Northwest Territories Legislative Building

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Northwest Territories Legislative Building
Northwest Territories Legislative Building.jpg
Northwest Territories Legislative Building
Canada location map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
Yellowknife, NWT, Canada
General information
Architectural style Postmodern
Location4570 48th Street
Box 1320
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
X1A 2L9
Coordinates 62°27′34″N114°22′55″W / 62.45944°N 114.38194°W / 62.45944; -114.38194 Coordinates: 62°27′34″N114°22′55″W / 62.45944°N 114.38194°W / 62.45944; -114.38194
Completed1993
Inaugurated1994
Client Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories
Owner Government of the Northwest Territories
Technical details
Floor count2
Design and construction
ArchitectMatsuzaki Wright Architects Inc. in association with Ferguson Simek Clark/Pin Matthews

The Northwest Territories Legislative Building is the home of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The territory's legislature has used many permanent and temporary facilities throughout its history. The most recent structure was built in 1993 and commenced usage in 1994, being officially opened that year by Canada's monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. Designed by Ferguson Simek Clark/Pin Matthews (of Yellowknife), in association with Matsuzaki Wright Architects Inc (of Vancouver), the building is two stories tall and contains two round halls: the Great Hall and the Caucus Room. The grounds, overlooking Frame Lake, were laid out by Cornelia Oberlander.

Contents

Early Government House

The North-West Council was first housed in the Early Government House building in Fort Garry, [1] originally built for the provisional government of Louis Riel. The building was the official residence of the Manitoba lieutenant governor and was used until 1883, when the lieutenant governor moved into newer quarters.

Swan River Barracks

The Northwest Territories government moved to Fort Livingstone in 1876. Legislative sessions were held inside the Swan River Barracks which operated and housed the North-West Mounted Police. The Barracks were built two years earlier in 1874, and destroyed by a wild fire long after the Government left in 1884. [2] In addition to serving the Government, the Barracks served as living quarters for 185 men and their horses. [2]

Sketch of Fort Livingstone circa 1877, with the Swan River Barracks visible at top, centre Fortlivingstone.png
Sketch of Fort Livingstone circa 1877, with the Swan River Barracks visible at top, centre

NWT Government House, Battleford

The NWT Government House in Battleford was the first building designed for the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly. It was used for sessions from 1877 to 1883. The building also served as residence for the Lieutenant Governor who had to preside over Assembly sessions and the Executive council. The building was destroyed by fire in 2003.

Territorial Administration Building, Regina

Territorial Administration Building, Dewdney Avenue, circa 1915; legislative chamber in foreground RPL B 39.jpg
Territorial Administration Building, Dewdney Avenue, circa 1915; legislative chamber in foreground

The Territorial Government buildings in Regina, dating from 1883, consisted of the Legislative Building, the Administration Building and the Indian Office and were designed by the Dominion architect, Thomas Fuller. The mansard roofed Administration Building remains standing. After the North-West Territories Legislature was moved to Ottawa in 1905, the building housed the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan until 1910. In 1922 the building was partially destroyed by fire; the Saskatchewan government repaired the building and leased it to the Salvation Army until 1971. The building was fully restored and made a heritage site in 1979. [3]

Ottawa

After the Legislative Assembly was dissolved in 1905 the government operated out of an office building on Sparks Street in Ottawa.

Stolen bear skin

In 1985 the Assembly was meeting in a temporary space at the Yellowknife Inn. One night in early August, the polar bear hide that decorated the table was taken. It had been on loan from the Hudson's Bay Company collection in Winnipeg. The thief or thieves left behind the narwhal tusk that was left atop it, as well as other beaver and seal pelts on the walls, suggesting the bear hide had been the target of the theft. [4]

The hide was valued at CAN$10,000–15,000 at that time (CAN$22,000–33,000 in current dollars [5] ). The legislative assembly was taken by surprise. Despite extensive coverage in the local media, it was never recovered. [4]

During that time, the public was allowed to tour the legislative spaces, including the meeting room, with guides. The doors were locked at night, but security was otherwise minimal. Former assembly speaker and territorial commissioner Anthony Whitford believes that the thieves may have posed as workmen to take it, since the chamber's decorations were often packed up and put away between assembly sessions. "It may have been a crime of opportunity", he observed. [4]

