A judge dismissed a Yellowknife man’s request to stay an order requiring him to remove a cabin from territorial land as he awaits an appeal.
In June 2025, the NWT Supreme Court ordered Frank Walsh to vacate a cabin on Narcisse Lake, siding with the GNWT in finding that the site was ineligible for a lease.
Walsh, who has owned the cabin since around 2007, has since filed an appeal of that decision. He asked the court to stay the order until his appeal is heard.
In a ruling on Wednesday, NWT Court of Appeal Justice Kevin Feehan denied that request.
Feehan noted that a court order requires Walsh to remove items from the site by 5pm on May 30, 2027. The judge said Walsh’s appeal is expected to be heard sometime between October 2026 and April 2027, which he found would provide enough time for the appeal to be heard before the court order comes into effect.
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“There is no need to stay the order under appeal at this time in order to preserve Mr Walsh’s substantive rights pending appeal,” Feehan wrote.
Walsh can apply for an extension of the order after May 30.
Feehan added that Walsh uses the cabin for recreational and fishing purposes and there are other locations around Yellowknife where he can enjoy those activities.
The case stems from the GNWT’s Unauthorized Occupancy Project, a campaign to crack down on squatters with cabins on public land.
Announcing the initiative in early 2021, the territorial government said there were more than 700 cabins across the NWT that may be unauthorized. It said it planned to begin tackling the issue by focusing on cabins in the North Slave region.
