The North

Jay Bulckaert wants to convince you that AI can be a powerful tool for good in the North.

Bulckaert just left Artless Collective, one of the territory's leading video agencies, to create a company that helps northerners get to grips with AI. He believes he can help give people back more time for innovation. He explained his philosophy to Ollie.

Also in our 15-minute newscast, The North Tonight, we examine the prospect of a national energy poverty strategy and – on an unrelated note, despite the name – we hang out with Cold Fusion, who are bringing jazz fusion back to Yellowknife.

Six women's university basketball teams are in Yellowknife for the North of 60 Classic, a new tournament. It's a big deal for the sport and for discussions of what sporting legacy should look like in the North, and how you inspire northern kids into higher-tier sports. Coaches from Mount Saint Vincent and Lakehead are on the show.

So is Marc Casas, the executive director of the Ekati mine's Independent Environmental Monitoring Agency, which the GNWT is threatening to shut down. Casas thinks now is precisely the wrong time for that to happen.

In The North Tonight, our 15-minute newscast, hear about a new approach to handing child and family services to Indigenous governments, plus a new self-government agreement in the Sahtu receives royal assent.

The NWT wants tax credits tweaked to help get northern zinc mines off the ground, promising the territory alone can double Canadian production. Industry minister Caitlin Cleveland is on the pod from Ottawa.

Also on the show: the GNWT could shut down another diamond mining environmental watchdog, there's a watch party coming up for a Yellowknife team's Family Feud appearance, and Cabin Radio's Adult Spelling Bee champion Kai Tan makes a morning show appearance.

In 20 minutes, we'll give you all the key moments from Yellowknife's big mayoral debate.

Plus in our newscast, The North Tonight, NWT Indigenous leaders arrive in Ottawa to present a united front on major projects and other requests. And a Subway is coming to Hay River.

The two candidates for mayor of Yellowknife, Melissa Syer and Garett Cochrane, take questions from Ollie Williams in front of a live audience. This is the full, unedited broadcast. We'll also bring you a highlight reel in our regular podcast later.

Compete against our finalists as we play you the climax of Cabin Radio's Adult Spelling Bee. Plus Premier RJ Simpson discusses how the GNWT is preparing to hand control of child and family services to Indigenous governments that ask.

In our newscast, The North Tonight, the federal government makes new spending commitments to build more northern health infrastructure – but answers on funding for medical travel are still missing.

In The North Tonight: Yellowknife director Jen Walden introduces us to Lumi, the Arctic sci-fi movie that'll open this year's Yellowknife International Film Festival on November 4.

Also on the pod: DJ Shub, formerly of A Tribe Called Red, joins Sarah Erasmus to talk about his artistic journey and the evolution of the electric pow wow. And Vicki Tompkins looks back at a quarter of a century in Yellowknife retail as she announces she'll close For Women Only.

Ainsley Dempsey is part of the group taking over Yellowknife's movie theatre. She'll tell you what to expect when it reopens, which is expected to be early next year.

Also on the pod, the new boss of Yellowknife's francophone cultural association has a challenge for the city's anglo residents.

And in our newscast, a busy day: big news for the Gahcho Kué mine, a lot happening at the Dene National Assembly and an update on the investigation into June's fatal air crash near Fort Simpson – plus the premier explains more about his nuclear deal with Alberta and Sask.

Leilani Farha has dedicated her life to understanding housing worldwide. She's presenting a CBC Massey lecture in Yellowknife this week that looks at how we have a human right to adequate housing – and how that right is so often denied.

We wanted to know whether she believes real solutions are practically achievable.

Also on the show: celebrating trailblazing Inuk pilot Doris Ipeelee.

The GNWT is planning a new arm's-length agency to get the Mackenzie Valley Highway built. Caroline Wawzonek walks us through it – and we ask how the territory is going to ensure northerners get meaningful jobs and economic development from major projects.

Elsewhere, Cabin Radio legal eagle Gillian Bourke talks us through the Residential Tenancies Act. What do renters and tenants need to know about the basics?

In the newscast: the Dene National Assembly begins and the Office of the Auditor General starts examining the NWT's emergency management.