Latest news with #Yellowknife
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Minister Chartrand announces investment in events that help Yellowknife small businesses build capacity
CanNor funding of up to $150,000 for the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce supports two capacity building events for small businesses. YELLOWKNIFE, NT, July 28, 2025 /CNW/ - Small businesses are at the heart of Northern communities and have a deep understanding of local needs and resources, enabling them to offer authentic products and services to both residents and visitors. Today, the Honourable Rebecca Chartrand, Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs and Minister responsible for CanNor, announced an investment of up to $150,000 to the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce. Delivered through CanNor, this funding will support two annual capacity building events for Yellowknife's business community over three years. This includes a Small Business Week each fall and a Trailblazers Symposium coinciding with International Women's Day. Vibrant small businesses enrich the lives of Northerners and contribute to a strong, united Canadian economy by keeping economic benefits within the territories. Supporting projects like this aligns with CanNor's commitment to help create dynamic economies that support prosperity an elevate Canada's North. Quotes "To build a strong Canadian economy, we need small businesses to keep innovating, not only for their local communities but for national and international markets. Our new government is supporting initiatives that strengthen small business capacity so they can continue to drive growth in our economy." - The Honourable Rebecca Chartrand, Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs and Minister responsible for CanNor "Projects like this help entrepreneurs build capacity, find local solutions, and grow with confidence. In turn, this strengthens our local economy and helps us all choose Canada." - The Honourable Rebecca Alty, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations "We're grateful for CanNor's continued investment in our events, which serve as platforms for delivering capacity-building support to our local business community. With a focus on training, leadership development, and strengthening connections, our sessions are designed to meet the needs of our members. This year's programming is shaped by feedback collected through membership surveys over the past several years, ensuring we reflect the priorities of the business community we serve." - Tracy Peters, Manager of Member Relations & Program Coordinator, Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce Quick facts CanNor is investing $150,000 through the IDEANorth program. IDEANorth makes foundational investments in economic infrastructure, sector development and capacity building to help position Northerners to take advantage of Canada's innovation economy. Total project costs are $225,000, including an investment of $52,500 from the Government of the Northwest Territories, with remaining costs covered by the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce. Associated links Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce Stay connected: Follow CanNor on X, Facebook and LinkedIn. SOURCE Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) View original content:
CBC
4 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Emergency plan 'worked great,' despite performer's encounter with lightning: Folk on the Rocks
Folk on the Rocks says its emergency response plan "worked great" after a thunderstorm forced the Yellowknife music festival to shut down early last Friday – and it has followed up with a local performer who had a scary experience with lightning. "Lightning hit the tent and I got shocked pretty good," Benji Staker, who performs as Hughes, told CBC News on Saturday. The annual three-day outdoor festival kicked off Friday with its Warm the Rocks event in the beer gardens at the Folk on the Rocks site. However, after the thunderstorm started, organizers made the decision to evacuate the site at around 8:30 p.m. Straker said he and his wife and two others had sought refuge from the storm under a tent with sound equipment when it happened. He'd been leaning against a metal equipment box at the time, and said it felt like someone punched him in the head and kicked him in the butt. "I felt fine right away," he said. "I think everybody else was kind of more concerned." Straker said many people pulled him aside at the festival to ask him what happened and if he was OK. "I'm having fun with it," he said. "They're wondering why I'm not stuttering and why I don't have, like, a white stripe on my head or, like, spider veins." "It's obviously nobody's fault. Maybe ours, for getting under a metal frame tent. But whatever, it is what it is." Teresa Horosko, the festival's executive director, said in an interview Thursday that the festival has spoken with Straker about what happened. "The static charge in the air when lightning is present is intense and it is possible to feel some shocks or some effects from that static charge," she said. "We've discussed that with him and also have opened up