‘A level of investment none of us have seen in our lifetimes’

The NWT’s MP provided more detail about some of last week’s $35-billion funding announcement as critics voiced skepticism and Yellowknife’s mayor said now is the time to get ready for what comes next.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a huge sum in funding for Arctic defence and infrastructure in the Northwest Territories and the broader North.

He also referred three projects to the federal government’s Major Projects Office: the Mackenzie Valley Highway from Yellowknife to Inuvik, Taltson hydro expansion to double the hydro capacity of the NWT, and Arctic Economic and Security Corridor between the North Slave and proposed Nunavut coastal Grays Bay port.

Construction on the Mackenzie Valley Highway, which is currently undergoing environmental assessment, could start as soon as the summer, Carney said.

In a joint press release responding to last Thursday’s announcement, Conservative Arctic affairs and national defence critics Bob Zimmer and James Bezan said the North needed more direct action.

“Northerners don’t need more announcements, referrals and comprehensive assessments,” the two stated. “They need jobs, affordable groceries and the knowledge that Canada’s military is equipped and capable of protecting our Arctic sovereignty.”

The Conservatives accused Carney’s Liberal government of “stealing some of our ideas to strengthen our Arctic.”

“The lost Liberal decade has left us with a gaping vulnerability in our Arctic that disappoints our allies and emboldens our adversaries,” Bezan was quoted as saying.

“Mark Carney is great at making big splashy spending announcements, but that’s not the goal – capability is.”

The Conservatives characterized the Major Projects Office as an institution that has “yet to do anything.”

Referring the NWT’s three big infrastructure asks to the Major Projects Office will mean federal staff can help get them built faster, territorial MP and Crown-Indigenous relations minister Rebecca Alty argued in an interview with Cabin Radio.

She said the move to start Mackenzie Valley Highway construction will use funding originally allocated in 2019 for items along the route like bridge work.

“We reprofiled those dollars so construction could begin on some of the components this year,” Alty said.

Asked about some residents’ concerns that a future highway will allow traffickers to bring more drugs into communities, Alty said drugs are already there even without an all-season road.

She said more announcements are coming to support mental health and people with addictions.

‘Future not all bleak’ in Norman Wells

Norman Wells Mayor Frank Pope said the highway announcement is long overdue.

“They were ready to build the highway in the 1970s and here we are today, a prime minister is finally going to say what we’ve been waiting for since Mr Diefenbaker announced it in the 1960s,” said Pope.

The proposed highway would go through Norman Wells, where residents have long advocated for its construction as a way to help bring down the cost of living.

Last winter, the town declared a state of emergency after fuel had to be flown in, leading to skyrocketing prices.

A highway will relieve some of the economic pressure felt by the community, Pope said.

“I think it’ll be a big help. It’ll create employment. It will create, I think, a good sense of the future is not all bleak,” Pope said.

Still, the town’s mayor said he has questions.

“There’ll be some immediate work, but I need to know what the timelines are going to be, what the work schedule is going to be, and who is going to be responsible for getting the work done,” Pope said.

A Yellowknife ‘move into high gear’

The bulk of the funding included in Thursday’s announcement – $32 billion – will be allocated toward military and “dual-use” infrastructure in Yellowknife, Inuvik and elsewhere in the Arctic.

This will include things like water and wastewater infrastructure as well as airport improvements, Alty said.

Yellowknife Mayor Ben Hendriksen said this represents a “huge” opportunity for the city’s residents.

He said work must now happen at the municipal and territorial level to get more housing built, tackling an existing shortage and accounting for a future increase in demand.

“We now need to sort-of move into high gear as the city and as the GNWT,” said Hendriksen.

“We’ve talked about a lot of things. We now need to see that action in terms of land movement, in terms of a real commitment to getting things built.”

The city has spent years asking for easier access to land inside its municipal boundaries, which must currently be requested on a case-by-case basis from the territorial government.

But that isn’t the only hurdle Hendriksen said City Hall needs to cross to make the most of the coming federal spending.

Over the past year, he said, the city has discussed with Ottawa how to make big infrastructure investments a reality with Yellowknife’s current staffing capacity. He said the City of Yellowknife, like many municipalities, is “already strapped for resources.”

“All of our engineers, all of our planning staff – pick your staff member – they’re already sort-of maxed out in terms of their capacity,” said Hendriksen.

“And so what does this look like in terms of new demands? What are those new capacities that may be needed?”

He said these conversations are ongoing.

“We need to make sure we’re doing all the bits and pieces to make sure those opportunities can come to fruition,” Hendriksen said.

He sees the investment announced last week as an opportunity for individuals, businesses and Indigenous development corporations.

“It’s important for Yellowknifers and for all northerners to see that,” said Hendriksen.

“This is a level of investment that none of us have seen in our lifetimes. The phrase ‘generational,’ it can seem overused, but it is really true.”