Latest news with #Sahtu
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Yahoo
Low water, short lead times pose challenges for Sahtu barge season
The Northwest Territories' barge season has so far been more confusing and frustrating than some residents expected. Last year, no barges were able to sail into the Sahtu region because of low water levels. This summer, two tows carrying multiple barges each are scheduled to travel down the Mackenzie River, making stops in Tulita and Norman Wells, as well as one in Fort Good Hope. But short lead times to get cargo on board, and higher prices than expected for certain loads, have made the vessels' eagerly-anticipated departures bittersweet for some Sahtu residents. People in the region were given just four days to get their cargo on the first tow, which left Hay River on July 6, and less than two weeks to make the second, which is currently set to sail on July 26. Marine Transportation Services (MTS) states online that the cutoff date for getting goods on the second tow was Wednesday, but MTS director Terry Camsell said Thursday that they're actually still accepting cargo, and will continue accepting it for as long as they can. "When we planned the first trip, we were unsure when the second trip was going to be, of course. So, I mean, you have to pick a date that you're comfortable with," said Camsell. "If in fact we were able to make the first trip faster, then the second trip, of course, would be sooner." If and when barges leave depends largely on water levels, and also on wildfires and other factors. Water levels on the Mackenzie River are still well below average, and it's very difficult to navigate in smoky conditions with little visibility, said Camsell. He also warned that if water levels drop too low, the second tow might not sail at all. If that happens, MTS plans to truck the cargo to Fort Simpson and ship it out from there on chartered barges. Knowledge of the cargo acceptance extension came too late for Joshua Earls, the owner of Ramparts, a grocery store in Norman Wells. "We were told the July 9th cutoff," he said, adding it would have helped to know that he had more lead time "because we rushed to get all our stuff there. It nearly killed me." Earls normally needs two weeks to organize a shipment of groceries, which made the first tow's tight deadline impossible to meet. When he learned a second sailing was scheduled with a cutoff date just over a week and a half out, he scrambled – begging with suppliers and pulling two all-nighters. "I thought it was almost impossible too, but yeah, people helped pull through and make this all happen," he said. Earls got his two trailers of groceries to Hay River on the morning of the stated cutoff date, but even then, he couldn't let out a sigh of relief. He said he was shocked to learn that MTS would charge him much more for his trailers than what he had paid in the past with another barging service. "When we got there and got our quote, we realized it was almost the same price as flying in our items, and we thought there was a mistake," he said. For Earls, shipping cargo down the Mackenzie is the economical way for him to restock his shelves. He believed using the N.W.T. government-operated vessel to get his goods to Norman Wells would help keep his costs down, and similarly the prices in his store. Now, he said, it seems that isn't going to be the case. Earls said he would have used Cooper Barging Service, but he wasn't certain the company would run barges this summer. Cooper Barging Service declined to comment. Camsell said Earls' situation is unique, as trailers are rarely used to transport cargo on the river, and that MTS hopes to "come up with a solution for that customer." Only the first tow heading down the Mackenzie River is set to sail all the way to Fort Good Hope. That set of barges contains fuel for Tulita, Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope, gasoline for the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, and about 400 tons of dry cargo, including goods bound for Sahtu Northern Stores, said Camsell. But other organizations in Fort Good Hope couldn't get their orders processed in time. "We couldn't commit to putting things on the ground without certainty that the barge would go, but the decision to get a barge going was so late that it wasn't feasible for us to make an order," said Arthur Tobac, the business manager with Ne'Rahten Development Ltd. in Fort Good Hope. Tobac would have wanted to ship up building supplies, like paint and insulation. He said using the barge brings down transportation costs. Chief Collin Pierrot in Fort Good Hope said the band office hauled up a lot of what it needed for community operations on the ice road last winter. "We didn't know if there was going to be a barge this year again, so we didn't take any chances," he said. Camsell said there will be a fuel barge that goes from Tuktoyaktuk to Fort Good Hope around July 20, and that people in Fort Good Hope who missed the first tow from Hay River can try to get their cargo on that ship.
