By Jacksen Friske, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cabin Radio Gwich’in leaders and a Fort McPherson business say the GNWT is “overlooking” treaty agreements and Indigenous-run companies when awarding contracts on settlement land. In May, the Northwest Territories’ Department of Infrastructure posted a tender seeking a contractor to acquire gravel from a quarry and stockpile it at two locations along the Dempster Highway. Two companies placed bids on the contract – LJ’s Contracting and Ramida Enterprises. LJ’s Contracting, a registered Gwich’in company, has been operating in the Fort McPherson area since 1992. The company said the work would cost $1.5 million, adjusted to $1.3 million through the N.W.T. government’s business incentive policy, which is designed to make the selection of local firms more attractive to the GNWT. Ramida Enterprises, an excavation…
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