'Ripple effects': Yellowknife sporting clubs on time out during labour dispute

Some sporting clubs in the Northwest Territoriescapital are on the sidelines as a labour dispute between the cityand its unionized employees nears the end of its fourth week.

"There's been a lot of ripple effects," said Bridget White,manager of the Yellowknife Curling Club. "It doesn't only affect our members and our staff, it really has a wider-reaching effect onfamilies and other clubs."

With the curling centre behind the picket line, White said theclub's regular activities have been disrupted, includingrecreational and competitive league games. It also cancelled itsRock the Rings U12, U15 and U20 bonspiel last week.

The closure of the facility, which has a six-sheet rink withsnack and bar service, has also affected four part-time bartendersand the club's ice maker, who works full time during the curlingseason, she said.

The N.W.T. Curling Association announced the U18 junior girlschampionships scheduled to take place in Yellowknife this week havebeen postponed while its masters event was relocated to Hay Riverlast month.

Unionized workers with the city have been onstrike since Feb. 8 after the parties failed to reach a deal on anew collective agreement. Wages continue to be a sticking point.

As a result, the city's pool and arena which are beside thecurling centre along with its library, solid waste facility, multiplex, fieldhouse, and visitor information centre have beenclosed to the public.

Figure skating assessments on hold

Magnolia Unka-Wool with the Yellowknife Skating Club said as thearena is closed, figure skaters have been unable to prepare forSkate Canada assessments and simulations, which are usually held inMarch and April. She saw how being unable to compete affected herdaughter when the arena was closed due to COVID-19.

"She was devastated," she said.

"To think that we're going to be going through that again and skaters are going to be put back is a pretty big disappointment forthem. Most of the skaters, when they get to that test-streams level,everything they do revolves around skating."

Unka-Wool said a skater who recently competed at the CanadaWinter Games in Prince Edward Island travelled to Mexico andEdmonton to get in ice time before the competition. Recreationalskaters are also affected, she said, and the club will likely haveto cancel its upcoming ice show, which it hasn't held since 2019because of the pandemic.

The Yellowknife Rec Hockey League and Yellowknife Women's HockeyAssociation have both ended their seasons early. A post on thelatter group's Facebook page indicates its executive is looking intorenting ice in Behchoko, an hour's drive away.

The labour dispute has also affected clubs that use thefieldhouse, which has two indoor multi-sport fields, a climbing wall and play area, indoor track and concession.

Soccer coach Joe Acorn said the Yellowknife Bay Soccer Club hasbeen practising in school gyms, which are smaller than thefieldhouse, but were used before the facility opened in 2010.

"I hope things get back to normal soon, but if not we'll makedo," he said. "We're in a better situation than some of the sportslike hockey and speedskating and figure skating. They really have noother option."

Super Soccer on the line

Acorn said he's more concerned Super Soccer championships couldbe cancelled later next month if the labour dispute continues.

The tournament, which draws players from across the N.W.T. andNunavut, hasn't taken place the past three years due to COVID-19, hesaid. If this year's event is cancelled, he said some Grade 12students will have gone through all of high school without havingthe chance to compete.

The Yellowknife Playgroup Association, a parent-run group thatuses the fieldhouse, said it has had to make other arrangements tokeep the playgroup going.

"We are looking forward to the conclusion of thestrike/lockout," treasurer Rosalie Tarleton wrote in an email.

The city said in a statement it recognizes how the labourdisruption has affected residents.

"Getting an agreement that is fair, affordable and respects theimportant role city employees play remains the city's priority," itreads.

The Union of Northern Workers and Public Service Alliance ofCanada said in a statement that service reductions are the normalresult of labour disputes and their members are also Yellowkniferesidents who have been affected.

"Our members are out there on picket lines in freezingtemperatures asking for fair wages and to be valued and respected bythe employer," it wrote.

Late last month, the city asked the union to enter into bindingarbitration, where a third-party would make a decision on thedispute. The union declined the request, saying they believe thebest way reach an agreement is through negotiations.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Metaand Canadian Press News Fellowship, which is not involved in the editorial process.