CBC
02-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
N.W.T. gov't rejects call to declare state of emergency in Norman Wells
The Government of the Northwest Territories says that rising costs in Norman Wells do not meet the territory's definition of an emergency, and that declaring a state of emergency in the Sahtu community wouldn't help residents much anyway. The territorial government was responding to a motion MLAs passed in February, calling for a territorial state of emergency to be declared for humanitarian reasons, and to communicate that to the federal government. Sahtu MLA Danny McNeely brought that motion forward, saying that rising food insecurity and heating costs, along with increasingly unreliable infrastructure for resupply, are making life and business in Norman Wells extremely difficult. Town councillors in Norman Wells had also declared a local state of emergency months earlier. In a written response to the motion last week, first reported by Cabin Radio, the government says that declaring a state of emergency is warranted when special regulations are required to protect people's safety, health or welfare, or to limit damage to property or the environment. It says that while critical, the situation facing Norman Wells residents doesn't meet the criteria for emergency. It also says that declaring a state of emergency wouldn't create access to additional federal or territorial funding. The rising costs in Norman Wells are related to a failed summer resupply in recent years due to low water levels. The territory said in its response that that is part of a "larger climatic trend," and that the government is responding with both immediate relief and long-term planning for future such events. In the short term, the territory points to its subsidy on fuel in Norman Wells, a $150,000 donation to the Norman Wells food bank and a $1.8-million emergency fund for businesses, Indigenous and community governments in the Sahtu and Beaufort Delta to offset transportation costs. The response also mentions the territory's efforts to ensure a successful winter resupply, including widening the winter road. It also mentions a $500,000 federal project that will bring wood stoves to the Sahtu to lower reliance on heating fuel. The territory said that it's continuing to advocate for federal funding to support N.W.T. communities, including continuing work on the Mackenzie Valley Highway to build a more resilient supply chain by connecting Wrigley to Norman Wells with an all-season road.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Housing N.W.T. rent hikes higher than suggested, some tenants say
Some tenants in Housing N.W.T. units say their rent is going up by more than what the territory has suggested. Housing N.W.T. this spring raised the rent on its market-rate units across the territory, by hundreds of dollars. Those units are used on in smaller communities where housing options are limited, for nurses, teachers, RCMP, other critical workers and community members. One teacher working in the Sahtu points out that Housing N.W.T. has said the highest rent increase in the territory was $500 for a three-bedroom unit — but the price of his one-bedroom unit has gone up by more than that. "They're saying the top end is lower than what they've increased mine and all my neighbours," the teacher said. CBC News has agreed not to name him due to fears of reprisal in relation to his housing and living situation. CBC News has seen multiple documents from several teachers that show significantly higher rents than what's in Housing N.W.T.'s new rent scale. Tenants began learning of the rent increases last month. The news prompted considerable reaction, especially from teachers, who occupy many of the market units. Housing N.W.T. owns and leases both market-rate units and subsidized units but only the market units are seeing a rent increase. The territory's housing minister has said the rent increases were a difficult but necessary move to maintain fairness in the housing market, and said the additional revenue is needed because of declining federal support. The Sahtu educator has a one-bedroom unit and his rent is going up from $1,240 to $1,937, an increase of $697. That does not include power costs. According to Housing N.W.T.'s new rent scale, a unit of that size would should now be $1,437, which includes the cost of heating fuel. In a statement to CBC News, Housing N.W.T. says it cannot discuss individual rental rates, but said the rent scale prices only include heating fuel and not other expenses. It said there are also "special arrangements when other utilities are included in the rent," such as in a multi-unit building where water is not individually metered. Those "special arrangements" appear to mean exactly $500 on top of the rent scale increase for some tenants. In those units, Housing N.W.T. is responsible for heating fuel, water, sewer and garbage. The Sahtu teacher said the increases and additional costs could be the tipping point for whether he decides to stay in the North. "Long term it doesn't make sense," he said. He says it's the same for some of his co-workers. "Another teacher was on the fence about staying. Their roommate left and because the rent has been increased so much, it's just not worth risking not having a roommate to split what is now unaffordable," the teacher said. He's also puzzled by the new market-rent scale being the same across the territory. He said he often hears politicians and organizations talk about how communities vary across the territory and there's no single approach that works for all of them. "When it suits their purposes they can say that rent needs to be set to market rates. But how can [my community] be charging the same amount as a place 1,000 kilometres away, on the ocean?" Some tenants are also perplexed by the territory's claim that rental rates have remained unchanged for its market units since 2012. Some of those tenants received notices saying the last increase for their rental unit was in 2014, 2016, or 2019. Asked about those apparent increase, Housing N.W.T. did not comment but said that it encourages tenants to "contact their local housing organization should they require further clarification on their rental situation."
