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PSA: QIA reminds shack owners that social gatherings are prohibited under current health measures

May 14th, 2021

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in Iqaluit, QIA is reminding shack owners on Iqaluit Sinaa Inuit-owned Land that social gatherings and parties are prohibited under the current health measures enacted by the Chief Public Health Officer.

It is critical that we stop the spread of COVID-19 in our communities, therefore QIA will not hesitate to contact RCMP and Municipal Enforcement if parties and social gatherings are observed along the beach. Persons who participate in parties and social gatherings can face fines for violations of the public health orders.

The beach in Iqaluit Sinaa IOL remains open so that critical harvesting activities may take place and sea ice can be accessed.

The best defense against COVID-19 in Nunavut remains the Moderna vaccine. It is safe, effective, and available to all adults in the Qikiqtani Region. You can book an appointment to receive your vaccine by calling your local health centre or Iqaluit public health.

While in public QIA encourages community members to wear their masks, stay social distanced and if you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or have interacted with someone who has please call the GN’s COVID-19 hotline at: 1-888-975-8601.

For more information, please contact:

Will Hopkins, Acting Director of Communications,
Qikiqtani Inuit Association
[email protected]
867.975.8413 or
1.800.667.2742

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Sixteen groups receive funding to support marginalized youth

14/05/2021

Please note the table in the Backgrounder has been corrected.

Yukon youth will benefit from more than $68,000 awarded to 16 community groups through the Youth Investment Fund. The groups received funding for a variety of arts, recreation and educational programming, including horse-back riding, cycling and a teen mentoring program.

The Youth Investment Fund provides financial support to short-term projects aimed at youth under 19 years old with fewer opportunities.

The Youth Investment Fund continues to support important opportunities for marginalized youth throughout the territory. I want to thank the community groups for their initiative in offering programs that will create positive social and recreational opportunities for Yukon’s youth, our leaders of tomorrow.

Premier and Minister of the Executive Council Office Sandy Silver

Quick facts

The Youth Investment Fund provides funding twice a year to qualifying community groups. Eligible groups can apply for funding between $501 and $5,000. The application deadline for the next round of funding is October 1, 2021.
The Youth Investment Fund is administered by the Youth Directorate, a branch of the Executive Council Office.

Backgrounder

Recipients – Spring 2021	Project
Association Franco-Yukonnaise	Wilderness Leadership Camp
BYTE Empowering Youth	2021 Annual Skate Comp & Workshops
Freedom Trails Therapeutic Riding Assoc.	Therapeutic Horseback Riding
Industrial Arts & Technology Society of Yukon	Dawson City Youth Welding Club
Klondyke Highway Music Society	Dawson City Summer Music Camp
Music Yukon	Arts in the Park 2021
Nakai Theatre Ensemble	Tomorrow Today After School Creative Drop-In
Northern Steel Fighting Society	Northern Knights Youth Training Class
Skookum Jim Friendship Centre	Keish Camp
Town of Faro	Faro’s Kids Club and Youth Group
Village of Carmacks	Carmacks Youth Supporting Youth BYTE Experience
Village of Teslin	Teslin Bike Camp
Youth of Today Society	Youth DJ Workshop
Yukon First Nations Cultural and Tourism Association	Youth Drum Making Workshop and Drum Circle
Yukonstruct	Boatbuilding Youth Camp
U Kon Echelon Bike Club	U Kon Cycle Youth Engagement

Contact

Francoeur
Cabinet Communications
867-334-9194
[email protected]

Alexis Miller
Communications, Executive Council Office
867-456-6507
[email protected]

NT5

City of Yellowknife: Changes to the City’s Leadership Team

The City of Yellowknife (the City) is pleased to announce changes to Administration’s leadership team.

Effective May 17, 2021, born and raised Northerner, Jennifer Hunt-Poitras, will assume the permanent role of Director of Public Safety. Ms. Hunt-Poitras brings a vast skillset from a rich professional background, including time as a journalist at the CBC, a Director with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and a lawyer called to the bar in the Northwest Territories in 2019. In 2020, Ms. Hunt-Poitras joined the City as Manager of the Municipal Enforcement Division (MED) and was instrumental in implementing MED’s transition to community policing.

