Check against delivery

Mr. Speaker, I would like to provide an update on the status of the flood recovery work being undertaken by the Government of the Northwest Territories. 

As soon as the flood waters retreated last spring, community government leadership, residents, and our government got to work helping communities recover from the worst flood many of us have seen in our lifetime.

There are many people involved in this effort.  I want to recognize the tireless efforts of community government leadership in the immediate flood aftermath and over the past several months.  Some of the leadership has changed since the flood occurred, but as the waters rose, Chief Stanley Sanguez, Mayor Sean Whelly,
Mayor Andrew Charlie, and Chief Daniel Masuzumi showed tremendous leadership  evacuating residents safely and taking steps to reduce the potential flood damage where possible.

Mayor Kandis Jameson and Chief April Martel among many others executed their emergency plans flawlessly and were ready for the worst, even if it never came.  

Residents and leaders in Fort Smith, Fort Providence and Inuvik are to be commended for taking such excellent care of evacuees from flooded communities. 

Mr. Speaker, our government knew we needed extraordinary measures to meet the challenge of these extraordinary floods.  We are doing home repairs on primary residences for those who have asked us to do this work.  We arranged for replacement homes for those destroyed by the flood, so individuals and families do not need to start from scratch.

We are providing disaster assistance to small businesses and community governments, given the disruption and impact to their operations.  We are providing disaster assistance payments to those residents who lost some or all of the contents of their homes. 

Mr. Speaker, in Fort Simpson, Fort Good Hope, and Jean Marie River, we are on-track to get repairs done by the end of the year, and replacement homes are scheduled to arrive between January and March in the new year.   

I want to acknowledge the support and assistance provided by all contractors who have worked with the GNWT and with residents throughout the recovery process, especially ARCAN Construction, who has provided critical support in completing this recovery work. I would also like to recognize Ne’rahten Development Ltd. for their work on the reconstruction efforts in Fort Good Hope.

We all hoped that recovery could be done sooner, however, given the extraordinary flooding that occurred, recovering from this disaster was never going to be easy.  Also, any construction project brings challenges with it that need to be managed and often this means shifting timelines.

To residents who have still not returned to their homes or who may still be facing challenges that have come as a result of the flood damage, I want to thank you for your patience as we continue our work to recover fully from last spring’s flood. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is conducting a thorough review of our response to this emergency and we will be using these lessons learned to ensure that we are prepared for the spring of 2022. 

Mr. Speaker, I want to end on a personal note.  I saw the impact of the flood on communities first hand. Living in one of the flood impacted communities, I was able to meet with residents, hear their stories, and try to help them in their time of need. I would like to thank Ministers Archie and Chinna for visiting some of the impacted communities during the flood. I would also like to thank the Premier for her constant support in this difficult time.

The work being done to recover from the flood is about the people – and making sure they recover from this disaster. Our government has based our approach on that principle.  We will continue to work on their behalf as we complete the recovery work in affected communities. Together, with the dedication of community government leadership, we will recover and rebuild together.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.