Highway cash thrills NWT leaders but they say budget gaps remain

Ottawa’s commitment to fully fund the Mackenzie Valley Highway is eliciting excitement from many NWT leaders, though some argue the territory has other, equally deserving priorities that were overlooked.

“Honestly, wow,” said Sherry Hodgson, president of the Norman Wells-based Tłegǫ́hłı̨ Got’ı̨nę Government. Her community will be served by the Mackenzie Valley Highway once it is complete.

She feels excited and hopeful for people in the Sahtu region.  “Our region has pleaded a long time for this kind of commitment,” Hodgson said. 

“I can’t wait till the highway is built so I can drive it.”

At the same time, Hodgson said she wants to understand why the budget failed to include some other priorities like help for northern education.

Similarly, Premier RJ Simpson and deputy premier Caroline Wawzonek were quick to praise the “historic” $3.1 billion and additional support for the Mackenzie Valley Highway, but noted several key asks were missing from the budget, like a dedicated northern mineral exploration tax credit and a solution to address the education funding gap left by changes to Jordan’s Principle.

Wawzonek said she had “very mixed, extreme emotions” about the budget in an interview with Cabin Radio. She is concerned about the extent to which the federal government’s one-time top-up to the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit will help northerners, and has asked her department to investigate that question.

On education funding, NWT MP and minister of Crown-Indigenous relations Rebecca Alty said discussions on Jordan’s Principle will continue between territorial education minister Caitlin Cleveland and federal Indigenous services minister Mandy Gull-Masty.

“But the territorial formula financing remains an area that is up for renewal, and so I think that’s an important area to focus on,” Alty told Cabin Radio. That financing is the name for the annual no-strings-attached cash transfer from Ottawa to the NWT, which some territorial politicians have suggested could be a route for the federal government to make up for past changes that removed Jordan’s Principle funding.

Inuvik Mayor Peter Clarkson said defence and the highway funding were the biggest budget items that caught his attention. Inuvik and Yellowknife are expecting upgrades to their military operations worth billions of dollars. A tender for the Inuvik side of that work was supposed to be out in June, Clarkson said, but he now expects it by the end of November.

“In order to have Arctic security, we need to have sustainable communities in the Arctic where people can find work, where people can raise their families,” Clarkson said.

He said the highway will reduce the length of the supply chain and boost tourism and the local economy.

“We’ve got lots of capacity for road construction. Local companies built the Inuvik-Tuk Highway, so those same companies will definitely be able to work on the north end of the Mackenzie Valley Highway,” Clarkson said. “We’ve got lots of equipment operators in all the communities, so that should be good employment.”

‘These projects bring more people’

Dene National Chief George Mackenzie welcomed many of the budget commitments, including the highway funding, renewed funding for the federal Jordan’s Principle and Non-Insured Health Benefits programs, and support for First Nations taking back control of child welfare.

This year’s budget does more for First Nations than last year’s, when “a lot of First Nation programs were left hanging,” Mackenzie said, adding that this year’s budget renews some programs for five or 10 years, offering stability.

The budget proposes $32 billion over 10 years to repair, replace and build First Nations infrastructure – including houses, schools, roads and bridges – but Mackenzie said much of this funding is for reserves, which leaves out most NWT communities.

“That’s a big concern for us,” he said at a press conference on Friday morning.

Mackenzie also emphasized the need for Indigenous policing programs before major projects like the Mackenzie Valley Highway get under way. 

“This budget is about building the Mackenzie Highway, a northern corridor for mines, the Taltson Hydro expansion, all of them on Dene land, and we are to be at the table right from the beginning to the finish of these major projects,” he said.

“We’re not against development. Our people want good jobs, contracts, and a fair share of the benefits. But these projects bring more people into our communities, more strain on family and community safety, and more pressure on water, land, and wildlife.”

Every major project should come with funding to support community readiness, Mackenzie emphasized, including mental health and addiction support, education and jobs training, and capacity building for government and local businesses.

He also wants federal help for community-led public safety initiatives, water monitoring, environmental protection and ownership opportunities.

The need to prepare for the highway project came up in the territorial legislature on Friday.

“The start date is actually 20 months from now, so we have a lot of work to do,” said Sahtu MLA Danny McNeely. 

“My focus with the leadership will be on readiness, getting our young people ready, getting the training plans, getting the resources to fund that plan.”

He said the Legislative Assembly and cabinet should be proud of this achievement, following years of lobbying for the Mackenzie Valley Highway project in collaboration with Indigenous governments.

Replacement for Inuit Child First Initiative

The budget got a mixed reaction from Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed.

On one hand, Obed praised an allotment of $575 million over five years to create a permanent Inuit-specific replacement for the Inuit Child First Initiative called Pirutsiagutiit. ITK had been pushing for this and the federal funding commitment nearly matched the $600 million it had requested.

However, the budget failed to reference Inuit in several key areas, ITK’s budget day press release noted.

For example, ITK stated, a housing and homelessness strategy did not include how to achieve those aims in Inuit Nunangat, the one-time 50-percent top-up to the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit did not acknowledge the specific needs and cost of living in Inuit Nunangat, and tens of billions of dollars committed to First Nations infrastructure and housing did not reference housing for Inuit.

“Aside from the welcome funding for Pirutsiagutiit, the broader sustainability of our communities is not reflected in this budget,” Obed was quoted as saying.

“It makes significant investments in projects but building projects is not enough. The lack of investment in building healthy Inuit communities is a risk to this country.”

ITK said the budget also failed to address inefficiencies with the Nutrition North program, which it says has not been effective in improving food security in Inuit Nunangat.

Yellowknife’s new mayor, Melissa Syer, said she is still digesting the 500-plus-page budget document, but said she has an eye on some of the federal housing funding announcements. 

The federal budget also proposes extending the Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit to 2040 and would expand it to qualifying high-voltage transmission lines within the territories, including lines built to operate at 69 kilovolts or higher.

Wawzonek said this measure could help support investments needed in the NWT, including work on the Taltson hydro expansion. 

Cabin Radio contacted Pehdzéh Kı̨ First Nation Chief Jamie Moses for comment but did not receive a response before publication.