndilǫ, said she is running because of her previous experience on council. She said her priority will be to provide regular updates to people on issues like land claim and self-government negotiations, and cows and plows. Shirley Tsetta said she's heard complaints from people that those in leadership haven't provided enough updates. "What I've been hearing is the frustration of not getting regular updates," she said. "People don't know what exactly [is] going on in terms of our negotiations and our cows and plows. That's another big issue that people are concerned about because a lot of our elders may not benefit from it." Shirley Tsetta said housing is another major issue facing the community, as well as membership transfers. "There are some members that have children that were born and raised in the community but belong to another nation, and they want to transfer over. So, that's another big concern as well," she said. Ted Tsetta Ted Tsetta, who's a former Ndilǫ chief, said he's running for chief because he's always willing to fight for the people. "I've fought for them before. I went to court under our treaty when the caribou was taken away from me; I fought in court for three years," he said. "I'm always here for the people." Ted Tsetta, who said he lives about two minutes from Ndilǫ, said the biggest issues facing the community include cows and plows and housing. He said if elected, he would lobby so the community would get direct funding from Ottawa instead of through the territorial government. He also said he'd also make it a priority that youth are taught how to live on the land.
CBC
2 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Here's who's running for chief of Ndilǫ, N.W.T.
Social Sharing Yellowknives Dene First Nation members will elect the new chief of Ndilǫ, N.W.T. on Monday. CBC News spoke to each of the four candidates vying for the job. Here's what they had to say about why they're running. Fred Sangris Fred Sangris, who lives in Ndilǫ, is the incumbent candidate in the race. He said he wants to be re-elected to carry on some of the big projects he's been working on over the years, including the Akaitcho land claims and self-government process, and getting an apology from the federal government for the harms caused by Giant Mine. He said the biggest issue in his community is one that's felt across the territory: adequate housing. "We've been managing to build housing. Thanks to the federal government, we got some funding to build some houses but that's not enough. We have to continue building a lot in the future," he said. Giant Mine contamination apology discussions underway, says Yellowknives Dene First Nation Draft agreement reached in Akaitcho land claim process, says N.W.T. premier Elizabeth Liske Elizabeth Liske, who lives in Yellowknife but grew up in Ndilǫ, said she's running to bring a new perspective to the role, as she comes from a different generation than the other candidates. Liske said she has experience that makes her qualified for the role. "I've sat on different boards, so I have some experience with governance and making decisions," she said. Liske said she would focus on dealing with social issues, as members have concerns with the amount of drugs in the community. "There needs to be a focus on the trauma that Indigenous people have experienced and that drugs are a way of dealing with that. So overall, just healing needs to happen," she said. Liske said other issues she's heard from people include the self-government negotiations, Giant Mine as well as receiving the cows and plows settlement. Shirley Tsetta Shirley Tsetta, who lives in Ndilǫ, said she is running because of her previous experience on council. She said her priority will be to provide regular updates to people on issues like land claim and self-government negotiations, and cows and plows. Shirley Tsetta said she's heard complaints from people that those in leadership haven't provided enough updates. "What I've been hearing is the frustration of not getting regular updates," she said. "People don't know what exactly [is] going on in terms of our negotiations and our cows and plows. That's another big issue that people are concerned about because a lot of our elders may not benefit from it." Shirley Tsetta said housing is another major issue facing the community, as well as membership transfers. "There are some members that have children that were born and raised in the community but belong to another nation, and they want to transfer over. So, that's another big concern as well," she said. Ted Tsetta Ted Tsetta, who's a former Ndilǫ chief, said he's running for chief because he's always willing to fight for the people. "I've fought for them before. I went to court under our treaty when the caribou was taken away from me; I fought in court for three years," he said. "I'm always here for the people." Ted Tsetta, who said he lives about two minutes from Ndilǫ, said the biggest issues facing the community include cows and plows and housing. He said if elected, he would lobby so the community would get direct funding from Ottawa instead of through the territorial government. He also said he'd also make it a priority that youth are taught how to live on the land.
CBC
18-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
YKDFN will advocate for fair compensation of members affected in Ekati Mine layoffs
The Yellowknives Dene First Nation is reeling from mass layoffs at Northwest Territories' Ekati diamond mine this week. Yesterday, owner Burgundy Diamond Mines announced it was ceasing open pit operations at Ekati and laying off hundreds of workers. Dettah Chief Ernest Betsina says the First Nation is going to insist that Burgundy recognizes their seniority and compensates them fairly.
