Far from fighting, doctor strikes aggravate healthcare collapse in Port Sudan

Strikes in Port Sudan's hospital impact city's crumbling health sector

PORT SUDAN (Reuters) - The army-controlled coastal city of Port Sudan has become a refuge from the war raging to the west, but its health system is in near collapse due to power cuts and scarce supplies - and staff shortages now exacerbated by striking doctors.

Doctors and nurses in the Red Sea city say they have not been paid for four months, as the Sudanese government's budget has been decimated by fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

"It is exhausting, there are many patients and there's a lot of suffering," said Omar al-Saeed, a striking nurse at Port Sudan teaching hospital.

"We only demand they just pay people something small so that they can keep going."

War broke out in April, four years after the overthrow of former President Omar al-Bashir during a popular uprising. Tensions between the army and the RSF, which jointly staged a coup in 2021, erupted over disagreements about a plan to transition to civilian rule.

According to the UN, more than 100,000 have fled to Port Sudan, filling up the already dense city's hospitals and shelters, while fighting is focussed in Khartoum and the west of the country.

United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths has warned that the war was fueling "a humanitarian emergency of epic proportions" in Sudan and that several diseases, including malaria, measles, and dengue fever, were on the rise.

Sudanese hospitals have long been under-funded, and strikes by medical staff have been frequent. The war, during which many hospitals in areas of fighting have been damaged, has brought the system to its knees.

Doctors in Port Sudan have had to grapple with power cuts, intense humidity and medicine shortages, while patients are kept in close confines though many have respiratory illnesses, hospital officials say.

"We are in a crisis, we pray that God eases it on us," says Ayat Mohamed, supervisor at Dar Abnaa Al-Shamal medical centre, which is dealing with overflow from hospitals with striking staff.

(Reporting by Ibrahim Mohammed Ishak, writing by Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by Conor Humphries)

Amid fierce, bloody fighting in Ukraine, the US and China are training for new ways to get wounded troops away from the frontline


Michael Peck
Sun, August 27, 2023

US Army nurses and medics remove a bandaged soldier from a C-47 transport plane to an ambulance during a rehearsal for D-Day.

PhotoQuest/Getty Images

Intense fighting and high casualties in Ukraine have raised new challenges for military medicine.


This summer, the US and Chinese militaries both trained on new ways to evacuate wounded troops.


In a long-range war in the Pacific, medevac operations will be more difficult to conduct.

For most of American military history, medical evacuation meant a long, painful ride in a horse-drawn wagon or a rudimentary vehicle. Since the Korean War, US soldiers have become accustomed to rapid "medevac" by purpose-built medical vehicles, ships, or aircraft.

But recent US wars have been against opponents with vastly inferior firepower and technology. The hardware being used in Ukraine, and the estimated 500,000 casualties both sides have suffered there in just 18 months, raises a disturbing question: How well will medevac function on a battlefield with advanced jet fighters, air defenses, and long-range missiles?

The US and China are grappling with this question in the context of a Pacific war, where vast distances will complicate evacuation and the "golden hour" — the important period after an injury when even basic treatment can make the difference between life and death.

US Marines conduct medical evacuation drills during an exercise in Bulgaria in August 2018.US Marine Corps/Lance Cpl. Angel D. Travis

US and Chinese troops both recently completed exercises to test their capacity to treat casualties rapidly under those circumstances.

In July, airlift and aerial-refueling units from the US Air Force and six other militaries experimented with new procedures during Mobility Guardian 23, which took place in the Pacific for the first time in the exercise's history.

In a war with China, the US military medical units would have traverse thousands of miles of ocean while ensuring their supplies were properly stored, and do it all without access to as many full-service health facilities, US airmen told Air Force Times.

For example, it may take too long for overtaxed aeromedical units to respond to a medevac request in a distant location. During the exercise, US airmen and their partners tried a more decentralized approach in which small but well-equipped medical teams were attached to airlift squadrons to provide on-the-spot care.

The teams could initially evacuate and treat casualties aboard smaller C-130 transports capable of landing on short or underdeveloped runways, a useful attribute given that China will likely attack the US's main air bases with long-range missiles. The wounded would then be transferred to larger C-17s for transport to major medical facilities.

