N.W.T. MLA says Sahtu communities are in 'a huge crisis' after barge cancellations

The N.W.T. MLA for the Sahtu has been crunching the numbers on the high cost of living in his region.

Low water and cancelled barges, shortened winter road seasons, and inflation are all contributing to a rapidly-rising cost of living in the Sahtu region, according to MLA Daniel McNeely.

The Town of Norman Wells is projecting that home heating fuel could cost as much as $5.50 perlitre this winter, whichitcalls "unsustainable."

Leaders from the Sahtu, including the mayors of Norman Wells and Tulita, along with McNeely,were in Yellowknife last week meeting with cabinet ministers about whatMcNeelyis calling"a huge crisis."

McNeely spoke to guest hostShannon Scott on CBC North'sTrailbreaker about what the costs mean for his constituents, and how he's trying to get help.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

What are you hearing from your constituents about the cost of living?

The things that I'm hearing, and from doing my own research, are very shocking to say the least. Given the fact that the barge was cancelled, there were a lot of delays in shipment of materials and personal dry goods. The stock that was supposed to be shipped there, everything was cancelled. Project materials were cancelled, so therefore the project was cancelled. So that was just a taste of what may have come.

I've seen the airplanes coming and going. Just to give you an example, the Tulita health centre is going to see 90 DC-3 loads of material going in there, and it's going there as we speak.

I think out of 90, they mobilized in the neighbourhood of 50 airplane loads, so that's going ahead as the essential project needed to support our health care. But at what cost? The air barge, thanks to Buffalo [Airways] who stepped up at the beginning of the season, hauled on three occasions over 200,000 litres of jet fuel.

Most recently, though a public tender process, Air North flew in 400,000 litres of gas to Fort Good Hope from Inuvik. They made 64 trips. So in reality, we are in a fly-in resupply region, and everybody knows the air cost is extremely high. So those are the main reasons for escalated living costs.

How are people dealing with this?

People are dealing with it by seeking more traditional foods. If you go hunting and you harvest a caribou or a moose, yes it helps, but it increases the cost of gas to go get your traditional food.

Some people are having to purchase expired produce because they can't afford the real cost before the expiration date of that product, because that product is being reduced in the grocery stores by 50 per cent. That's just a couple of examples of how people are adjusting.

You had meetings last week with your colleagues who are in cabinet, what did you present to them?

I presented some evidence to them that the price is going to continue to escalate. Imperial Oil is hauling in $1.9 million litres of gasoline diesel fuel that's home heating oil. And the rates are going to go to approximately $5.50 a litre.

Cabinet, and everybody in the assembly, are aware of this. The average home tank is 250 gallons, times 4.5 litres per gallon, times $5.50 a litre that's $6,200 to fill your tank up. It's just so shocking to see how many people could even remain there under those conditions. Are we going to see people leaving? Yes, we have seen that already. How many more are going to leave? It's a huge crisis.

What happens to your region if nothing is done about this?

I hate to even think about that. Right now, I'm trying to bring awareness to the situation. Our government is fully aware of it, and we are putting our thinking caps on and we are trying to exhaust all options to mitigate this as quickly as we can.

Did you get any commitments in that meeting?

No, I never got any commitments, and I wasn't seeking any commitments either other thanlet's have more meetings to share ideas. I wanted to bring awareness to the situation.

The Town of Norman Wells posted on its Facebook page a list of what it hopes some of the solutions could be, including building the Mackenzie Valley Highway, getting rid of the carbon tax on heating fuel and gasoline, and ensuring price reductions, once the winter road opens. How were those ideas received?

Any suggestion was received positively. Ultimately, as we all know, the Mackenzie Valley Highway will be the service of choice. Right now we've got no option other than, "I hope my bag of grapes gets off the airplane."And currently the retail price here for a bag of grapes is $18.

The Trailbreaker11:48The impact of air-barging goods in the Sahtu.

The MLA for the Sahtu has been crunching the numbers on the high cost of living in his region after the cancellation of barges and issues with the winter road. Daniel McNeely is the MLA for the Sahtu. He joined Shannon Scott to talk about the impact air-barging goods has had on communities he represents.