CBC North

Hay River woman graduates high school at 32, overcoming self-doubt and addiction
A special graduation was held Friday at the Chief Sunrise Education Centre on the Kátł'odeeche First Nation, near Hay River, N.W.T., to celebrate a woman who overcame addiction and self-doubt to earn her high school diploma.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/hay-river-woman-graduates-high-school-at-32-overcoming-self-doubt-and-addiction-9.7194191?cmp=rss

4 Canadians from hantavirus-hit cruise ship isolating for minimum 21 days, B.C. health officer says
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/livestory/hantavirus-cruise-ship-docked-spain-canary-islands-evacuation-9.7194019?cmp=rss

Indigenous students transform Quebec school grounds into a living land acknowledgement
A drumbeat anchors a crowd of students on a windy day and students, dressed in colourful regalia, dance before hundreds of their peers. For the Indigenous students of Bear Lodge, this wasn't just a performance — it was a reclamation of the school grounds.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/land-acknowledgement-festival-philemon-wright-9.7199346?cmp=rss

2 Yukoners among passengers isolating for hantavirus in Victoria, says B.C.'s top doctor
Dr. Bonnie Henry said the travellers include a Vancouver Island resident in their 70s, someone in their 50s who is from B.C. but lives abroad, and a Yukon couple in their 70s.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-update-hantavirus-isolation-period-9.7195300?cmp=rss

'Colonial thinking': Inuit criticize backlash to Gov. Gen. Mary Simon’s brand of bilingualism
Inuit are criticizing the prime minister's emphasis on the next governor general's bilingualism. They point out that the outgoing Governor General Mary Simon is also bilingual in English and Inuktitut.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/inuit-advocates-want-mary-simon-gov-gen-bilingualism-recognized-9.7193137?cmp=rss

Slims River diversion could be prompting Kluane chum salmon decline, study suggests
In 2016, the Kaskawulsh Glacier retreated and the Slims River was reduced to a trickle. The waterway was dramatically rerouted south, to the Kaskawulsh River. Since, all that water has flowed into the Alsek, emptying into the Pacific. That could be dealing a blow to Kluane chum salmon.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/yukon-kluane-slims-river-chum-salmon-9.7193117?cmp=rss

Yukoner isolating in B.C. tests presumptively positive for hantavirus
One of two Yukoners who have been isolating in British Columbia after hantavirus broke out on their cruise ship has now presumptively tested positive for the virus. The couple, who are in their 70s, were required to isolate for a minimum of 21 days after vacationing on the MV Hondius.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/yukoner-presumptively-positive-hantavirus-9.7202481?cmp=rss

Yellowknife council to weigh renaming main street
On Wednesday, the City of Yellowknife’s Governance and Priorities Committee voted in favour of a proposed by-law that will change the name of the city’s main street from Franklin Avenue to Wı̀ılı̀ıdeh Avenue.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/franklin-avenue-name-change-yellowknife-city-committee-9.7198790?cmp=rss

Baffinland files for creditor protection, with its Nunavut mine operations to continue for now
Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. has sought creditor protection from an Ontario court as it evaluates its strategic alternatives. In a news release on Friday, the company says the move will help it stabilize its operations, while it explores other options like potential recapitalization or having the company g...
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/baffinland-creditor-protection-nunavut-9.7201897?cmp=rss

Yukon First Nation says it can pump out 250 houses per year — if it gets the timber
Liard First Nation’s Heartland Timber Homes received a major equipment upgrade thanks to federal investment — and now, the company in hopes to expand beyond building houses for the local area.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/liard-first-nation-kaska-heartland-timber-homes-9.7198946?cmp=rss

Whitehorse’s new zoning bylaw will protect existing short-term rentals, ban new ones
Whitehorse now has a new zoning bylaw which, among other things, will ban standalone short-term rentals.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/whitehorse-city-council-zoning-bylaw-short-term-rental-regulations-9.7197660?cmp=rss

Eagle gold mine cleanup costs more than $11M a month, receiver says
Firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) says its projected to spend $76.5 million this spring and summer, but it hasn't hit its borrowing limit of $220 million yet.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/eagle-gold-mine-receiver-9.7199091?cmp=rss

'She asked, she listened, she cared': Remembering Haines Junction teacher, writer Elayne Hurlburt
Friends are paying tribute to Elayne Hurlburt, a longtime resident and teacher in Haines Junction, Yukon, who for decades helped run a beloved community newsletter. Hurlburt died last month at 82.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/she-asked-she-listened-she-cared-remembering-haines-junction-teacher-writer-elayne-hurlburt-9.7193308?cmp=rss