US and Australian personnel during a drill with New Zealand Air Force medics on a C-17 during exercise Mobility Guardian in July 2023.US Air Force/Master Sgt. Amy Picard

As Mobility Guardian was underway, China's military completed its first exercise to address a similar challenge: how to use helicopters to evacuate casualties from distant islands — an especially pertinent issue for Beijing, given its outposts on islands in the South China Sea and its designs on other nearby islands.

"In military operations on remote islands, medical aid conditions are usually restricted, and medical evacuation through ocean-going vessels could be slow and cost lives," said Global Times, a tabloid run by the Chinese Communist Party.

The exercise included a coastal defense brigade, an army aviation brigade, and a naval hospital to simulate medevac from a "frontier island" under attack. It took place on islands off Zhejiang Province, which happens to be relatively close to Taiwan.

"After locating the wounded through drone reconnaissance, the team approached the position and carried out triage and first aid, before calling in a transport helicopter to transfer two wounded personnel who were in critical condition," Global Times said. "Escorted by an attack helicopter, the transport helicopter soon arrived and secured the wounded."

Using helicopters to evacuate wounded personnel from an island would be routine for a Western navy or coast guard, but Chinese officials hailed it as a major feat. "This is the first time mobile air forces were introduced in a medical exercise," said Su Xingliang, head of the coastal defense brigade's support department.

Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark at a military port in Zhejiang Province in November 2022.Sun Fei/Xinhua via Getty Images

Whatever medevac procedures are developed, the fighting in Ukraine suggests major battles with advanced weapons — or even large quantities of older weapons — will tax militaries' medical capacity.

"Air, ground, and sea-based medical evacuation will be practically impossible due to very long range and accurate fire capabilities" of near-peer adversaries, a group of authors warned a recent article on medical lessons from Ukraine, using a term for militaries with capabilities similar to that of the US.

"Future US service members who are injured in combat may consequently not reach definitive care until days later, and medical personnel providing care will definitely be in harm's way," the authors wrote in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Compared to wounds from improvised explosive devices in Iraq and Afghanistan, a war with a well-equipped enemy such as Russia and China would result in far more horrific injuries.

"Statistics shared by Ukrainian physicians demonstrate that more than 70 percent of all Ukrainian combat casualties are due to artillery and rocket barrages from Russian forces, which has resulted in significant polytrauma to multiple organ systems," the article noted.

A wounded Ukrainian soldier at a military hospital in Zaporizhzhya in March 2022.Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Artillery attacks affect a wider area than IEDs, generating more patients, and are more likely to inflict severe chest and brain injuries, meaning each patient will need more medical resources. At the same time, even tasks such as using power generators to cool blood — which could alert adversaries to the presence of a medical facility — becomes riskier.

Interestingly, the study found that "current US military body armor will likely be insufficient against [near-peer adversary] arsenals with ballistic components that can hit laterally, above, or below standard issue armor plates from multiple angles due to the larger number of accurately impacting munitions."

The ability of near-peer adversaries to strike with conventional weapons and electronic warfare will impair efforts to move wounded troops, meaning forward medical facilities will need to be able to provide longer-term and more complex care and to defend themselves from artillery or missile attacks.

More distant medevac and medical facilities will still be challenged by enemy missiles able to strike with precision hundreds of miles in the rear.

"The resources needed to adequately provide life-saving care will be far greater than what the US has allocated for in the past," the report concludes.

Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds a master's in political science. Follow him on Twitter and ;LinkedIn.

Canada to challenge extension of US softwood lumber duties

Reuters
Tue, August 22, 2023 

 Finished lumber is seen at West Fraser Pacific Inland Resources sawmill in Smithers

OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada will challenge what Ottawa described as an "unfair, unjust and illegal" extension of U.S. import duties on Canadian softwood lumber products, the trade ministry said on Tuesday.

The softwood lumber tariffs are the legacy of a decades-long trade dispute over the structure of Canada's timber sector that could not be resolved when a quota agreement expired in 2015. U.S. producers say Canada unfairly subsidizes its lumber sector.