Since no leads ever emerged, Whitford believes it was taken out of the territory. Too many people in Yellowknife knew each other, he told Up Here in 2019, for no one to have seen it or talked about it if it had been kept in the city somewhere. "Because surely by now, all those years have gone by, it would have surfaced", he said. "I mean it's no good if you don’t show it off!" [4]

When the current building opened in 1993, Ludy Pudluk, then MLA for the High Arctic, donated a replacement, the one currently on display. Several of its claws have had to be replaced by a taxidermist, but it is otherwise intact. [4]

Yellowknife Legislature

Main entry to the Legislative Assembly Building Territorial Legislature Yellowknife Northwest Territories Canada 03.jpg
Main entry to the Legislative Assembly Building

The new Legislative Assembly Building in Yellowknife was completed in 1993. It was the first building specifically built for the needs of the assembly since the Territorial Administration Building in Regina. It was designed with themes from the local native populations and for a 100-year-plus life span. Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, with her consort, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, opened the legislative building on 21 August 1994. [6]

Sited directly on the shore of Frame Lake, the structure is nestled between outcroppings of the Canadian Shield, a natural peat bog, and large stands of existing trees. Natural materials were used extensively, including zinc panels, maple ceiling and panels, and slate floors. The exterior cladding is zinc, an economically significant material mined in the Territories. The curved roof edges provide a finished appearance for airplane passengers taking off/landing at the nearby main airport across the lake, in addition to its airplane-wing shape helping to wind-scour snow from the roof to avoid ice and water damage.

The Great Hall has floor-to-ceiling windows facing directly into the treed forecourt allowing the natural slate floor appear to merge the inside with the outside. Special consideration was given to maximizing natural light to all of the main spaces and offices. Opening vent panels in each member's office provides user control of fresh air and an environment suited for people who may not be accustomed to spending days in an air-conditioned office building.

The Chamber Legislative Assembly of Northwest Territories.jpg
The Chamber

The Chamber and Caucus Room are circular to support the consensus-style government. Translation booths surround the chamber for translators to provide simultaneous translation of the territories' 11 official languages for all Members. Skylights ring the Chamber and Caucus Room as sunlight and daylight come from 360 degrees during the summer. The wall behind the Speaker is of hand-tooled zinc which mimics nearby rock formations. The stand in front of the Speaker's chair is for the parliamentary mace which, in addition to indicating the authority of the Crown, incorporates ivory walrus tusks and wood from the ill-fated ships of the 1845 Franklin expedition.

The Mace of the Legislative Assembly Mace of the Northwest Territories.jpg
The Mace of the Legislative Assembly

Construction was undertaken using a fast-track method to meet critical construction and opening deadlines. Major construction materials needed to be brought north to Yellowknife, including by ferry in the summer and ice roads in the winter. During spring thaw and fall freeze-up neither was accessible. The steel structure therefore had to be erected during the winter which meant almost no welding was possible and most connections had to be bolted.

Careful attention was given to preserving and restoring the landscape, which involved careful protection of existing trees which were only 3 m (10 feet) from the exterior walls. Native plants were harvested and propagated in "The South", where growing seasons are longer, then returned to the site for restoration of the lakeshore and peat bog. The services annex for the building also has a planted roof which lessens the reduction in natural planted area by the building's footprint.

Related Research Articles

Northwest Territories Territory of Canada

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately 1,144,000 km2 (442,000 sq mi) and a 2016 census population of 41,790, it is the second-largest and the most populous of the three territories in Northern Canada. Its estimated population as of 2021 is 45,515. Yellowknife is the capital, most populous community, and only city in the territory; its population was 19,569 as of the 2016 census. It became the territorial capital in 1967, following recommendations by the Carrothers Commission.

Yellowknife Capital city of the Northwest Territories, Canada

Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about 400 km (250 mi) south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of the Yellowknife River.

Devolution Granting of some competences of central government to local government

Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories have the power to make legislation relevant to the area, thus granting them a higher level of autonomy.

Commissioner of the Northwest Territories

The commissioner of the Northwest Territories is the Government of Canada's representative in the Northwest Territories. Similar in certain functions to a lieutenant governor, the commissioner swears in the members of the legislative assembly, swears in members of the executive council, assents to bills, opens sessions of the legislative assembly, and signs other government documents such as Orders in Council.

Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories Single house of legislature of the Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, or Legislative Council of the Northwest Territories, is the legislature and the seat of government of Northwest Territories in Canada. It is a unicameral elected body that creates and amends law in the Northwest Territories. Permanently located in Yellowknife since 1993, the assembly was founded in 1870 and became active in 1872 with the first appointments from the Government of Canada.

Tony Whitford Canadian politician

Anthony Wilfred James Whitford is a retired Canadian politician, who served as the commissioner of the Northwest Territories from 2005 to 2010.

History of Northwest Territories capital cities Capitals of a Canadian territory (1870–)

The history of Northwest Territories capital cities begins with the purchase of the Territories by Canada from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1869, and includes a varied and often difficult evolution. Northwest Territories is unique amongst the other provinces and territories of Canada in that it has had seven capital cities in its history. The territory has changed the seat of government for numerous reasons, including civil conflict, development of infrastructure, and a history of significant revisions to its territorial boundaries.

Weledeh was a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Yellowknife South Provincial electoral district in Northwest Territories, Canada

Yellowknife South is a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Kam Lake Canadian politician

Kam Lake is a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Yellowknife Centre Provincial electoral district in Northwest Territories, Canada

Yellowknife Centre is a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Range Lake Provincial electoral district in Northwest Territories, Canada

Range Lake is a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Elections NWT is an independent, non-partisan public agency responsible for the administration of territorial general elections, by-elections, and plebiscites in accordance with the Elections and Plebiscites Act. Elections NWT is headed by the Chief Electoral Officer, an officer of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories.

The Carrothers Commission, formally The Advisory Commission on the Development of Government in the Northwest Territories, was a commission set up by the government of Canada to study the future of government of the Northwest Territories. It was led by A.W.R. Carrothers, Dean of law at the University of Western Ontario. The other two members were Jean Beetz, law professor at the University of Montreal and a noted authority on the Canadian Constitution and John Parker, the Mayor of Yellowknife at the time and a mining engineer.

Government House (Saskatchewan) Building in Regina, Saskatchewan

Government House, Regina, Saskatchewan, was constructed as a residence for the lieutenant governor of the North-West Territories, whose territorial headquarters were in Regina until the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta were created out of the Territories in 1905 and Regina became the capital of Saskatchewan.

History of the Northwest Territories Aspect of history

The history of the Northwest Territories covers the period from thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands that encompass present-day Northwest Territories were inhabited for millennia by several First Nations. European explorers and fur traders began to explore the region since the late-16th century. By the 17th century, the British laid claim to both the North-Western Territory and Rupert's Land; and granted the Hudson's Bay Company a commercial fur trade monopoly over the latter region.

This timeline of Yellowknife history summarises key events in the history of Yellowknife, a city in the Northwest Territories, Canada.

The 17th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly was established by the results of the 2011 Northwest Territories general election on October 3, 2011. It was the 25th sitting of the Assembly in the territory's history. The Assembly was dissolved in 2015.

Julie Green is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories in the 2015 election. She represents the electoral district of Yellowknife Centre. Green was re-elected in 2019. She was acclaimed to the Executive Council in August 2020 and was subsequently appointed Minister of Health and Social Services, Minister Responsible for Seniors and Minister Responsible for Persons with Disabilities.

References

  1. ↑ "Council of the Northwest Territories meeting notice". Vol II No. 13 Whole Number 65. Manitoba Free Press. February 21, 1874. p. 6.
  2. 1 2 "Historic Fort Livingstone". Pelly, Saskatchewan Municipal Government. Archived from the original on 2007-03-12. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
  3. ↑ "Territorial Administration Building". Government of Regina. Retrieved 2007-12-04.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Davey-Quantick, Jessica (December 2019). "How To Steal A Bear". Up Here . Vol. 35, no. 8. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  5. ↑ 1688 to 1923: Geloso, Vincent, A Price Index for Canada, 1688 to 1850 (December 6, 2016). Afterwards, Canadian inflation numbers based on Statistics Canada tables 18-10-0005-01 (formerly CANSIM 326-0021) "Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted". Statistics Canada. Retrieved April 17, 2021. and table 18-10-0004-13 "Consumer Price Index by product group, monthly, percentage change, not seasonally adjusted, Canada, provinces, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit". Statistics Canada. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  6. ↑ Pitre, Connor (12 April 2022). "A Brief History of Royals in the NWT". My True North Now. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
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