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Don’t get too excited about wildfire reviews. There’s still a 2022 flood review going on.
In a press release on Wednesday, the NWT government said its after-action review of the 2022 Hay River and Kátł’odeeche First Nation flood is seeking feedback from residents through an online survey.
The review was launched more than a year ago, promising to assess the GNWT’s handling of South Slave flooding that did damage costing some $200 million or more.
The territory says the 2022 flood review has now reached phase two, which focuses on “recovery activities,” after a first phase that dealt with “preparedness and response.”
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If you’re a resident of Hay River or the Kátł’odeeche First Nation, have a business there or were an official involved in 2022 flood recovery – or you applied for disaster assistance in Hay River or received some form of recovery supports in KFN – the GNWT wants you to take the survey.
You have until March 15 to fill it out. There’ll be a public meeting in Hay River on February 23 “to collect the perspectives of individuals who received disaster assistance,” but details of that meeting have yet to be finalized.
“Direct outreach and meetings will take place with representatives of community governments and territorial officials to collect their perspectives,” the GNWT added.
The territory says it is aiming to have its final report published by the fall of 2024, which would amount to a slightly quicker turnaround time than its last after-action review.
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That review, which focused on the Fort Simpson 2021 floods, only appeared last month.
The Department of Environment and Climate Change has promised that its after-action review of the 2023 wildfire season will be turned around far faster, with environment minister Jay Macdonald forecasting the report’s publication before this year’s fire season begins.
The scope and workload of such reviews changes depending on the department, as each department has different roles and responsibilities that need to be assessed.
The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs hasn’t specified when its own wildfire review will be published.