The U.S. Commerce Department in July set a duty rate of 7.99% on the product.

Canada on Monday filed notices of intent to commence judicial review of those duties, the trade ministry said in a statement, adding that Ottawa remained willing to discuss a negotiated outcome with Washington. The ministry has routinely filed challenges under the rules of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade.

"For years, the United States has imposed unfair, unjust and illegal duties on Canadian softwood lumber, hurting Canadian industry and increasing housing costs in both countries," Trade Minister Mary Ng said in the statement.

The United States has based its tariffs on a finding that Canadian timber harvested from federal and provincial lands with low government-set stumpage fees constitutes an unfair subsidy, while most U.S. timber is harvested from private land at market rates.

The U.S. Trade Representative's office said it was trying to ensure a level playing field.

"We are prepared to discuss another softwood lumber agreement when Canada is ready to address the underlying issues related to subsidization and fair competition so that Canadian lumber imports do not injure the U.S. industry," a USTR spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The U.S. Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa and Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru; editing by Susan Heavey, Devika Syamnath and Andy Sullivan)

WORKERS CAPITAL

Northvolt Raises $1.2 Billion Amid Canada Battery Factory Plans


Rafaela Lindeberg
Tue, August 22, 2023 



(Bloomberg) -- Northvolt AB raised $1.2 billion from North American investors including BlackRock Inc. and CCP Investments as the Swedish battery maker is said to be in talks to set up a new factory in Canada.

Northvolt extended last year’s $1.1 billion convertible note to $2.3 billion to finance an expansion of its production capabilities in Europe and North America, the company said Tuesday. Ontario’s public-sector investment vehicle and its pension fund also invested.

The battery maker has raised more than $9 billion in equity and debt in the past six years, bolstered by over $55 billion in orders from automotive clients including BMW, Volvo Cars and Volkswagen. The company has said it plans to eventually go public.

Bloomberg reported in June that Northvolt is close to a deal to build a battery plant near Montreal, a project that’s expected to be worth about C$7 billion ($5.2 billion). Earlier this year, the company also confirmed it was moving forward with a plant in Germany after Berlin pledged roughly €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in aid.

Meanwhile, Northvolt said that its factory in Gdansk, Poland, has assembled first energy storage system products, with deliveries expected to start later this year.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

NB

Strike averted as Université de Moncton and union for administrative, support staff reach tentative deal

CBC
Sat, August 26, 2023 

A tentative agreement between the university and union representing administrative and support staff was reached Saturday afternoon. (CBC - image credit)

The Université de Moncton and the union representing administrative and support staff have reached what the university is calling an "agreement in principle."

In a statement posted late Saturday afternoon, the university said the tentative agreement should put an end to months of labour uncertainty.

"This stability enables us to ensure a quality student experience, and is in line with our strategy of providing a healthy, stimulating and caring environment for the entire university community," university president Denis Prud'homme said in the statement.

Joël Michaud, the union's chief negotiator, told CBC News that ratification of the new agreement could come as early as Sunday or Monday.

The two sides have been in negotiations since December.

The agreement comes after the union voted 98 per cent to authorize a strike on Aug. 18.

Talks continued until Friday when negotiations broke down, with the university issuing a statement that a strike was likely Monday.

But both sides agreed to come back to the table Saturday afternoon, though this time without the help of a mediator, according to a spokesperson for the university. An agreement was reached less than two hours later.

Classes resume for students on Sept. 5.

Art on the go: A Corner Brook professor tows a printing press around western Newfoundland

CBC
Sat, August 26, 2023 

Art Professor Andrew Testa next to his travelling printing press. Testa takes the press to rural areas and encourages the public to try print making. 

(Colleen Connors/CBC - image credit)


Andrew Testa bends down and grabs two handles on a device that resembles a wheelbarrow and drags it around his house to his backyard in Corner Brook.

The contraption has a large bike wheel on one side and a turning crank on the other. In the middle is a small printing press.