Charlsey White will join the City as Director of Planning and Development, effective May 17, 2021. Ms. White comes to Yellowknife from Ontario, where she held the position of Director of Planning and Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for the County of Haliburton. Ms. White previously worked with the Government of Ontario facilitating municipal planning. Ms. White and her family are looking forward to putting down roots in Yellowknife. The City thanks Greg Littlefair, Manager of Building Services, for agreeing to step in on an interim basis for the last 17 months to lead the Planning and Development Department and looks forward to his ongoing expertise in development, expansion and building initiatives.

“I’m excited to welcome two highly skilled professionals to join the City’s senior leadership team,” said City Manager Sheila Bassi-Kellett. “Given their knowledge and experience, I am confident that Jennifer and Charlsey will make significant contributions to their respective areas and, in turn, benefit our community overall.”

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Whitehorse Connects: May 18, 2021

The next Whitehorse Connects will be taking place on Tuesday, May 18 between 10 am and 2 pm at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre. COVID measures will be in place to keep everyone safe.

Event poster

Click here to view the event poster (PDF)

Volunteer or Clothing Donations

If you have an hour or two to volunteer, please phone Kerry at 334-9317. Financial support to run Whitehorse Connects is also appreciated.

NT5

Premier and Ministers meet to review GNWT response to flooding

May 13, 2021

Premier Cochrane along with Ministers Diane Archie, Paulie Chinna and Nahendeh MLA Shane Thompson met late yesterday evening to review the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) response to flooding in the Northwest Territories (NWT) and to discuss next steps.

The Department of Municipal and Community affairs (MACA) Emergency Management Organization (EMO) continues to work collaboratively with impacted communities to provide on the ground support. The Department of Infrastructure (INF) and Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC) continue to coordinate with the Territorial Emergency Organization, assess and evaluate buildings for electrical safety, offer alternative power solutions where they can and more.

Once it is safe to do so, the GNWT will begin the process of assessing the damage to the residential areas as well as community infrastructure. Priority is on supporting impacted communities as they rebuild and recover.

At this time, the GNWT has sent aircrafts to support evacuations as well as supplies requested by Community Emergency organizations. As the flooding situation evolves, the GNWT is also looking at options for how to manage donations that residents and organizations are looking to make. More information will be provided once details have been confirmed.

The Department of Infrastructure has dispatched teams to the region to begin clearing ice on the shore in preparation to launch ferry service into Fort Simpson in the coming days. The ferry will only become operational once the water levels drop to a safe level for the ferry to go into the water.

The GNWT is also assessing the need for financial assistance for further support as we assess community damage. This includes initial discussions with the Federal Government about how they can support the overall recovery efforts.

Quotes

“The North has always been a place where residents come together during a time of need and I know we all will for those impacted by the flooding. We are going to do everything we can to ensure that you are safe and have the supports you need. Once flooding has subsided, the GNWT will continue to work with Indigenous leadership and community governments who will be focused on leading the recovery.”

– Caroline Cochrane, Premier of the Northwest Territories

“When NWT residents and communities are at risk, it is important that our territory comes together to provide support the best we can. The Department of Infrastructure and Northwest Territories Power Corporation continue to monitor the situation and provide support where it is safe to do so. The GNWT will continue to do what we can to support communities and residents during this difficult time and as they transition to recovery – work with communities to make the transition as efficient as we can.

– Diane Archie, Deputy Premier, Minister of Infrastructure and Minister Responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation

“Northerners have always shown a unique ability to come together and support one another during times of need, we continue to see this sense of community across the NWT. I want to commend the collaboration and partnership between community leaders for working effectively and efficiently to address the needs of their communities. We will continue to do everything we can to support communities and residents during this trying time.”

-Paulie Chinna, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs

“The outpouring of support from across the NWT has been incredible. I recognize that many people want to know what they can do and how they can help. It is important that we let the professionals on the ground do their jobs and that we support them however we can while we navigate the flooding situation.”