that conversation for anybody else who has been on site who may have felt some static charge." Asked whether the festival's emergency response plan worked, given what happened, Horosko said it's something she's been asking herself too. "Did we do enough, and quickly enough? And I think, ultimately, yes." Horosko said the festival had been monitoring the storm for a while and an evacuation didn't seem necessary at first. But then the wind changed, a low pressure system moved in, and things started to move quickly. "I think back on that moment a lot. If I had done things a little bit different … would we not have had those instances? And I can't guarantee that those wouldn't have happened. Like static charge in the air is a big thing when there is an electrical storm. And I think ultimately we made the right choice when we made that choice." Horosko said staff and volunteers did an "incredible job" clearing the site, and she's thankful to the audience for paying attention and being co-operative. Though she's satisfied with how the emergency response plan worked, she does hope to make some updates to it. "It was our first time doing an evacuation because of a thunderstorm. So going to edit that a little bit and also have a more detailed re-opening plan." The festival has described shutting down early on Friday as a "devastating financial loss." Horosko said the 19+ event brings in about a third of the festival's sales – through drinks at the beer garden and merchandise. Though attendance on Saturday was "big," the cool Sunday forecast meant fewer attendees.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Emergency plan 'worked great,' despite performer's encounter with lightning: Folk on the Rocks
Folk on the Rocks says its emergency response plan "worked great" after a thunderstorm forced the Yellowknife music festival to shut down early last Friday – and it has followed up with a local performer who had a scary experience with lightning. "Lightning hit the tent and I got shocked pretty good," Benji Staker, who perfomes as Hughes, told CBC News on Saturday. The annual three-day outdoor festival kicked off Friday with its Warm the Rocks event in the beer gardens at the Folk on the Rocks site. However, after the thunderstorm started, organizers made the decision to evacuate the site at around 8:30 p.m. Straker said he and his wife and two others had sought refuge from the storm under a tent with sound equipment when it happened. He'd been leaning against a metal equipment box at the time, and said it felt like someone punched him in the head and kicked him in the butt. "I felt fine right away," he said. "I think everybody else was kind of more concerned." Straker said many people pulled him aside at the festival to ask him what happened and if he was OK. "I'm having fun with it," he said. "They're wondering why I'm not stuttering and why I don't have, like, a white stripe on my head or, like, spider veins." "It's obviously nobody's fault. Maybe ours, for getting under a metal frame tent. But whatever, it is what it is." Teresa Horosko, the festival's executive director, said in an interview Thursday that the festival has spoken with Straker about what happened. "The static charge in the air when lightning is present is intense and it is possible to feel some shocks or some effects from that static charge," she said. "We've discussed that with him and also have opened up that conversation for anybody else who has been on site who may have felt some static charge." Asked whether the festival's emergency response plan worked, given what happened, Horosko said it's something she's been asking herself too. "Did we do enough, and quickly enough? And I think, ultimately, yes." Horosko said the festival had been monitoring the storm for a while and an evacuation didn't seem necessary at first. But then the wind changed, a low pressure system moved in, and things started to move quickly. "I think back on that moment a lot. If I had done things a little bit different … would we not have had those instances? And I can't guarantee that those wouldn't have happened. Like static charge in the air is a big thing when there is an electrical storm. And I think ultimately we made the right choice when we made that choice." Horosko said staff and volunteers did an "incredible job" clearing the site, and she's thankful to the audience for paying attention and being co-operative. Though she's satisfied with how the emergency response plan worked, she does hope to make some updates to it. "It was our first time doing an evacuation because of a thunderstorm. So going to edit that a little bit and also have a more detailed re-opening plan." The festival has described shutting down early on Friday as a "devastating financial loss." Horosko said the 19+ event brings in about a third of the festival's sales – through drinks at the beer garden and merchandise. Though attendance on Saturday was "big," the cool Sunday forecast meant fewer attendees. "We aren't out of the woods yet," said Horosko. She said the festival is planning some fundraising activities in the future.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Emergency plan 'worked great,' despite performer's encounter with lightning: Folk on the Rocks