Testa, an assistant professor of printmaking at Memorial University's Grenfell campus, is spending his summer dragging his portable printing press to rural areas like hiking trails and beaches all over Newfoundland's west coast.

The project, Printshop in Tow, is taking art-making out of the studio and into the outdoors.

Testa took his printing press to many locations this summer, showing children how to use it. (Andrew Testa )

"It's about getting people really excited about making and whatever comes out of that making and showing that anyone can make," said Andrew Testa.

The project has attracted about 100 participants, ranging in age from seven to 70.

Laine Skinner, Testa's research assistant, brought the printing press on wheels to Gros Morne National Park. They were walking the printing press down the street when a bus filled with tourists drove by.

"A lot of people were eyeing what we were doing and skirting around it and were not really sure what to make of it," they said.

The art-making device certainly stands out, Testa said, but it is surprisingly easy to use.

Testa mostly works with mono prints; the artist draws a picture on using water-soluble crayons, then Testa places a damp sheet of cotton rag paper over the picture and turns the crank wheel to press the inked surface on the damp paper, squishing them together to create a print.

Prints are made by creating an image using water soluble crayons and then presses it on to wet rag paper. (Colleen Connors/CBC )

"Printmaking is really intimidating," said Testa, since presses are generally large, and in studio spaces. "So usually there is a fear that people have when making a print for the first time, whereas one of the things I wanted to show with this press is how fun and easy it is to do."

While the summer workshop series may be almost over, Testa says he isn't done with his travelling printing press.

He plans to take it to outdoor areas with other artists this fall where they can talk and create art.

In the fall of 2024, many of the pieces created with the printing press will go on display at the Tina Dolter Gallery at the Rotary Arts Centre in Corner Brook.

"It is just something that's really exciting … to continue to push the boundaries of what that is and how that works and being able to take a press on a hiking trail or to take it anywhere that I want to go," said Testa.

Riders in various states of undress cruise Philadelphia streets in 14th naked bike ride

Sat, August 26, 2023 



PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Hundreds of people in various states of dress -- or undress – set out Saturday for a ride through some of Philadelphia’s main streets and sights for the 14th Philly Naked Bike Ride.

The annual ride, which started in 2009, is billed as promoting cycling as a key form of transportation and fuel-conscious consumption. It is also meant to encourage body positivity. Organizers stress, however, that participants aren’t required to ride completely in the buff, telling them to get "as bare as you dare."

The course, roughly 13 miles (21 kilometers) this year, changes annually but generally passes city landmarks. This year, bikers went by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, site of the steps featured in the “Rocky” movies, the historic City Hall, tony Rittenhouse Square and the South Street entertainment area. The ride was to end at Independence Hall.

Garry J. Gadikian, from Atlantic City, New Jersey, speaking in Fairmount Park at a pre-race get-together, said the ride was something he had wanted to do for years.

“It’s a very freeing experience, and definitely something that you should do once in your life for that freedom,” he said before joining about 100 fellow participants who were having their bare flesh adorned with body paint and glitter.

Christopher Jordan, who works in information technology in New York City, also joined the ride for the first time. He said he thought it was “more than just about taking the clothes off.”

"It’s just feeling comfortable with your own body and it’s OK to look at other people too, compare or not compare or just see how other people feel comfortable in their own bodies,” Jordan said.

Organizers said the ride wasn't limited only to bicycles. Scooters, e-bikes, rollerblades, skates, skateboards, and even joggers were also welcome, although motorized bikes and scooters were asked to watch their speed. Organizers also point to a code of conduct that bars any kind of physical or sexual harassment.

"Having a column of nude cyclists extending blocks behind, blocks through the city, and causing a decent amount of disruption, interrupting dinner hour" helps show how many cyclists the city has — telling drivers “they need to share the road,” said Wesley Noonan-Sessa, an event facilitator who regularly rides his bike in Philadelphia.

But, he said, he thinks the naked element also helps in ”desexualizing nudity."

The ride used to be held in September, often in temperatures around 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21.1 degrees Celsius), but enough of the naked riders mentioned feeling chilly that it was moved to August beginning a few years ago. The 2020 ride was called off because of the pandemic.