-Shane Thompson, MLA for Nahendeh

Quick facts

The majority of emergencies are dealt with at the local level. Local Authorities are required to have emergency plans in place and enact them when an emergency event impacts the community. Direction and control of response operations is conducted by local officials. The regional EMO will be notified and provided situational awareness to monitor the situation for possible GNWT involvement.
Should the Local Authority request assistance to deal with an emergency, or become overwhelmed by the nature of the incident, GNWT support is provided. While community response operations will remain under the direction and control of the Local Authority, GNWT support is directed and controlled by the regional EMO as a designated incident manager. In circumstances where the Local Authority is overwhelmed, the community is not established as a municipal corporation or the emergency extends beyond the boundaries of a community, the regional EMO may take some or all responsibility for direction and control of emergency response operations.
Emergency response priorities help guide decision making on response activities. The following emergency response priorities are used within the NWT. The response priorities are listed in order of priority and should be use when developing operational plans and for general decision making within the EOCs. Priorities in conducting emergency response operations are: 1. Provide for the safety and health of all responders 2. Save lives 3. Reduce suffering 4. Protect public health 5. Protect critical infrastructure 6. Protect property 7. Protect the environment 8. Reduce economic and social losses.
The GNWT may provide financial assistance to community governments, small businesses, and residents of the NWT who have suffered damage as a result of a disaster. The GNWT’s Disaster Assistance Policy (DAP) may provide financial support to assist individuals, small businesses and community governments in recovering from a disaster and restoring damaged property to its pre-disaster condition.
The DAP is similar to disaster assistance programs established in other jurisdictions in Canada and is closely aligned with the federal Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA). DFAA provides financial assistance to provinces and territories to help them cover costs relating to a disaster.

Premier Silver tables revised 2021–22 Budget in the Legislative Assembly

Today, Premier and Finance Minister Sandy Silver tabled the Government of Yukon’s revised 2021–22 Budget, which focuses on improving the lives of Yukoners and includes significant investments in education, housing, community infrastructure and renewable energy projects.

The revised budget for 2021–22 is $1.79 billion. Operating and maintenance expenses will be $1.36 billion. Capital spending is $434 million.

In addition to prior commitments, the revised 2021–22 Budget includes a $1 million initial investment to further address public health impacts of opioids and other drugs for those living with addiction. It also includes $500,000 to start developing a plan to provide dental benefits to uninsured Yukoners as identified in the Putting People First final report. These are campaign commitments and were also agreed to in the Confidence and Supply Agreement (CASA) with the Yukon NDP.

The revised Budget also includes $6.4 million in Territorial Health Investment Fund transfers and $5.5 million in COVID-19 supports from Canada, which were both identified since the tabling of the Budget in March. Combined, these funding arrangements are helping reduce the annual deficit and net debt position for 2021–22 since the Budget was tabled in March.

Also tabled today were revised Second Supplementary Estimates for the 2020–21 fiscal year. This includes $330,000 for the territorial election and pension plan expenses, which did not appear in the Second Supplementary Estimates tabled in March 2021.

A revised Fiscal Outlook outlining the government’s revised fiscal position was also released along with a summary of revisions between the March Budget and the revised Budget tabled today.

Our government is proud to table a revised Budget that will make life more affordable while investing in a more sustainable and prosperous future for the Yukon. We are making historic investments in Yukon families with a new universal childcare program as well as renewable energy projects that will help us address climate change. The Budget also includes funding for ongoing COVID-19 programs to ensure Yukoners and their businesses have the support they need as we emerge from the pandemic and get on the path to recovery.

Premier and Minister of Finance Sandy Silver

Quick facts

A 2021–22 Budget Bill was tabled in March during the 34th Session of the Legislative Assembly.
Between the 2021–22 Main Estimates tabled in March and the 2021–22 Main Estimates tabled in May, the annual deficit decreased from $12.7 million to $6.6 million, while net financial debt decreased from $175.4 million to $169.6 million.
The Government of Yukon’s revised Second Supplementary Estimates for the 2020–21 fiscal year forecasts a revised deficit of $7 million and year-end net debt of $88.5 million.
The Confidence and Supply Agreement was signed by the Yukon Liberal Caucus and the Yukon NDP Caucus and establishes the basis for which the Yukon NDP Caucus will provide confidence in a Yukon Liberal Government. It is in effect from April 28, 2021 to January 31, 2021.

