Mr. Speaker, I feel like putting my notes aside and following with the same passion as my colleague for Hay River North, but I’m not feeling well today so I’m afraid it wouldn’t come across with as much gusto.
I’m going to tag team with my colleague here today and reiterate again that Hay River is a transportation hub right on the south shore of Great Slave Lake and at the mouth of the Hay River itself. Once upon a time, the federal government met its responsibility for dredging, but that practice was discontinued in 1994. They sold all of their equipment. Since that time no one has taken up responsibility, even though the waterways have continued to be used. Our harbour is used by tug and barge operators, by the Canadian Coast Guard, by the commercial fishermen and by recreational boaters. Let’s not forget, as my colleague for Hay River North has said before in this House, that the Hay River Flood Mitigation Committee has identified dredging as an option and a proactive approach to the annual threat of flooding in Hay River.
I can tell you what’s happened in terms of dredging in the Hay River port since the federal program was discontinued more than 20 years ago. Nothing! Basically, we walked off a cliff. We went from annual dredging
– annual dredging – to absolutely nothing.
Meanwhile, responsibility for the dredging is passed around like a political football. That response no longer cuts it with the residents of Hay River. We need to see decisive action taken.
The town is looking to this government for some assistance. If I said it before, I’ll say it again, it’s affecting our people and it’s affecting our industry, and even if it is not technically or hasn’t technically
been our responsibility, it’s having real impacts on the people, the livelihoods and the supply chains out of Hay River.
Lack of action on this issue undermines the spirit and soul of our community. The harbour in Hay River is the lifeblood of why that community is there. We’ve continued to press for action
, and we’ve talked about
pushing and partnering with the federal government and about taking action as a territory, and we’ve talked about accessing funds from the National Disaster Mitigation Program. In the life of this Assembly alone, we’d hoped for a new federal plan in 2014, heard promises of territorial budget commitment, but this plan has still not come through and still the harbour hasn’t been dealt with. The Department of Transportation’s new 25-year plan barely even mentions dredging.
Hay River is the second largest community in the Northwest Territories. Surely it’s time to do something. When it comes to question period, I’m going to ask questions but also throw in a few suggestions.