The Makkovik fishplant has been open for a few weeks which is an earlier start for this summer.

Angel Chaulk is the Clerk.

She says first catch of snow crabs were landed last Friday, June 25th, from one boat that totaled 18,482 lbs.

Chaulk says there are three snow crab boats fishing, and a total of 35,582 lbs. had been landed to date yesterday.

She says the fish plant is into full swing with 23 employees.

Clean up has also started at the Nain Fish plant.

John Ikkusek is the Manager.

He says there are a total of 8 employees working, the clean-up started yesterday, Monday and it will carry out into next week.

Ikkusek says he is not sure when the commercial fishery will start, but right now there are no licenses available for the fishermen.

He added the Torngat 1 scallop boat is expected to arrive here on the Kamutik W.

The scallop fishery will be going ahead with Captain John Andersen sometime soon.

The Northern Lights Organizing Committee is advising its valued event partners and participants, its closely monitoring developments related to COVID-19.

The Committee remains committed to co-operating fully with recommendations of our government representatives and the public health officials.

In keeping with the interests of our remote, northern and Indigenous communities, the Organization Committee will be providing an update surrounding the 2022 event soon. Check back for an update or email the Northern Lights team at ceo@chamberlabrador.com.

Travel application documents for Newfoundland and Labrador are now online.

All travellers are required to fill out a travel form and those from outside the Atlantic Bubble will need to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination and testing documentation.

The province asks that travel forms be submitted 72 hours before arriving in N.L. Officials said if a mistake is made on the form, it cannot be edited and will need to be re-submitted.

Those who have been fully vaccinated, will only need to complete the form once as they will be able to use the same reference number each time they arrive in the province, while those unvaccinated or partially vaccinated will need to complete a form each time they travel to N.L.

People who have not received the vaccine or do not have proof of vaccination will be required to self-isolate for a full 14-days.

International travellers, approved by the Canada Border Services Agency, will need to self-isolate and be tested as requested by the federal and provincial governments.

The Labrador Aboriginal Training Partnership has some training programs on the go.

Keith Jacque is the Executive Director for LATP.

He says that ten people has be trained at Sudbury, Ontario.

He adds that he will be accepting resumes for anyone interested in training in the fall.

Stay tuned to our AtjiKangitut Show to hear more on the LATP program.

Today (Monday, June 28), Newfoundland and Labrador has one new confirmed case of COVID-19. Contact tracing by Public Health is underway and anyone considered a close contact has been advised to quarantine.

The one new confirmed case is a female in the Eastern Health region under 20 years of age. The case is related to travel within Canada.

There were no new confirmed cases throughout the weekend.

There have been two new recoveries in the province since the last public advisory. On Saturday, June 26, there was one recovery in the Eastern Health region and one in the Western Health region. 1,368 people have recovered. There is one person in hospital due to COVID-19.

There are six active cases of COVID-19 in the province. The regional breakdown of the six active cases is as follows:

• Eastern Health – 3
• Central Health – 1
• Labrador-Grenfell Health – 1
• Western Health – 1

To date, 159,368 people have been tested.

The Heritage Forum was a success in Nain this year.

Mary Binky Andersen is the Business Development Specialist at Nunatsiavut Government.

She did a presentation and storytelling at the forum on the communities North of Nain such as Nutâk, OKak and Hebron.

Andersen grew up traveling up North and wanted to hear some stories from the participants.

Stay tuned to Labrador Memories to hear Andersen’s storytelling at the forum.

The Nunatsiavut Government Department of Archeology is taking names for a family of three to attend the Hebron Family Archaeology Project.

This includes evictees and their descendants.

You can send your nominations to Lena Onalik at lena.onalik@nunatsiavut.com or call Lena @ 922-2942.

Her office is accepting nominations until Friday, July 2nd, 2021.

The Hebron selection committee will vote for the family by blind vote, and the selected family will be going to Hebron for the first week of August.

Cathryn Andersen of Nunatsiavut has been appointed as Memorial’s first vice-president (Indigenous).

The position focuses on continuing to build meaningful relationships with Indigenous Peoples and advancing Indigenization.

Ms. Andersen has served as special advisor to the president on Indigenous affairs since 2015 and led the creation of the first Strategic Framework for Indigenization.

The Board of Regents approved the framework, which was developed through extensive Indigenous community collaboration, in March 2021.

The first strategic priority of the framework called for strengthening Indigenous leadership within Memorial University.

In response, the position of special advisor to the president on Indigenous affairs was converted to vice-president (Indigenous) and approved by the Board of Regents in May 2021.

The Polar bear season in the Nunatsiavut region will close on Wednesday, June 30th.

Todd Broomfield is the Director of Renewable Resources.

He says that there were seven polar bears harvested and five still remain.

Broomfield says that three bears were harvested in Nain, two in Hopedale and two in Makkovik.

He adds that one license still remains in Hopedale, two in Postville and two in Rigolet.

Broomfield says that the next polar bear season opens again on February 2nd, 2022.

The Provincial Government is now accepting applications for the Community Enhancement Employment Program.

This is for Not-for-profit organizations and local governments that wish to sponsor projects funded by the program that are eligible to apply.

The Community Enhancement Employment Program provides funding to eligible sponsors including towns; Inuit Community Governments; regional municipalities; local service districts; community and economic development organizations; and, other non-profit organizations.

Individuals can be employed for up to 420 hours in order to become eligible for employment insurance benefits.

Applications for the 2021-22 Community Enhancement Employment Program are available online at employmentsupport@gov.nl.ca or call toll free 1-866-508-5500.

The deadline for receipt of applications is July 30, 2021.