Contact

Renée Francoeur
Cabinet Communications
867-33-9194
[email protected]

Eric Clement
Communications, Finance
867-393-6482
[email protected]

NT4

NT Government: Daily Update – May 13, 2021 – as of 12:00 pm

*Please note: The OCPHO will continue to release daily updates Monday to Friday. If there are NO changes to public exposure notifications there will be no updates released outside these days.

Total active COVID-19 cases in NWT

Number/Amount	Location (Region)	Confirmed/Probable	Related Exposure Risks	NWT Resident
64	Yellowknife	Confirmed	Yes	Yes
1	Yellowknife	Probable	Yes	Yes
1	Diavik	Confirmed	No	No
Further Details: None at this time

Hospitalizations

N.J. Macpherson School Outbreak/Yellowknife Cluster

COVID-19 cases

Total Confirmed	New Cases	Total Active	Recovered	Probable
64	1	44	20	1

Testing

Total Tests Done	Percent positivity	B.1.1.7 (UK Variant) Confirmed	Percentage of positive cases that are symptomatic	Percentage of positive cases younger than age 18	Mean age of positive cases younger than age 18
2263	2.8%	Yes	65 percent	87 percent	8.4 years

Public Exposure Notifications

New	Further Details
0	Please see all current public exposure notifications here: https://www.gov.nt.ca/covid-19/en/services/public-exposure-notifications

Actions

Restriction Changes	Who it affects	Where it takes place	When it takes place
Mandatory masking	Yellowknife, Dettah and Ndilǫ residents	Yellowknife Dettah Ndilǫ	May 2, 2021
Mandatory masking	Behchokǫ̀ residents	Behchokǫ̀	May 3, 2021
School closures	Yellowknife, Dettah and Ndilǫ, and residents	Yellowknife Dettah Ndilǫ	May 2, 2021 – May 17, 2021
School closures	Behchokǫ̀ Residents	Behchokǫ̀	May 3, 2021 – May 17, 2021
Further Details: Public Health Orders May 5, 2021: Yellowknife, Ndilǫ̨, and Dettah and Behchokǫ̀ Temporary COVID-19 Restrictions: public-health-order-yellowknife-ndilo-dettah-behchoko-covid-19-restrictions-2021-05-05_0.pdf (gov.nt.ca) May 3, 2021: COVID-19 Mandatory Face Mask Requirements: https://www.gov.nt.ca/covid-19/sites/covid/files/resources/2021-05-03_-_public-health-order-face-mask.pdf

Recommendations

Non-essential travel in and out of Yellowknife, Dettah, Ndilǫ, and Behchokǫ̀ should be suspended/deferred until further notice. Please continue to attend all necessary medical appointments.
Remote work is highly encouraged for any employees who are able at this time.

Testing

Book online for the N.J. Macpherson testing site: NTHSSA website(link is external)(link is external). If you already have an appointment at the Yellowknife Covid Testing Centre, you can keep that appointment if the time is more convenient.

This does NOT apply to household members of active cases or anyone with COVID-19 symptoms. Seek advice from Public Health.

Exposure	You Can Book Testing
N.J. Macpherson School (all staff and students)	May 13: 9 am – 6 pm May 14: 9 am – 11 am
Sir John Franklin High School (only affected classes)	May 14: 9 am – 11 am
All Other Exposures	May 14: 11 am – 6 pm May 15: 9 am – 6 pm

Attribution

All commentary is attributable to Dr. Kami Kandola, Chief Public Health Officer for the Northwest Territories.

