CBC Radio's The House: The North Rising
CBC Radio | Posted: November 28, 2020 9:00 AM | Last Updated: November 28, 2020
Here's what's on this week's special episode of The House
On this special edition of The House: The North Rising:
A housing crisis in the Northwest Territories
In the Northwest Territories, The House goes to the communities of N'dilo and Dettah, where Yellowknives Dene First Nation members and leaders like Chief Ernest Betsina are grappling with housing shortages. They're looking for ways to get their members out of public housing and into their own homes — and finding ways to make federal and territorial funding opportunities fit the specific needs of their First Nation.
Autonomy and self-determination in the North
It wasn't that long ago that the territories were internal colonies of the federal government, where an appointed commissioner and bureaucrats in Ottawa called the shots.
The House looks at the journey each territory took toward responsible, representative governments. Join Chris Hall and Juanita Taylor as they explore the path to province-like powers through the stories of the people who were there.
Connecting Nunavut
The House takes you into the spotty world of connectivity in Nunavut, the only region in Canada that relies on satellite connections known to fizzle out at the slightest of weather changes.
With residents plagued by internet and cellular outages, expensive service and little choice when it comes to providers, are federal investments in the North missing the mark? And what does that mean for those stuck inside their homes as COVID-19 ups its presence in the territory? Co-host Chris Hall speaks to former Iqaluit mayor Madeleine Redfern, who also leads two telecommunications companies in that city.
Trump's final push in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and its coastal plain are now at the centre of one of Donald Trump's last acts as U.S. president. Last week, his administration moved to sell oil and gas drilling rights in the area, stoking longstanding concerns from Gwich'in in Canada and the U.S., that development there would harm the Porcupine caribou herd — and the Gwich'in way of life.
Ottawa opposes drilling in the refuge, as does U.S. president-elect Joe Biden. But with the possibility of activity in the region before the year is out, can the Canadian government do anything to stop it? And what's at stake for a pristine wildlife reserve caught in Trump's last-ditch effort to advance his agenda?
Dana Tizya-Tramm, Chief of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation in Yukon, joins The House to share his perspective from the frontlines of the battle.