Folk on the Rocks says its emergency response plan "worked great" after a thunderstorm forced the Yellowknife music festival to shut down early last Friday – and it has followed up with a local performer who had a scary experience with lightning. "Lightning hit the tent and I got shocked pretty good," Benji Staker, who perfomes as Hughes, told CBC News on Saturday. The annual three-day outdoor festival kicked off Friday with its Warm the Rocks event in the beer gardens at the Folk on the Rocks site. However, after the thunderstorm started, organizers made the decision to evacuate the site at around 8:30 p.m. Straker said he and his wife and two others had sought refuge from the storm under a tent with sound equipment when it happened. He'd been leaning against a metal equipment box at the time, and said it felt like someone punched him in the head and kicked him in the butt. "I felt fine right away," he said. "I think everybody else was kind of more concerned." Straker said many people pulled him aside at the festival to ask him what happened and if he was OK. "I'm having fun with it," he said. "They're wondering why I'm not stuttering and why I don't have, like, a white stripe on my head or, like, spider veins." "It's obviously nobody's fault. Maybe ours, for getting under a metal frame tent. But whatever, it is what it is." Teresa Horosko, the festival's executive director, said in an interview Thursday that the festival has spoken with Straker about what happened. "The static charge in the air when lightning is present is intense and it is possible to feel some shocks or some effects from that static charge," she said. "We've discussed that with him and also have opened up that conversation for anybody else who has been on site who may have felt some static charge." Asked whether the festival's emergency response plan worked, given what happened, Horosko said it's something she's been asking herself too. "Did we do enough, and quickly enough? And I think, ultimately, yes." Horosko said the festival had been monitoring the storm for a while and an evacuation didn't seem necessary at first. But then the wind changed, a low pressure system moved in, and things started to move quickly. "I think back on that moment a lot. If I had done things a little bit different … would we not have had those instances? And I can't guarantee that those wouldn't have happened. Like static charge in the air is a big thing when there is an electrical storm. And I think ultimately we made the right choice when we made that choice." Horosko said staff and volunteers did an "incredible job" clearing the site, and she's thankful to the audience for paying attention and being co-operative. Though she's satisfied with how the emergency response plan worked, she does hope to make some updates to it. "It was our first time doing an evacuation because of a thunderstorm. So going to edit that a little bit and also have a more detailed re-opening plan." The festival has described shutting down early on Friday as a "devastating financial loss." Horosko said the 19+ event brings in about a third of the festival's sales – through drinks at the beer garden and merchandise. Though attendance on Saturday was "big," the cool Sunday forecast meant fewer attendees. "We aren't out of the woods yet," said Horosko. She said the festival is planning some fundraising activities in the future.
CBC
6 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Hearne Lake Lodge no longer at risk from nearby wildfire, says N.W.T. Fire
Hearne Lake Lodge is no longer at risk from a wildfire burning east of Hearne Lake, according to N.W.T. Fire. In a post on Tuesday evening, N.W.T. Fire announced that the lodge, which had been facing a wildfire threat since the beginning of July, was "no longer at risk" from the flames. The lodge is about 60 kilometres east of Yellowknife. The fire in question originally began as two separate wildfires but then merged together to form what Edie Yoder, the owner of Hearne Lake Lodge, classified as "a massive beast." She said it was hard to know how fast the flames were advancing toward the property. "It was just this beast, this monster that was growing so rapidly," Yoder said. While this is the fifth year the lodge has eluded wildfires, Yoder said that this fire was the most "unsettling." The fire forced Yoder, her husband and their two dogs to evacuate twice to a small island nearby. There, they were able to keep an eye on it. Yoder's husband was also able to occasionally go back to the lodge and provide fuel to keep the water pumps and sprinkler system functional. N.W.T. Fire said the lodge's victory against the flames was largely due to the steps Yoder and her husband took to protect the property. "Thanks to the proactive measures taken by Hearne Lake Lodge owners, crews were set up for success when it came to protecting structures from this wildfire," they wrote in a fire update. Yoder herself saw the moment the flames were stopped from reaching the house by the sprinklers. When the fire "hit the dome of moisture created by the sprinklers, we watched it stop in its tracks," Yoder said. The fire "just literally died in its tracks. It was amazing to see."
