Group of Yellowknifers aim to put Tin Can Hill at centre of municipal campaign

Yellowknifers opposed to development on Tin Can Hill are urging residents to consider voting for city council candidates who say they'd protect the large green space downtown.

"There are big problems that Yellowknife faces and our city doesn't seem equipped to handle them," said Tyler Morehouse, a regular Tin Can Hill visitor.

"This is one issue which I think the city can quite easily address, so long as people who are elected … are responsive to residents."

After Aurora College proposed building a polytechnic university campus on Tin Can Hill, Yellowknife residents who want to preserve the area began organizing on social media.

An online petition to protect Tin Can Hill from development, which was started by a CBC North employee, has more than 1,500 signatures. 

Morehouse compiled names of candidates who reported they'd want to preserve Tin Can Hill, candidates who might protect the area, and candidates who "will probably probably destroy Tin Can Hill." 

He posted the complete list in the Tin Can Hill Facebook group, where members have been sharing information and opinions about development of the area. The group, which is administered by the same CBC employee, has 230 members.  

The MOU

Tin Can Hill is a large, natural space between downtown and Yellowknife Bay. The city-owned land comprises a network of trails, swim spots and the water treatment plant. It's beloved by joggers, cyclists, dog walkers and nature lovers. 

But the area is set for a major transformation.

Last June, the City of Yellowknife, the Northwest Territories government and Aurora College signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) confirming Tin Can Hill as the intended site for a polytechnic university campus.

The MOU says the goal is to transfer the Tin Can Hill land from the city to the territory by March 31, 2023. 

But, as Tin Can Hill defenders point out, the MOU is not legally binding, and the door is still open for city council to walk away from the proposed development. 

A city spokesperson confirmed that the territory hasn't yet filed its land transfer application.

Jennifer Broadbridge hikes, bikes, runs and goes bird watching on Tin Can Hill.

"It was only a couple of years ago that I got a vehicle, so for many years in Yellowknife, living downtown, [Tin Can Hill] was the only place that was really, truly accessible to me," she said. "I didn't have the means to be able to drive up Ingraham Trail to access the trails there."

Broadbridge's biggest fear is that development on Tin Can Hill will sully what feels like wilderness in the middle of the city. She's disappointed Tin Can Hill users weren't broadly consulted ahead of the decision to put the polytechnic there.

Aurora College and the N.W.T. government considered 11 sites for a future polytechnic university campus in Yellowknife. 

Ultimately, they chose Tin Can Hill for reasons including its proximity to downtown, its "feeling of being embedded in nature," and its potential to accommodate an expansion of the campus in the future. 

An Aurora College Transformation spokesperson said that under the current plan, the "southern half" of Tin Can Hill would be protected, and, "to the greatest extent possible, trails will be maintained or expanded to preserve accessibility by the broader community."

The spokesperson said the college is in the first stage of an environmental site assessment of the area, and that building a campus on Tin Can Hill would be a multi-year project.

The city's spokesperson said the polytechnic development "will strive to create opportunities for the community to access the area in a manner consistent with historic uses."

Both Broadridge and Morehouse are happy about the prospect of a polytechnic university in Yellowknife, they just don't want it on Tin Can Hill. 

Morehouse suggested the city hold a referendum on the Tin Can Hill development, similar to the one it held last year on whether to borrow money for the new pool. 

"Tin Can Hill is an important resource that the public should have input on … so I think that a public vote would be the fairest way to decide what we do with it," he said. 

"Ultimately, I would be crushed if we decided to build on Tin Can Hill, but I would accept that decision if that was reached by a democratic vote."