A plane carrying Russian nationals that was grounded at Yellowknife Airport on Tuesday (March 1) will stay grounded while the federal government conducts an investigation, according to the NWT’s minister of infrastructure.
Minister Diane Archie confirmed during the March 3 sitting of the Legislative Assembly that the plane was still grounded.
She said the private aircraft appeared to be registered to an Austrian company and flew in from Geneva, Switzerland. She said there were “no flags raised” about the aircraft until it had landed and it was determined that Russian nationals were on board.
Archie said prior to the plane landing, the Department of Infrastructure had “no knowledge of the expedition” and that federal authorities had not contacted her department.
“I was disappointed with the lack of engagement,” she said.
Hay River South MLA Rocky Simpson asked what would be done to increase security in the North given Russia’s aggression against its neighbours.
Archie responded saying, now that tourists are once again allowed to enter the NWT, “…our ability to be able to restrict access to the Northwest Territories has ended.”
“I can’t say anything further, as it is really out of our hands,” she said.
Although the identity of the passengers has not been released, the flight may be connected to a Russian-led expedition to travel to both the North and South Poles using all-terrain vehicles. Archie said on Wednesday the Russian passengers appeared to be on their way to Resolute, Nunavut as part of a planned arctic expedition.
On Feb. 28, the team of the Transglobal Car Expedition announced on Facebook its members were “already in the second-largest country in the world.”
The team also shared a map showing the route they would take through Canada’s north, which starts in Yellowknife and includes a stop in Resolute.
The Transglobal Car Expedition team is composed mostly of Russian nationals, including the Russian oil billionaire Vasily Shakhnovsky. The team also includes Andrew Comrie-Picard, a Canadian race-car driver.
The Transglobal Car Expedition team did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Also during Thursday’s sitting, Premier Caroline Cochrane cautioned residents against prejudice towards ordinary Russians given the growing security concern. “The civilians of Russia are not a threat, and people need to realize that,” she said.
Inuvik Twin Lakes MLA Lesa Semmler echoed the premier’s comments: Once the territory reopens to tourism, she said, “We will have Russian families and tourists coming here.” She reminded her colleagues of the discrimination often faced by Indigenous people, as well as by people of Asian descent since the outbreak of the pandemic.