‘Ripple effects:’ Yellowknife sporting clubs on time out during labour dispute
The NWT Curling Association announced that its junior women’s U18 championships, due to be held in Yellowknife this week, have been postponed, while their Masters event was moved to Hay River last month.
Unionized workers in the city have been locked out and on strike since February 8 after the parties failed to reach an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. Wages remain a sticking point.
As a result, the city’s pool and arena – which are adjacent to the curling center – along with the library, solid waste facility, multiplex, field house and visitor information center were closed to the public.
Yellowknife Skating Club’s Magnolia Unka-Wool said with the arena closed, figure skaters have not been able to prepare for Skate Canada’s judging and simulations, which typically take place in March and April. She saw how the inability to compete affected her daughter when the arena was closed due to COVID-19.
“She was devastated,” she said.
“To think that we’re going to go through that again and skaters will be thrown back is a pretty big disappointment for them. Most skaters, when they reach the level of test streams, everything they do revolves around skating.”
Unka-Wool said a skater who recently competed in the Canadian Winter Games at Prince Edward Island traveled to Mexico and Edmonton to get ice time before the competition. Recreational skaters have also been affected, she said, and the club will likely have to cancel its upcoming ice show, which it hasn’t hosted since 2019 because of the pandemic.
The Yellowknife Rec Hockey League and Yellowknife Women’s Hockey Association both ended their seasons early. A post on the latter group’s Facebook page indicates that its executive is considering renting ice cream in Behchoko, an hour’s drive away.
The industrial action has also affected clubs using the Feldhaus, which has two indoor multi-sport fields, a climbing wall and playground, an indoor track and a concession.
Soccer coach Joe Acorn said Yellowknife Bay Soccer Club trained in school gyms, which are smaller than the field house but were used before the facility opened in 2010.
“I hope … things get back to normal soon, but if not, we’ll manage,” he said. “We’re in a better position than some sports like ice hockey, speed skating and figure skating. You really have no choice.”
Acorn said he was more concerned that the Super Soccer Championships could be canceled later next month if the industrial dispute continues.
The tournament, which draws players from across the NWT and Nunavut, has not taken place for the past three years due to COVID-19, he said. If this year’s event is canceled, some 12th graders will have progressed through high school without a chance to compete.
The city said in a statement it acknowledges how the work stoppage has impacted residents.
“Reaching an agreement that is fair, affordable and respects the important role of city employees remains the city’s priority,” it said.
The Union of Northern Workers and the Public Service Alliance of Canada said in a statement that benefit cuts are the normal result of labor disputes and their members are also affected Yellowknife residents.
“Our members are out there picketing in freezing temperatures demanding fair wages and appreciation and respect from the employer,” she wrote.
Late last month, the city asked the union to enter binding arbitration, in which a third party would decide the dispute. The union rejected the request on the grounds that negotiations were the best way to reach an agreement.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on March 6, 2023.
This story was produced with financial support from Meta and the Canadian Press News Fellowship.
Emily Blake, The Canadian Press