Tuktoyaktuk told it now qualifies for disaster assistance

After flooding caused damage in Tuktoyaktuk last year, the hamlet’s MLA said it was being denied disaster assistance funding. Now, the territorial government says the community qualifies.

In late 2025, Nunakput MLA and cabinet member Lucy Kuptana told the legislature Tuktoyaktuk was being left to manage the aftermath of an August 2025 storm largely on its own.

Kuptana, a former senior administrator of Tuk, said roads were washed out, homes surrounded by water and key community facilities cut off during what she described as an unprecedented event.

At the time, the GNWT said it was still assessing the extent of the damage and had not applied its Disaster Assistance Policy to the event.

Qualifying for disaster assistance can unlock access to significant sums in federally backed funding. Floods and wildfires elsewhere in the NWT have triggered claims under the policy in recent years.

An agenda for the Standing Committee on Government Operations – a committee of regular MLAs – shows it met in-camera on April 27 to review correspondence related to the GNWT’s application of the Disaster Assistance Policy to Tuktoyaktuk’s storm.

Approached for comment last week, Kuptana said she was not present at that meeting.

Jay Boast – a spokesperson for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, which oversees the policy – told Cabin Radio the GNWT has determined that Tuktoyaktuk does qualify for disaster assistance.

“This assessment was based on the scale and impact of flooding, severe weather damage, and uninsurable losses,” he said last week.

Boast said the territorial government has now requested federal financial assistance through the program for the hamlet.

“Emergency Management staff travelled to Tuktoyaktuk in late April to collect applications and information from affected residents,” he said, “and arrangements are underway for damage assessors to travel to the community to assess the scope and scale of damage and losses.”

Maca said the GNWT’s decision to extend Disaster Assistance Policy coverage to Tuktoyaktuk followed a longer review process to complete necessary assessments.

“While many emergency events can be assessed relatively quickly, others require more detailed analysis due to their size, timing, or complexity,” the department stated.

Tuktoyaktuk Mayor Vince Teddy said the GNWT’s decision to provide assistance is appreciated, even though that support took time to arrive.

“Better late than never,” he said, noting the territorial government has been under financial strain for some time and any help reaching the community is welcome.

“Grateful that cabinet try and live up to their safety and health mandate. Many thanks and appreciation,” he said in a message.

Ulukhaktok wants storm surge assistance

Ulukhaktok’s senior administrator, Atul Deshmukh, said he hopes his community can access similar funding.

A major storm hit Ulukhaktok in early November last year, bringing wind gusts of roughly 100 km/h as sea ice was beginning to form. Deshmukh said residents took shelter in the school gymnasium, one of the few buildings with generator power during a blackout triggered by the storm.

To his knowledge, the community did not receive territorial disaster assistance afterward. Deshmukh said he has since attended GNWT meetings where he pushed for storm surge damage to be recognized under disaster and emergency management programs.

He said he had been left with the impression that disaster assistance is “only for flooding and fire, not storm surge.”

Deshmukh said emergency funding would benefit Ulukhaktok by helping residents, businesses and hamlet infrastructure recover after storms.

He added that unpredictable weather remains a growing concern for the hamlet, which sits along the Northwest Passage. Even in recent days, high winds have disrupted municipal services.

While acknowledging that Tuktoyaktuk faces more severe erosion and relocation pressures, Deshmukh said smaller Arctic communities also need support before disasters escalate.

“If a similar situation occurs, we would like to have some funding,” he said.

“There are private owners, there are hamlet buildings. Many times, roof blown away. … We need some funding, we need some money.”