Check against delivery

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to highlight a successful initiative that the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is supporting to remove hazardous waste from solid waste sites in communities across the Northwest Territories.

Over the years I have witnessed first-hand how quickly solid waste sites can fill up with piles of debris and hazardous materials, including liquid waste, that is expensive and complicated to remove. Community governments across the Northwest Territories have quickly run out of room to store these hazardous materials.

To address these historic stockpiles of waste, diversion and improvement projects have been implemented in regions throughout the territory. This work will not only free up valuable space in community solid waste sites, it will also decrease the overall risk of contamination to residents and our environment.

The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs has partnered with 26 communities across all five regions to successfully access funding from the Government of Canada to advance this clean-up work. The work of implementing a clean-up, clean-start program will also help us deliver on one of the key actions listed in the NWT Waste Resources Management Strategy.

Mr. Speaker, this important work began in 2023 in nine communities: Behchokǫ̀, Fort Providence, Hay River, Fort McPherson, Sachs Harbour, Tsiigehtchic, Ulukhaktok, Norman Wells, and Tulita. In total, over 600,000 kilograms of hazardous waste, including nearly 250,000 litres of liquid hazardous waste from eight of these nine communities has been removed, with waste from Sachs Harbour awaiting removal on a barge this summer. To put this work into perspective, this is enough hazardous waste to fill up more than six NHL-sized hockey rinks.

It is clear, Mr. Speaker, that this partnership has made a significant difference at solid waste sites throughout the Northwest Territories.

The plan for this summer is to complete clean-up work in 12 to 14 additional communities throughout all regions of the territory with work in remaining communities scheduled for 2025.

As this clean-up work is completed, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs will follow up with community governments to make operational improvements designed to prevent future stockpiles and reduce waste. These improvements include more frequent compaction which saves space, reduces fire risk, helps manage bear attractants, and decreases wind-blown debris. Other management practices like improved waste segregation and regular removal schedules will also prevent stockpiles from reoccurring.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, this coordinated project allows community governments to pool their resources and address a problem that is difficult for any one community to manage on their own. By building on these partnerships with community governments and the Government of Canada, we can collaboratively address many of the challenges associated with waste management while enhancing public safety and environmental protection.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.