CBC
17-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
N.W.T. MLA wants to hire co-ordinator to oversee Sahtu food bank project
Some Sahtu, N.W.T., residents are open to Danny McNeely's plan to set up a food distribution hub in the region, but they wonder who is going to make it happen. McNeely says he's going to talk to the federal and territorial governments about creating a co-ordinator position to oversee it.
CBC
16-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Sahtu residents open to MLA's food bank idea. But who will do the work?
Social Sharing Heather Bourassa says the food bank she helps run from the basement of the church in Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., has the potential to do more for the community – if it were to have more support. She and her friend, Nadine Tatchinron, volunteer to make up food hampers as they're needed. They don't advertise what they do – and they respond to referrals and requests for help. "There's definitely a need for the groceries. For, like, homes with unemployment, or just because of the high cost of living. Definitely we have requests for food on a regular basis," she said. Sahtu MLA Danny McNeely said he wants to build off existing services – like the food bank in Fort Good Hope, but also the pantry in Norman Wells – as he pushes ahead with his idea for setting up a food hub in the region. That hub would store donated food for distribution on a regular basis to the other four Sahtu communities. Food Banks Canada is partnering with McNeely on the idea. Two representatives of the organization who travelled the Sahtu region with McNeely and Nutrition North Canada last week said one of their goals is to identify a champion in each community who will help them set it up. Nolan Wadsworth-Polkinghorne, a northern programs officer for Food Banks Canada, knows human capacity will be a challenge. "People in the North wear a lot of different hats all the time and it's, I think, something I've come to greatly admire about folks," he said. "What I hope to do is make myself available ... and supportive so that we can make things as easy as possible." McNeely, who also knows capacity might be a challenge, wants to get a co-ordinator to oversee the project. Food Banks Canada says it can fund part-time staff related to some of its grants, but it can't support full time staff. McNeely said he's talking to Nutrition North Canada about splitting the cost of the position between the territorial and federal governments. "We're going to explore and exhaust all options to have a staff member representing the Sahtu region," he said. Site for distribution hub not chosen yet There aren't a lot of details about what, exactly, a food distribution hub in the Sahtu would look like. Jason Stevens, the northern network manager for Food Banks Canada, said one of the next steps is to make sure each community is on board with the idea. Other steps include letting funders and stakeholders know about the project and ironing out where, exactly, the hub would be. Stevens said Norman Wells is one option being discussed, because of the ability to ship cargo by plane. Food Banks Canada has said it will supply the food to the hub, while Matt Bender, an outreach manager with Nutrition North Canada who also joined the tour last week, said his department could subsidize the cost of transporting donated food by $3 per kilogram. McNeely said he's been talking to Buffalo Airways about transporting food and to Sysco Canada about buying food in bulk. There's also a discrepancy about whether people will need to pay for the food items: Food Banks Canada said food will be free, while McNeely said some of the goods will be provided for free. "We have to do the calculations and take into account what contributions Nutrition North is going to offer towards airlines. At the end of the day, we would like to see as minimal amount of pricing of products at the community level." Stevens described visits to each Sahtu community last week as a listening exercise. He and Wadsworth-Polkinghorne also touted Food Banks Canada's grants – which are separate from the idea for the hub – during those visits. They said the grants are flexible and can be used for a broad range of food security projects, like shelving for food bank storage, to ammunition for hunting caribou and moose. 'Is this another burden?' Heather Bourassa in Fort Good Hope says the community meeting there with McNeely, Food Banks Canada and Nutrition North was really encouraging. Asked if she had the capacity to grow the food bank she's running now, she paused and thought about how to reply. "I do believe that there's a lot of potential for the food bank here to do more. We would have to be more organized and … we would need more volunteers," said Bourassa, who is already wearing many hats in the community including co-owning a business, being part of the local school board, chairing the Sahtu Land Use Planning Board and being a mom. Tiana Spilchak, of Norman Wells, also wonders who in her community will apply for Food Banks Canada's grants or help set up the food distribution hub. "Everyone's working to make ends meet … everyone's burnt out," she said. "It's hard to come together as a community when we're all worried about ourselves." Meanwhile, Joseph Kochon, the band manager for Behdzi Ahda First Nation in Colville Lake, wondered if what was being pitched would make more work for his community. "Is this another burden that's going to come to us here?" he asked. "If it's going to be an independent thing and somebody easily running the program and we don't really have a connection to it, then it's OK … by all means, we'll give it some thought."
