Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The problem with water and sewer infrastructure at Northland Trailer Park continues to be a serious problem. For the past two weeks many of its residents are still trying to cope without water and sewer. These residents undeniably are in a difficult situation and immediate action needs to happen to save our homes. To date the discussion around financial responsibilities continues to overshadow or overtake the problems of health and safety concerns of the 259 families that are at serious risk of losing everything.
As such, the GNWT needs to rise to the occasion and help these families by being more of a supportive friend of encouragement and actually putting money on the table. As is typical with these types of problems, while the three levels of government talk about what to do and who should pay, what is actually happening is these 259 families wait while the ground crumbles beneath them.
Without any doubt, I believe our government has a role here and this is why:
•
when considering in California when the
landslides destroyed families homes, the state stepped in to help the people;
•
when in B.C. the fires burned down people’s homes, the province stepped to the plate;
•
in Manitoba when the Red River, true to form, rose and created floods, the province had a role; and
•
when in Aklavik, the great community flood of 2006, the river predictably rose and $3.6 million rightly found its way to helping that community.
Now I’m sure the government has an interesting interpretation on what constitutes disaster assistance programs, but even in the communities across our great country when water supply becomes a problem, even INAC has been known to step in and rise to the occasion to help them.
I can’t give you the interpretation of this government’s definition of what “vital services” are, however, I can assure you that 259 families will say water and sewer, in their view, is a vital service to
them. For illustration purposes only, the definition of “vital services” in Section 33(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act is: a vital service includes heat, fuel, electricity, gas, hot and cold water and any other public utility. So rather than contemplating the issue about roles and responsibility or even looking for loopholes, what about putting people first for a change?
Finally, this concern is not just about money, but if it is, and the GNWT is worried about how to get it back, then caveat all the properties. It’s time to act, not talk. I ask this government not to confuse the right thing to do with rules and responsibilities as justification to do very little in this serious case.