CBC
14-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
N.W.T. Supreme Court grants eviction orders for occupants of 2 cabins
The N.W.T. Supreme Court has issued three rulings in cases related to the territorial government's push to remove unauthorized cabins from public land, two of which resulted in eviction orders. The rulings, released Wednesday, relate to cabins near Narcisse Lake and Banting Lake. The cases are part of the territorial government's Unauthorized Occupancy Project, a program launched in 2021 to address the growing number of cabins built or bought without legal permission to use the land. The Unauthorized Occupancy Project separates cabins built before and after April 1, 2014, the date the territory assumed responsibility for administering territorial lands from the federal government. More than 700 cabins were identified for review under the program. Structures built before that date are evaluated for potential tenure eligibility. If a site fails to meet the criteria or cannot be linked to an Indigenous treaty right, legal action for removal can be taken. In two of the three recent cases, the court granted the government's application to evict the occupant. In the third, the judge declined to grant the eviction because of concerns about the information used to justify it. Matt Pond was born in Yellowknife and is a member of the Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation. In the late 1990s, he built a cabin with his parents north of Narcisse Lake. He had no lease, but he argued that his Indigenous status and his intention to transfer to the Yellowknives Dene First Nation entitled him to occupy the land. In the affidavit, Pond said he received verbal assurances in the 1990s and early 2000s that a lease was not required for small traditional-use cabins. He also said he completed a voluntary declaration form to assert those rights, though it was not signed by any N.W.T. Indigenous government, which is a requirement. The judge found Pond was not yet a member of a local Indigenous government with established or asserted rights in the area. She ruled that the possibility of transferring band membership in the future wasn't enough to give him legal permission to stay on the land. The court granted the government's application for eviction. In a second case, Frank Walsh took over a cabin on Narcisse Lake in 2007. The cabin was originally built around 2000. In 2013 or 2014, he asked the Department of Lands about getting a lease and was told that he would need a bill of sale and to remove a lakeside wharf. Walsh did not remove the wharf or apply for a lease. The department later determined that the cabin's location did not meet leasing criteria because it was within the ordinary high-water mark. Walsh also admitted he was aware he had no lease. Walsh argued he had occupied the site for over 20 years and should be allowed to stay under the legal principle of adverse possession. The judge rejected the argument, writing that Walsh had acknowledged the government's authority by inquiring about a lease and by later asking the court to order one. She also cited case law suggesting that public land cannot be claimed through adverse possession. The court granted the territory's application for eviction. In the final case, Thomas Van Dam purchased a cabin on Banting Lake in 2015. The structure was originally built in 2005 or 2006. A previous owner applied for a lease in 2013, but the application was denied in 2014 due to a temporary hold on recreational leasing in the area. Van Dam declared his ownership of the cabin to the Department of Lands after he began working there in 2021. He says a supervisor told him verbally that he would "get a lease." However, in 2022, he was informed that his site did not conform to cabin evaluation criteria. The government's application to court stated that the site failed to meet the criteria. However, the judge found the documentation did not specify how the cabin failed the criteria. She also said that Van Dam had moved the cabin to comply with the Yellowknife Watershed Development Area Regulations. The judge denied the government's request for eviction in this case but granted the government the ability to reapply once the minister reviews the process set out under the Unauthorized Occupancy Project.
CBC
12-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Weight of traditional knowledge discussed at public hearing for Diavik's water licence
A handful of Indigenous governments want to see more criteria enshrined in the conditions of Diavik diamond mine's new water licence, to determine that water will be safe for cultural uses. The Wek'èezhìi Land and Water Board (WLWB) is holding a public hearing about the company's application for a 10-year water licence renewal, at the cultural centre in Behchokǫ, N.W.T.,̀ this week. The Tłı̨chǫ government, the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, the Łutsel K'e Dene First Nation and the Deninu Kųę́ First Nation are all participating in the hearing, along with representatives of the federal and territorial governments and an environmental monitoring board. Violet Camsell-Blondin, who presented Wednesday morning on behalf of the Tłı̨chǫ government, told the hearing that both Western science and Indigenous traditional knowledge should be used to assess the water of Lac de Gras, the tundra lake in which Diavik operates, about 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife. "Cultural use criteria should not have a lower status or less clout in measuring successful closure and influencing the return of security deposits," she said. The WLWB has already required Diavik to incorporate traditional knowledge and cultural use criteria in its plans – but the Tłı̨chǫ, the Łutsel K'e Dene and the Yellowknives Dene want it to have the same weight as scientific monitoring and for it to be tied to the return of security deposits. What are cultural use criteria? An amendment to Diavik's current water licence required that cultural use criteria be developed for dumping processed kimberlite back into the open pits which will eventually, as part of closure, be filled with water and reconnected to Lac de Gras. A letter from the Tłı̨chǫ government to the board during that amendment process a few years ago describes cultural use criteria as the clarity, temperature, colour, smell and taste of the water, as well as whatever unnatural material might be in it. Diavik held workshops with Indigenous partners to establish that criteria and summarized in a report afterwards that healthy water would look clear, feel cold, smell clean, taste fresh and sound alive. "A lot of times science will say the water is good, you could drink it, but they won't drink it," said Patrick Simon, a Deninu Kųę́ First Nation councillor participating in the hearing, adding that scientists also use numbers that are hard to understand to communicate that water is safe. "If I told you, as an Indigenous person, the water is good, you can drink it, I will not only drink it but I'll show you the freshness of the water and the vibrancy, the clarity and even the feeling …. When we're around bad water it don't feel good. When we're around good healthy water, we feel alive, we feel connected. It's part of us." Simon said cultural use criteria will help Indigenous people decide whether they want to drink the water and harvest the animals in and around Lac de Gras once Diavik has closed. 'Flexibility should be maintained,' Diavik says A decision for the WLWB to make, once the hearing is over, is whether traditional knowledge and more cultural use criteria should be enshrined in the conditions of the licence – or whether those will be discussed further as part of the mine's closure plan. Diavik has expressed preference for the latter, stating in its presentation this week that it "strongly recommends that flexibility should be maintained" by discussing cultural use criteria through the final closure and reclamation plan and not establishing "fixed" licence conditions. Diavik is already in the process of creating a traditional knowledge monitoring program with its Indigenous partners that'll be submitted to the land and water board for approval. "Adding licence conditions might restrict the program that's in development. [The program] that really, at the end of the day, communities are developing for us," said Sean Sinclair, Diavik's manager of closure. "Potentially putting that in a box through licence conditions … we don't think it would necessarily be helpful and that it could be more flexibly managed through the closure plan." In a letter to the board ahead of the hearing, Diavik also said that there's uncertainty about how cultural use criteria would be evaluated for regulatory compliance. Diavik is trying to set itself apart from a history of abandoned mines in the N.W.T by closing responsibly. Its existing water licence expires at the end of the year, and it needs another one to wrap up production in March 2026, carry out closure, and start initial post-closure monitoring up until 2035. The hearing wraps up in Behchokǫ̀ on Wednesday.
