Renaming the NWT has been a topic of conversation for years. Many suggestions are out there as to what to call the territory instead of the name it's had since the 19th Century.

Enter the latest call for change in the form of Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins.

Hawkins put the question to Premier R.J. Simpson back on Feb. 7 about whether the NWT should be called something else, referring to articles written by SA国际影视传媒 columnist Michael Miltenberger, who's also a former MLA and cabinet minister.

"Many places have had the courage to reflect (and) say to themselves 'should we have a name more reflective of who we represent and the people we represent in the sense of what it means to them'," he said.

He cited several possible choices including Denendeh, Nahendeh and, of course, Bob. The latter name came during the 1990s when there was plenty of discussion about what the NWT should call itself ahead of division and the creation of Nunavut in 1999.

Hawkins suggested Simpson raise the issue with the NWT Council of Leaders to see what they thought.

Simpson wasn't interested.

"I would say that the resources of the GNWT are better spent elsewhere at this time given all of the challenges that we have," he said. "That being said, I'll start having some informal conversations with some of the other leaders at the table and go from there."

In response, Hawkins said he wasn't looking to strike a task force on the issue.

"I'm simply asking for the Premier (to) put it on the agenda for something for folks to consume and consider and maybe get some feedback on it?," he said. "Because if there's no appetite at the Council of Leaders for this kind of conversation, maybe now is not the right time. That said, it may be something for the future."

"I don't have an appetite to direct GNWT resources to this," said Simpson in reply. "This is the kind of initiative that would take significant consultation, in-person consultation in every community in the Northwest Territories, and so I'm the one who doesn't want to do this. I'll just put that out there."

, the land where the NWT sits was once known as 'Rupert's Land' during the beginnings of the fur trade in the 1670s when the Hudson's Bay Company was granted a charter to begin operations. The term 'North West Territory' was loosely applied to the vast north and west of Lake Superior.

The territorySA国际影视传媒檚 name first became official in 1859 with the 'Indian Territories Act', which established British jurisdiction over land not in RupertSA国际影视传媒檚 Land or British Columbia, which was called the 'The North-Western Territory.' At the time, it included all of what is now Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and parts of Manitoba. In 1866, the colonies of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and Stickeen Territory were joined, reducing the size of the The North-Western Territory. 

In 1868, Parliament passed the SA国际影视传媒淩upertSA国际影视传媒檚 Land ActSA国际影视传媒�, which authorized the acquisition of RupertSA国际影视传媒檚 Land and The North-Western Territory from HBC for the sum of 拢300,000.

On June 23, 1870, what was known as an Imperial Order-in-Council transferred RupertSA国际影视传媒檚 Land and The North-Western Territory to Canada, when it was renamed SA国际影视传媒淭he North-West Territories.SA国际影视传媒� The area included all of present-day Yukon Territory, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and parts of present-day Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador, but excluded most of the Arctic Islands.