Craig MacLean and Nelson Johnson have been appointed to new leadership roles within City of Yellowknife administration as the director of public safety and fire chief, respectively.
The changes were effective as of April 19, according to the municipality.
Originally starting as a paid on-call firefighter with the Yellowknife Fire Department in 2002, MacLean has tackled various roles including acting fire chief and deputy fire chief of operations — a position he held for 12 years.
Johnson is Nêhiyawêwin (Cree), originally from Russel, Man., with 30 years experience in fire service.
Johnson comes to Yellowknife from Ontario, leaving his role as fire chief in Minden.
Prior to that, he spent four years at the Iqaluit Fire Department as deputy fire chief and, subsequently, interim fire chief.
“I’m pleased to welcome Craig and Nelson into these senior positions at the city,” city manager Sheila Bassi-Kellett said. “Given the essential services provided by the Public Safety Department, it’s imperative that we have highly-skilled professionals to lead this important work for the benefit of our community overall.”
The city issued thanks to Jennifer Hunt-Poitras, the former director of public safety, for her commitment to the community.
Hunt-Poitras is preparing to relocate to Nunavut.