As November deadline looms, Yellowknife mushers plea to stay in Kam Lake

A group of mushers in Yellowknife made an impassioned plea Monday asking city council to live up to a promise made in 1978 that they wouldn't have to move their dog teams again.

The Yellowknife Dog Trotters Association currently leases city land in the industrial area of Kam Lake. Two years ago, they received notice their 10-year lease would be terminated in late November 2017. Council's plan was to relocate the kennel to the Engle Business District.

"I just want to stress how important it is that we remain at the existing site and moving us is in no way positive," a visibly emotional Scott McQueen told the packed council chambers at Monday.

McQueen was just one of five well known mushers who addressed the municipal services committee. The others were Jordee Reid, Angela James, Trevor Lizotte and Ernie Campbell.

Instead of moving to the EngleBusiness District a newer area north and west of their Kam Lake site the association proposed expanding into the area south of Grace Lake.

Kam Lake since 1978

The Dog Trotters have been in their current location since 1978, when they were moved from Niven Lake. Until the early 1970s, people kept sled dogs in their backyards.

The Trotter's kennel houses dogs for notable dog mushing families, such as the Becks, Lizottes, McQueens and Campbells.

McQueen and and his parents come from a long line of mushers from the Fort Resolution area. At one time they relied on sled dogs for survival, and now use them to race.

The mushers want to stay put, not just because of the disruption to the dogs, but because of the investment made into building and maintaining a trail system in and around Grace Lake trails used by other mushers, skijorers and snowmobilers.

'Kam Lake to me is my home'

Only one person, Peter Curran, told council he wants to see the Dog Trotters gone.

Curran moved to Kam Lake with his parents in 1987. He bought the property in 2000, where he has remained to raise his family.

"I know that in dog mushing circles that Kam Lake is referred to as dog sled central but Kam Lake to me is known as my home. It is a place where my children represent the third generation of my family so I too get very emotional," Curran said

Most of Kam Lake is zoned for industrial activity, with some residential areas.

Angela James says her group has "strived to minimize" the barking and dog waste coming from the kennels.

However, she told council the noise and smell is minimal compared to the area's industrial activity.

"The dog smells in Kam Lake are infrequent, usually only during spring thaw," James said.

"These smells are nothing compared to the variety such as the Great Slave Animal crematorium, Fiberglass North's toxic smells, Matonabee Fuel fuel smells and the worst is the smell of diesel exhaust from trucks running all day and all night."

Caretakers needed on site

One of the sticking points for the mushers to move to the Englearearemains approval for an on-site caretakers residence.

Director of public safety, Dennis Marchiori, say that's not possible because of site's proximity to the city's oil and propane tank farms.

Councillor Niels Konge called this "disappointing" and encouraged administration to revisit other options.

A pattern of colonialism

Council is scheduled to vote on whether to grant an extension to the 2017 lease sometime in November.

On Monday, councillors Adrian Bell and Julian Morse expressed concern about overturning a decision made by a previous council.

Coun. Shauna Morgan expressed an unease about the 40 to 50 year history of relocating dog teams in the Yellowknife.

"The reality is that there is nowhere in the city that would allow for a musher to set up a dog team near their home. Certainly there have been people grandfathered in, but there is nowhere a new musher could set up. And so basically we are endanger of zoning this way of life out of existence," she said.

"We cannot ignore this pattern or continually relocating and pushing mushers further and further away. It does smack of colonialism. It is built on a colonial history and I don't think we can ignore that and I think it should make us all uncomfortable."

Jessica Schmidt, who works with one of the mushers affected, raised a similar note in a personal blog post she wrote after attending Monday's meeting.