A Yellowknife electrical services company is asking the NWT Supreme Court to review the territorial government’s decision to register Naka Power’s names.
Karel Pekelsky, the owner and operator of Naka Electric, initiated the request for judicial review in September and filed supporting documents with the court last week, as first reported by NNSL.
He said he is concerned that the names Naka Electric and Naka Power are too similar, which “would very likely lead to confusion amongst the public between the two.”
Naka Power was previously known as Northland Utilities before a rebrand in April.
Pekelsky is asking the NWT Supreme Court to quash the NWT government’s decision to register Naka Power’s names and find the decision to have been unreasonable, unlawful and made in a manner contrary to the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness.
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He also wants the court to refer the decision back to the territory for reconsideration.
Naka Electric name registered in 2021
Court documents indicate that Pekelsky registered the name Naka Electric with the NWT’s corporate registry on March 4, 2021. The registry shows the business is currently in compliance.
“When choosing the name for my electrical business, it was important to me to have an Indigenous rooted and traditional name,” Pekelsky wrote in an affidavit, noting that he is Tłıchǫ.
“I chose the name Naka because of its traditional meaning, uniqueness, simplicity and ease of pronunciation.”
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He said he consulted with a linguist and Tłıchǫ translator on the name and pointed to a Tłıchǫ dictionary that states Naka means northern lights in Tłıchǫ yatı.
Pekelsky said he first became aware that Northland Utilities was trying to register business names that included the word Naka in March 2024.
The private utility company is a joint venture between Atco and Denendeh Investments Inc, the latter of which manages investments on behalf of NWT Dene First Nations.
In court documents, Pekelsky detailed emails, phone calls and one in-person visit he received from Northland Utilities representatives between March 14 and March 27, asking him to consent to their name change.
Pekelsky said Darrell Beaulieu, the president and chief executive officer of Denendeh Investments, told him more than $500,000 had already been spent rebranding to Naka Power.
Pekelsky didn’t consent to name change
The NWT’s Partnership and Business Names Act dictates the registrar shall refuse to register a business name if they believe “it is the same or similar” to the name of another business and “that name would, if used, likely confuse or mislead the public.”
The act allows the registrar to approve such a name, however, if the other business with a similar name consents in writing, dissolves, or changes to a dissimilar name.
Pekelsky said he declined to consent to Northland’s request until he received legal counsel.
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But he said he found out on April 12 that Northland Utilities had registered the new name and was considered in good standing with the territory’s corporate registry.
Northland publicly announced its name change to Naka Power that day.
The registry currently lists the business names Naka Power Distribution (Yellowknife), Naka Power Utilities (Yellowknife), Naka Power Distribution (NWT), Naka Power Distribution and Naka Power Utilities (NWT) as being “in compliance”
There are three more business names – Naka Power (Yellowknife), Naka Power (NWT) and Naka Power Utilities – for which the status is listed as “unknown.”
Pekelsky said he worries about the similarity in names as some services Naka Power offers may be in competition with his company.
Naka Electric provides surface and underground mining electrical and communications services as well as residential and commercial installations.
Naka Power distributes power to customers in Yellowknife, Ndılǫ, Enterprise, Hay River and Kátł’odeeche First Nation. It both generates and distributes power in Dory Point, Kakisa, Fort Providence, Sambaa K’e and Wekweètì.
Naka Power has yet to formally respond to Pekelsky’s court filings.
A representative told Cabin Radio the company is unable to provide comment as the matter is before the courts.