Tassanee Vejpongsa And Ron Todt, The Associated Press

Beloved pets in Canada rescued from wildfires by volunteers who stayed behind

SUSAN HAIGH
Sat, August 26, 2023 






This photo provided by Veterinarians Without Borders shows Dr. Michelle Tuma as she tends to a dog during the Behchoko wildfire evacuation, July 31, 2023, in Yellowknife, Canada. Many people who took buses or planes to evacuate the area affected by the wildfires could not bring their pets with them and were forced to leave the animals behind. Working with staff around Canada at Veterinarians Without Borders, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; local officials; Dr. Michelle Tuma, a veterinarian in the Northern Territories capital of Yellowknife; and others have been busy helping to save, transport and care for pets as firefighters battle to keep the flames at bay. (Veterinarians Without Borders via AP)

Wildfires forced Amanda Dengler to flee her home in Canada’s Northwest Territories three times in the past 18 months, and each time her cats have evaded her attempts to bring them along.

The latest time, Dengler had to stay away longer than expected, and joined the many residents who have turned to networks of volunteers who are rescuing animals from communities threatened by Canada’s record year of wildfires.

Dengler said she tried to catch her three cats on Aug. 13, when she left her home in the town of Hay River because of a nearby wildfire.

“I think they picked up on my fear and it kind of drove their fear a little bit, and they were not cooperative,” she said.

So, she took her two dogs, a suitcase of clothes and her electronics with her. She filled a bathtub with water and left an open bag of dry food on the floor for the cats, thinking she’d be gone for a few days. Once it became longer than that, she looked for help.

That's when she saw a message on Facebook from Dr. Michelle Tuma, a veterinarian in the Northwest Territories capital of Yellowknife and a member of Veterinarians Without Borders. Tuma has spent the past month trying to help families flee with their pets, reunite with them or keep tabs on animals left behind.

“It’s hard because we don’t really know how long this is going to go on for,” Tuma said.

Her first involvement was helping residents of the small town of Behchoko, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Yellowknife, when they evacuated to the territorial capital on July 24 because of a wildfire.

Many who took buses or planes could not bring their pets with them and were forced to leave the animals behind, Tuma said.

“So we had an amazing group of people who went into the community, helped rescue a bunch of animals out of the community at the owners’ consent and brought them to Yellowknife,” she said.

Ultimately more than 100 animals were rescued and brought to the city where they were kept at boarding facilities, shelters or with the more than 80 foster families who came forward to help.

In the following weeks, there were evacuations in more communities and more pets to help. Then, on Aug. 16, an evacuation order was issued for Yellowknife. In several days, about 20,000 of the city’s roughly 23,000 residents left.

Tuma, however, decided to remain, as an essential worker.

“I’ve been working these wildfires for every other community for the last month and it was just a no-brainer for me to stay back and help with my community, my hometown, and give back to this amazing city,” she said.

Working with staff around Canada at Veterinarians Without Borders, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and local officials, Tuma and others have been busy helping to save, transport and care for pets as firefighters battle to keep the flames at bay.

They’ve brought food and water to homebound pets, fielded calls from worried pet owners, and helped arrange for the delivery of much-needed animal transport crates to remote areas.

“At first, the flights weren’t allowing pets on unless they had carriers and the city immediately sold out of those,” said Charly Jarrett, director of communications for Veterinarians Without Borders.

Eventually, military flights as well as commercial flights allowed evacuees to bring their pets aboard without a crate.

Tuma — sometimes with the help of a locksmith — has been busy rescuing animals in their homes, including a scared kitty who was hiding behind a washing machine before giving Tuma a couple of bites. She also helped staff at a local vet clinic pack up an angry snake for transport. It was spitting, hissing and lunging at its rescuers as they tried to remove it from a glass enclosure.

Tuma also has treated sick animals, prescribed sedatives for anxious ones who needed to be transported, and helped keep track of the approximately 70 to 80 animals still in Yellowknife.

