Charter plane carrying 2 Russian nationals grounded in Yellowknife

A plane carrying Russian civilians en route to the High Arctic was grounded in Yellowknife on Tuesday, according to the N.W.T.'s minister of infrastructure. 

"It appears that the plane and its passengers were on their way to Resolute, Nunavut, with the intention of taking a planned Arctic overland expedition in a large all-terrain utility vehicle," Diane Archie told the House on Wednesday. 

Transport Canada is now working with Canadian Border Services to assess the matter, Archie said. 

In an email to CBC late Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Department of Transport confirmed that the aircraft detained in Yellowknife was a charter carrying two Russian foreign nationals, and that Transport Canada is working with the Canada Border Services Agency to assess this matter.

The assessment will "determine if there has been any violation of the recently announced Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) prohibiting Russian aircraft (owned, chartered, or certified) from operating in Canadian airspace," the spokesperson said in the email.

The aircraft is restricted from leaving the Yellowknife Airport until Transport Canada completes its assessment.

Canada's Transport minister announced on Feb. 27 that it would close its airspace to Russian aircraft operators following similar measures from other countries. On Monday, Transport Canada accused a Russian Aeroflot Flight of violating that ban. 

"Potential consequences and enforcement actions will be determined once the facts are clear," Archie said of the plane that landed in Yellowknife.  

The minister did not say what happened to the passengers on board the plane. 

"We're all aware of the terrible and unjustified invasion in the Ukraine, and I appreciate that we're all extra watchful in this world, including those of us in the Northwest Territories, [who] remain concerned about the Russian government aggression towards its peaceful neighbours," Archie said. 

Archie was responding to a question from Hay River South MLA, Rocky Simpson, who was careful in his phrasing. 

"I don't want to make light of the situation," he said, "and I don't want to sound like this [but this] next … question does sound like the movie The Russians Are Coming, as the issue is serious."

For her part Archie had difficulty answering. 

"I'm just shaking," she said, as she described getting the call about the flight on Tuesday. "Oh my, sorry, [it's even] hard to explain what some of the answers are."