Relevant Links

NT5

NorZinc Provides Results for First Quarter 2021

May 13, 2021 ─ Vancouver, British Columbia ─ NorZinc Ltd. (TSX: NZC; OTCQB: NORZF) (the “Company” or “NorZinc”) reports its interim financial results and development activities for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021. (“Q1 2021”). (All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. M = million).

Q1 2021 Results & Recent Highlights

Financial and Corporate
Cash and short-term investments at March 31, 2021 were equal to $2.7M (vs. $5.3M as of December 31, 2020).
Loss for three months ended March 31, 2021 was $1.7M (vs. $3.0M as of March 31, 2020).

The Company is in advanced discussions for the next stage of financing development of the Prairie Creek Mine, including a potential silver stream.

The Company commenced planning for an exploration program at its Newfoundland properties.

Prairie Creek
The Company commenced preparation for the surface drill program as part of the overall strategy to enhance the reserves. The drill program is anticipated to start in May 2021.

The NorZinc Covid-19 Exposure Control Plan and Vaccination Policy was reviewed and updated in line with GNWT public health.

The Company has progressed the process to obtain amended operating permits for increased design throughput.

Subsequent Events
On May 3, 2021, Rohan Hazelton was appointed President, CEO & Director of NorZinc.

On May 3, 2021 the Company announced its major shareholder, RCF VI CAD LLC agreed to purchase $1M of common shares through a private placement; the financing is expected to close by May 31, 2021.

The Company opened the Prairie Creek Project site on May 4, 2021 with the aim of completing the surface drilling program which began in late 2020, performing annual water treatment activities, and undertaking other key site and road activities necessary to advance the project.

CORPORATE OVERVIEW

The Company’s activities are primarily focused on the completion of permit modifications for an expanded project design and ultimately financing and development of the Prairie Creek silver-zinc-lead mine in the Canada’s Northwest Territories (the “Prairie Creek Property”, the “Prairie Creek Mine” or the “Mine”). In Q4 2019, the Company received the final Water License (“WL”) and Land Use Permit (”LUP”) from the Mackenzie Valley Land & Water Board (“MVLB”) and Parks Canada (“Parks”) for construction of All Season Road (“ASR”) access to the Prairie Creek project. In Q4 2020 the Company received renewed operating WL and LUP permits for the Mine from the MVLB, and NWT ministerial approval in Feb 2021. The Company is applying for amended operating permits for the new expanded project design discussed below.

In June 2019, the Company announced it had commenced a proof-of-concept study with its technical advisers on the possibility of operational enhancement. This study focused on throughput enhancement and possible reserve enhancement due to the large potential for increased reserves at Prairie Creek. Also through the latter part of 2019 and into 2020, NorZinc analyzed the likely effect on capital costs and operating costs caused by new requirements and design changes resulting, directly or indirectly, from the permitting process, plus overall cost increases experienced in the Northwest Territories (“NWT”) and announced in Feb 2020 a new plan on optimizing economics, including a mine enhancement program (“MEP”). During 2020 the Company completed a detailed internal analysis of the various aspects of the MEP as discussed below.

COVID-19

While there are no guarantees, the Company still targets finishing its exploration program within 18-months, but COVID-19 protocols could delay that. As the pandemic persists, NorZinc will continue to follow the highest health and safety standards and update stakeholders on a regular basis. In addition to continuing discussions with the local community leaders, NorZinc will be working with all regulatory parties to ensure all environmental requirements continue to be met.

In August 2020, the Company announced that its plan for an early commencement of the Stage 2 exploration program in 2020 was unlikely to proceed on the planned schedule, due to ongoing concerns with COVID-19, both with regard to safety and market sentiment. Recognizing there had been no active COVID-19 cases in the NWT since April 2020, and zero incidence of cases in the local communities, the Company worked with both the Government of the NWT and the local communities on special measures to ensure they were satisfied with the strict protocols for the safety of staff and the local communities.