Maggie McGuane — daughter of the late Canadian actor Margot Kidder, a native of Yellowknife who was known for playing Lois Lane in the Superman movies — contacted Veterinarians Without Borders to offer help. McGuane is involved with Wings of Rescue, a California-based charity that transports at-risk pets from disaster areas and overcrowded shelters.

On Aug. 20, a husband and wife team of volunteer pilots from Wings of Rescue flew out 17 animals, including two snakes. The cost of the flight was partly covered by a $10,000 donation from the American-based Tito’s Handmade Vodka and the company’s Vodka for Dog People Charity.

Two of Dengler’s cats, which had to be picked up in Hay River — a five-hour drive from Yellowknife — were on that flight. Her third cat, a 7-year-old indoor-outdoor cat named Stitch, was still at large but was recently spotted by a neighbor.

Dengler, who is staying with friends in Calgary, said it was a relief to know at least her other four pets were safe.

“I think right now people are looking for comfort, right? You leave your whole life behind and … sometimes pets can be family members for some people,” she said. “Even if I lost my house. Even if I lost all my belongings, I still have the life of my animals. Everything else is replaceable.”

N.W.T. premier says prime minister committed to 'accelerating' territorial infrastructure projects


CBC
Sat, August 26, 2023 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and N.W.T. premier Caroline Cochrane meet in Edmonton, Alberta on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press - image credit)

N.W.T. Premier Caroline Cochrane says the federal government is committed to "accelerating" infrastructure projects in the territory.

This came after a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Edmonton on Saturday morning.

Speaking with CBC News after the meeting, Cochrane said no dollar figure was provided on infrastructure spending, but she was given some assurances.

"He did make a commitment that we would be looking at accelerating the infrastructure that's needed in the Northwest Territories," she said, noting this would include road systems.

The meeting came just a day after Cochrane decried the lack of resources the territory receives from the federal government, describing it as a "third world country."

"We don't have basic infrastructure that every Canadian takes for granted," she said.

Cochrane said she expected Trudeau to be "a little bit angry" with her in their meeting, but was surprised by his reaction.

"Nobody likes getting slammed, but he was actually very compassionate and understanding of the frustration I'm experiencing," she said.

Cochrane says she hopes Trudeau will visit the N.W.T. after the wildfire risk has passed. That would be his first visit to the N.W.T. since before she was elected premier in 2019.

When asked about this absence, Cochrane said "it's disappointing when any minister doesn't come up."

"They represent all of us, not just the southern jurisdiction," she said.

"It's one thing to talk about the North and what our challenges and our strengths are. But if you don't actually see it you don't really understand what we're dealing with."

CBC News reached out to Trudeau's office for an interview but he was not be available.

A spokesperson sent a news release addressing what was discussed, which included "investments in infrastructure, telecommunications, and climate change mitigation and adaptation." No details on the investments were included.

Before the meeting, while addressing reporters, Trudeau credited Cochrane's leadership — although he mispronounced her first name.

"You were one of the last ones out of Yellowknife, helping people to the very last moments and what you're doing now, absolutely focused on them is true to the person you are and true to the leader you are," he said.

Trudeau also said the federal government would remain committed to helping the territory through the crisis.

"The federal government will continue to be there, whether it's right now with resources," Trudeau said.

"We're also going to be there for the long term. As we look at how we build more resilient infrastructure, how we support people living in the north, how we plan for you know, the worse climate change impacts."

Cochrane said she also received assurance from Trudeau that the waiting period for Employment Insurance will be waived for N.W.T. residents.

"He has agreed to be flexible with that so that people won't have to wait long term for their EI," she said, stressing that evacuees who lost income should apply.

With rent and other bills due soon for N.W.T residents, some are asking for more relief


CBC
Sun, August 27, 2023

A fire threatening Hay River is pictured burning across from the West Channel dock near Hay River, N.W.T., on Friday night. Some 69 per cent of residents in N.W.T. have been evacuated due to wildfires so far. (Hans Wiedemann/Facebook - image credit)

Rent and other bills are due in less than a week for many of the residents in the N.W.T. evacuated due to wildfires. Some relief has been offered but community groups say more is needed.