How a Nunavut welding arts program gives youth (and metal) new life
Since 2018, the Red Fish Art Studio in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, has been a second home for at-risk youth in the community, where they are trained in welding and put to work making signs and artworks out of scrap metal.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/cambridge-bay-red-fish-art-studio-9.7198567?cmp=rss

Searchers find body of snowmobiler who went missing in Haines Pass
The person was part of a group who had trekked out to retrieve a broken snowmobile Friday, but got separated from them when whiteout conditions moved into the area, just south of the Yukon border.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/searchers-find-body-missing-snowmobiler-haines-pass-9.7194886?cmp=rss

High school students earn flight jackets as new pilot program in Yellowknife takes off
A new kind aviation program is trying to grow, and retain, Northern pilots. Now, to mark a near-end to ground school, students are receiving their flight jackets.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/yellowknife-high-school-pilot-program-9.7193274?cmp=rss

Muskrats 'always come back,' says one N.W.T. hunter, as species recommended for special protection
Muskrats are being recommended for the N.W.T.'s species at risk list, but at least one Indigenous hunter in the Mackenzie Delta says the animals' population always rises and falls.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/territory-s-species-at-risk-committee-assessed-the-animals-to-be-species-of-special-concern-9.7193726?cmp=rss

Ottawa pledging more than $13M for high speed internet in hundreds of N.W.T. homes
The federal government announced plans Friday to bring high speed internet to hundreds of homes in up to nine Northwest Territories communities.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/northwest-territories-high-speed-internet-ottawa-9.7201061?cmp=rss

CBC North's Trail's End is coming to Cambridge Bay, Nunavut
The host of CBC's afternoon radio show, Lawrence Nayally, will broadcast from the Arctic hamlet for two days, beginning Monday.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/trails-end-cambridge-bay-9.7191311?cmp=rss

Giving birth in a hotel room? For some Indigenous women, gaps in care mean few options
Across many northern and remote Indigenous communities, families must leave weeks before giving birth. Some travel alone, others bring a support person, while children and extended family stay behind.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/giving-birth-in-a-hotel-room-for-some-indigenous-women-gaps-in-care-mean-few-options-9.7192322?cmp=rss

Mayo RCMP asking for help to find woman last seen along the Silver Trail
A news release from the police says Nasha Alana Wong was last seen around 9 p.m. on Thursday.
They say she was seen about two to three kilometres south of Elsa, Yukon, along the Silver Trail Highway, which is about 450 kilometres from Whitehorse.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/mayo-rcmp-asking-for-help-to-find-woman-last-seen-along-the-silver-trail-9.7202454?cmp=rss

From protest coverage to emergency updates: Behind the mic at the Dene Tha’ Community School
Teenagers are running a radio station in the First Nations community of Chateh, 850 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. They hope to keep the residents informed in the event of flooding and wildfire that could threaten the northern Alberta reserve.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/dene-tha-community-school-chateh-radio-9.7192997?cmp=rss

Whitehorse woman lost her life savings to scammers, and her bank won't reimburse her
An Nguyen worked two jobs, seven days a week for two years – but in the blink of an eye, her savings were gone. She's not alone. Now, consumer rights watchdogs say governments need to hold banks accountable for protecting customers from scams.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/whitehorse-woman-who-lost-29k-to-scammers-denied-reimbursement-from-td-bank-9.7195321?cmp=rss

Whitehorse home builders say city's new online permitting system is holding them back
The City of Whitehorse introduced a new online application system last year with the goal of issuing building permits more quickly.
Now, one local contractor says that new system is doing the exact opposite.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/whitehorse-home-builders-say-city-s-new-online-permitting-system-is-holding-them-back-9.7197425?cmp=rss

B.C. Supreme Court approves extended creditor protection for Ekati mine operator
Supreme Court proceedings in Vancouver also granted the Arctic Canadian Diamond Company, the Calgary-based operator of Northwest Territories’ Ekati Diamond Mine, time to refinance, seek new investment or sell the mine.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/supreme-court-extension-creditor-protection-sell-ekati-9.7195753?cmp=rss

Canadian in isolation tests positive for hantavirus after leaving cruise ship, B.C.'s top doctor says
A Canadian isolating in B.C. has presumptively tested positive for hantavirus after leaving the cruise ship affected by an outbreak of the Andes strain in recent weeks, B.C.'s top doctor said Saturday.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-update-hantavirus-update-bonnie-henry-may-16-9.7202396?cmp=rss

