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NEWS BRIEFS: One-stop government shops

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NWT

The federal government has bundled its services together to be offered at "Single Window Service Centres" in Behchoko, at the Kohn Go Cho Complex; in Deline, at the Victor Beyonnie Building; and Fort Resolution, at the Deninu Ku'e Development Corporation Office Complex. Residents of these communities can visit these locations to complete applications for Social Insurance Numbers, apprenticeship grants, income support for parents of murdered and missing children, Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance, Guaranteed Income Support, Old Age Security and the Wage Earner Protection Program.

The locations are open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Wednesday and on Friday and staff will visit elders' homes on Thursday afternoons.

– Tim Edwards

 

Government takes second look at land transfer tax

NWT

The government is reconsidering its plan for a land transfer tax.

After resistance from regular MLAs and the public, the minister of finance pulled back somewhat from statements in February in which he implied a land transfer tax was on the way.

"There has been some opposition to this," Robert C. McLeod said on June 1, of the proposal for a new tax to bring in some badly-needed revenue.

"So I don't think we've landed on a decision on this yet."

In his budget address, Robert C. McLeod said the government would be developing proposals this year for a new levy on the price of a home, vacant lot or commercial building in the Northwest Territories.

He said the land transfer tax could bring in $3.1 million a year.

If the government scraps the land transfer tax, McLeod said last week, it will have to come up with a different revenue-generating measure to replace it.

The Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce is strongly against the proposed tax, saying it would dampen real estate activity, discourage people from moving to the NWT and increase the already high cost of living.

"Unless we hear that it's 100 per cent off the table and not going ahead, we're going to remain concerned," Deneen Everett, executive director of the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, said Wednesday.

The Yellowknife chamber has banded together with the NWT Chamber of Commerce, the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines and the NWT and Nunavut Construction Association to oppose the proposed tax.

Everett said it is the first time since she joined the chamber in early 2014 that those four organizations have rallied around a single issue.

"That just goes to speak to how important this issue is for our community," she said.

– Sidney Cohen

 

Dene Nation elections delayed

NWT

The elections for a new Dene National Chief are delayed by a month, with a new election day of Aug. 22, during the assembly at West Point First Nation, said election officer Lynda Comerford.

The election was originally slated for July 11.

The nomination period for Dene National Chief closes as of Monday, June 11 at 5 p.m.

Word on who the final candidates are is expected to be issued Thursday, after all nominees have been vetted.

To qualify, candidates must be nominated by five members on the registry of Dene Nation and two of them must be a current chief.

The nominees themselves must be on the registry of Dene Nation and a resident of the NWT.

The Dene National Assembly will be held Aug. 20 to 24, to avoid conflict with other assemblies, said Comerford.

– Avery Zingel

 

Deline election candidates set

Deline/Fort Franklin

Leeroy Andre and Morris Neyelle are running for chief in Deline in the community's July 11 election.

The candidates for six seats on council are Danny Bayha, Peter Bayha, Tommy Betsidea, Dora Blondin, Georgina Dolphus, Leonard Kenny, Maurice Kodakin, Michael Neyelle, Morris Neyelle,

Freda Taneton, Raymond Taneton, Raymond Tutcho and Sidney J. Tutcho.

– Tim Edwards

 

First Nations Storybook app released

South Slave

Close to 50 books written in NWT Indigenous languages and in English are now available for download on Apple and Android mobile devices.

Designed to look like a bookshelf, the app hosts books telling the stories and reflecting the traditions and values, of Northerners. They're read aloud by local speakers, fluent in Bush Cree,

Chipewyan and South Slavey, so readers can follow along and learn the languages.

Retired assistant superintendent Brent Kaulback developed the app to support the 300 books that have been published through the South Slave Divisional Education Council over the years.

– Tim Edwards