The agreement and implementation of those measures with all parties delayed the safe opening of the site by over 2 months, with only limited staff getting to site by mid-July. Since July 2020, cases of COVID-19 have occurred in the region but a vaccination program is well underway in the NWT. The Company continues to work with the Government of the NWT to meet public health measures and to provide vaccinations to workers at Prairie Creek. With 2021 site operations having commenced at Prairie Creek, the Company’s COVID-19 Plan has been fully reviewed and updated based on prior learnings, vaccination protocols, and new requirements. As an additional measure to protect workers and the 2021 work plan, COVID-19 testing will be conducted on inbound and outbound workers using a PCR test machine located at the Prairie Creek site. The policies and procedures are continually being reviewed by the Government of the NWT, and may be updated. Further changes may create uncertainty in the requirements for the 2021 site activities.

Review of Financial Results

For the three months ended March 31, 2021, the Company reported a net loss and comprehensive loss of $1.7M compared to a net loss and comprehensive loss of $3.0M for the three months ended March 31, 2020.

As of March 31, 2021, the Company had positive working capital balance of $1.7M which included cash and cash equivalents of $2.7M and short-term investments of $23,000. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $5.3M, short-term investments of $23,000 and a positive working capital balance of $3.5M.

New Objectives for Prairie Creek Mine – 2021 and Beyond (“New Objectives”)

The Company announced in April 2020 the results of a more detailed review of the optimization and MEP. The resulting new objectives for the Mine would focus, over the subsequent 18-24 months, on (i) a possible significant increase in production throughput, and (ii) a potential significant increase in reserves at the Mine. The internal analysis included the possible effect of various increases in underground mining rate and the potential upgrading of the existing Main Quartz Vein (“MQV”) inferred resources. Current MQV inferred resources at the Mine total 5.3 million tonnes at 12.9% Zinc, 8.7% Lead and 199 g/t Silver.

As discussed above, the Company’s site activities in 2020 in furtherance of the MEP were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the Company’s target development schedule for the Prairie Creek Mine has remained unchanged from the May 2020 schedule. Subject to financing and COVID-19 effects the current MEP has NorZinc commencing with construction of Phase 1 of the All Season Road (“ASR”) in Q1 2022, limited construction activities at the mine site during 2022, followed by the main construction and development activities planned for 2023 and 2024, and culminating in commencement of operations in Q4 2024.

The Company continues to consider multiple development financing opportunities for the activities in 2021 and into 2022. This funding was originally to be focused on design enhancements for the increase in production throughput and exploration leading to a potential increase in reserves, but is now also targeted to potentially fund Phase 1 of the ASR.

From the 2020 MEP work, NorZinc’s primary objective over the coming 12-month period is to complete work necessary to target a 50% increase in throughput, and a drill program with the objective of increasing contained metal in reserves. In order to obtain the data to potentially increase the reserves, an extensive underground drill program is planned, and will commence once the appropriate funding is secured. The development focus of NorZinc over the next 12 months will be as follows:

Obtain significant financing to advance project development
Continued silver-focused surface exploration targeting high grade silver zones.
Assess the need for an updated feasibility study based on the increased throughput and new reserves.
Construction of the Phase 1 of the ASR.
Finalizing agreements with respective Indigenous communities through continued discussion

These stated objectives will result in the Mine having positive impacts on the communities from increased employment (both direct and indirect) and business participation. The additional planned work is not expected to result in any significant increases in environmental effects at the mine site and ASR.

Qualified Person

Unless otherwise indicated, all scientific and technical information relating to the Company’s mineral projects contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Kerry Cupit, P. Geo., who by reason of education, membership in professional associations (as defined in NI 43-101) and past relevant work experience, fulfills the requirements of a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101. Mr. Cupit is a Project Geologist employed by the Company, with a B.Sc. in Earth Sciences (Geology).

About NorZinc

NorZinc is a TSX-listed mine development Company trading under the symbol “NZC”. NorZinc is developing its key project, the 100%-owned high-grade zinc-lead-silver Prairie Creek Mine, located in the Northwest

Territories. NorZinc also owns projects in Newfoundland that host several zinc-lead-copper-gold-silver deposits

For further information: Rohan Hazelton, President & CEO or Ambika Srinivas both on (604) 688-2001

or Toll free:1-866-688-2001; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: www.norzinc.com

NT4