Lisa Thurber-Tsetso, the founder and executive director of the advocacy group Tenants Association of NWT, said she has been receiving at least 15 calls and messages a day from evacuated tenants concerned about their rents.

"We are seeing an increase in volume because a lot of people are falling through the cracks. Rent is due Sept. 1 and they're not even home now," said Thurber-Tsetso, operating a virtual office out of Alberta.

"People are calling in worried about being evicted for arrears on their rent when they can barely pay their living expenses today."

Thurber-Tsetso said many are struggling after being unemployed due to the evacuation and having to pay out of pocket for hotel rooms and gas.

Lisa Thurber-Tsetso says there needs to be more done on rental relief and one time $750 would only go as far. (Kirsten Murphy/CBC)

Lisa Thurber-Tsetso said there was a series of problems: cost of trucked water, increase in minimum wage and debt to the territorial government.

Some rental companies like Northview have agreed to prorate tenants' rent. In a Thursday Facebook post, Northview said August rent will be prorated from the date of Yellowknife's emergency evacuation order until the order is lifted.

"Those residents who have had their rental payment processed will have the prorated amount credited to their account and Sept. 1 rent will not be processed and will be prorated based on the date when the evacuation order is lifted, and residents can safely return to our community," the post read.

Thurber-Tsetso said big players like Midwest Property Management should follow suit.

In a statement, Midwest told CBC on Friday that they request residents facing financial strains send them an email.

"We are committed to aiding these Midwest residents who are facing significant hardship related to income loss because of unemployment or loss wages as a result of the Yellowknife fire and evacuation," the statement said.

When questioned whether that means rent relief, Midwest declined to provide further comment.

Utility and carrier bills to be credited or waived temporarily

Thurber-Tsetso said some are wondering if they'll return to an eviction notice.

"People are traumatized. It's going to take some time for people to recover."

She said another stressor is power bills.

The City of Yellowknife said it will be waiving all late fees and penalties on utility bills until further notice, according to a spokesperson who provided CBC News with a statement Saturday.

Pre-authorized monthly payments for property taxes will still continue.

"Similar to the utility bills, the City of Yellowknife will also be waiving any late penalties for the upcoming property tax instalment and final tax levy (for those who did not sign up for a pre-authorized payment plan), due on August 31," the spokesperson said.

At a press conference Friday night, Cory Strang, president and CEO of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC), told news media power bills will be lower as consumption drops in evacuated communities.

"We are discontinuing late payments charges and penalty charges for those who might not be able to do that and providing online bills," he said.

NorthwesTel says it will also provide a service credit on customer bills for the period of the official evacuation order.

"Customers will still be billed, but will then see a credit on their bill for the full length of the evacuation order. Normally the credit appears on the next bill after the evacuation order comes to an end," a spokesperson said in a statement Friday.

The spokesperson said customers in evacuated communities do not need to take any action to receive this credit.

"Once an evacuation order is lifted, we will credit the entire value of residential and small business services for all communities under an official evacuation order," the statement said.

$750 payment 'just ridiculous'

The N.W.T. government is also offering evacuees whose income has been disrupted for over seven days a one-time payment of $750 if they left the territory while evacuating.

"That's just ridiculous," said Thurber-Tsetso, noting the average rent in Yellowknife is north of $1,600 per month.

She said the one-time payment of $750 is not enough.

Khulud Baig, director of policy and community engagement at Women's National Housing and Homelessness Network, echoes the sentiment, saying more is needed in terms of policy and resources.

Khulud Baig, director of policy and community engagement at Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network, says more should be done in terms of policy and resources as rent relief is much needed in the community. (Submitted by Khulud Baig)

Baig said they are offering support to the association as this is one of the first to advocate for tenant rights in the N.W.T.

"Folks that are experiencing any sort of violation of their rights now have somewhere that they can call and get assistance," she said.

"Not everybody is covered for rent relief and not having rent relief leaves people in a very vulnerable position."

Baig said they have started a fundraiser to raise money to directly transfer to people that are in need of immediate assistance and might be worried about losing their housing.

She said rent relief is their first priority and should be for other stakeholders too.

"My only message really is that we really need people to work out of empathy."