Women now account for most new cases of syphilis in the N.W.T., says territory's top doctor
When the N.W.T. declared a syphilis outbreak in 2019, about 60 per cent of cases were in men. Last year, about 60 per cent of the new cases were among women. Dr. Kami Kandola Kandola also says about 40 per cent of all those with syphilis reported being under the influence of substances when they became...
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/substance-use-drugs-alcohol-cocaine-syphilis-9.7201048?cmp=rss

'The thing that keeps me up at night': Yukon mayors demand funding for infrastructure at AYC
Delegates at the annual meeting of the Association of Yukon Communities passed 17 resolutions, including one calling for the creation of a "cost index" that would tie Northern infrastructure funding to inflation and recognize the higher costs of building i...
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/the-thing-that-keeps-me-up-at-night-yukon-mayors-demand-funding-for-infrastructure-at-ayc-9.7195573?cmp=rss

Aurora college seeks to supplement expired funding for child care program
Aurora College is still trying to replace expired federal funding for its early learning and child care (ELCC) program which would allow them to open admissions annually to the program, says Aurora College’s Interim President Nora Houlahan
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/aurora-college-funding-early-learning-childcare-9.7193251?cmp=rss

NTPC says no immediate rate increases when it takes over power production in Norman Wells, N.W.T.
The Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC) says it's planning to make the switch as smooth as possible for residents when it takes over as the primary source of power generation for Norman Wells, N.W.T, this summer.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/ntpc-norman-wells-power-production-takeover-9.7200081?cmp=rss

City of Yellowknife to adopt encampment policy, push for territory to clean up public land
Yellowknife city councillors supported moving forward with the adoption of an encampment policy for the city at a committee meeting Wednesday. As encampments multiply in Yellowknife, the possibility of adopting a specific policy for them comes as the city g...
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/city-of-yellowknife-to-develop-encampment-policy-push-for-territory-to-clean-up-public-land-9.7199000?cmp=rss

Yukon gov't spent $17.2M on health authority that's now in limbo
Yukoners are learning more about how much the territorial government has spent so far on the health authority that's been put on ice.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/yukon-government-health-authority-spending-9.7198724?cmp=rss

Yukon's top doctor says hantavirus risk low in territory, as 2 Yukoners isolate in B.C.
Yukon's chief medical officer says the risk associated with hantavirus in the territory is low, even as two Yukoners isolate in B.C. after being on a cruise ship during a hantavirus outbreak.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/yukon-s-top-doctor-says-hantavirus-risk-low-in-territory-as-2-yukoners-isolate-in-b-c-9.7195561?cmp=rss

Nunavik’s only veterinary clinic is looking for a new funder, or risk closure
The Northern Village of Kuujjuaq is looking for someone else to oversee the project, after it discovered the council was running a $50,000 deficit each year from the clinic. The deputy mayor says veterinarian services should not be a municipal responsibility.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/kuujjuaq-nunavik-veterinary-clinic-9.7198406?cmp=rss

Yukon and federal governments announce $1.5M for workers affected by tariffs
The Yukon and federal governments have announced $1.5 million in federal funding over three years to support Yukon workers affected by global tariffs.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/funding-yukon-tariff-impacted-workers-9.7195700?cmp=rss

Search ongoing for missing snowmobiler in the Haines Pass
A Yukon man last seen near the Haines Summit in northwestern B.C. has been missing since Friday afternoon.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/search-ongoing-for-missing-snowmobiler-in-the-haines-pass-9.7194472?cmp=rss

N.W.T. gov't sees boost in Indigenous hiring after overhaul of affirmative action policy
he N.W.T. government says it’s seen a boost in Indigenous hiring since overhauling its affirmative action policy — though it's unclear how much can be attributed to that policy change.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/n-w-t-gov-t-sees-boost-in-indigenous-hiring-after-overhaul-of-affirmative-action-policy-9.7199618?cmp=rss

Norman Wells, N.W.T., businesses prepare for another uncertain barge season
The uncertainty reflects a broader shift in how Norman Wells businesses approach supply chain planning. Years of unreliable barge seasons have left some rethinking their reliance on the Mackenzie River altogether. It’s a shift with real consequences for a remote community.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/norman-wells-businesses-prepare-for-another-uncertain-barge-season-9.7193487?cmp=rss

One of the Alaska Highway’s oldest lodges is gone
The abandoned Rancheria lodge, once a beloved stopping place between Watson Lake, Yukon, and Whitehorse, burned down early Tuesday morning.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/rancheria-lodge-yukon-burned-down-9.7199912?cmp=rss