Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Marine Transportation Service provides the essential delivery of goods, fuel, and services that the Nunakput communities rely on annually. A barge was expected to reach Paulatuk around August 12th, but residents report that the barge and their goods did not arrive. Subsequently, the barge deliveries were cancelled due to the ice conditions in the Beaufort Sea.
MTS issues go well beyond the impacts of our changing climate. This year's failure to deliver goods by barge will have a very negative social and economic impact on Nunakput residents and businesses.
Mr. Speaker, purchased vehicles, fuel, and construction materials are stuck in Inuvik. We don't know when these goods will be delivered. We wonder whose houses won't get built this year. The phones are ringing day and night about the lost business and frustration of customers who ordered the freight. Mr. Speaker, I think that they deserve an honest answer.
For example, what will the Minister say to the people who will be out of work because of building materials that didn't make it in? One contractor had eight guys on the job and has had to scale back already because they are running out of material. This means that four families likely won't have a home this year.
Mr. Speaker, action needs to be taken to move as much freight to the coastal communities as possible, but I also want action taken so that barge deliveries are reliable in the future. They should never have to wait two years for their goods.
With the new Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway, MTS can utilize Tuktoyaktuk as a port and staging location for its northern service to coastal communities. With the window of the operating season so short in the Arctic, we need to seriously look at Tuktoyaktuk as a logistical site for supplying the North.
Mr. Speaker, the issue of the barge cancellation began in Alberta, where the petroleum products were purchased, where inspections failed in the Northwest Territories, halfway down the Mackenzie River.
Mr. Speaker, moving forward, the Minister should take a hard look at MTS operations and make a plan that will serve the people of the territory. That is what governments are meant to do. The human costs of this year's failure of service seem to be overlooked. The GNWT's mandate is to improve the quality of life for our residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
