Advertisement

The week that was in the North: 5 stories not to miss

1. Look inside Nunavut's notorious jail

The phrase "Wecome to hell" once greeted inmates at Iqaluit's Baffin Correctional Centre. Now nearly $1 million has gone into getting rid of the pervasive mould, broken fire sprinklers and punched-out walls. But Nunavut's notorious jail still may have a long way to go.

2. What's that sludge?

It's brown, slimy and invading a section of Yellowknife's Jackfish Lake. The territory's top public health official says as a precautionary measure, people should wear gloves when handling fish from any lake infested with the blue-green algae causing the problem.

3. How much do Yukon's top bureaucrats make?

Several Canadian provinces post the amounts taxpayers spend on government salaries but that's not the case in the Yukon. The CBC's Nancy Thompson (who reveils her own salary) looks at whether Yukon needs a sunshine list.

4. Reality star's case goes to Federal Court of Appeal

Alex Debogorski of Ice Road Truckers fame wants to search for diamonds on a mineral claim that's 90 per cent under Great Slave Lake. But the Yellowknives Dene say there are no measures in place to limit the cumulative impacts of exploration in the Drybones Bay area. Now the decision is in the hands of a Federal Court of Appeal judge.

5. Missing hunter walks home

Search crews scoured for Brian Koonoo for four days but in the end he walked home. The 36-year-old arrived in Repulse Bay from Pond Inlet after dealing with a snowmobile breakdown and walking the final 60 kilometres. His says thinking of his wife and five daughters kept him going.