Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to rise in regard to the NWT Power Corporation's response to the pandemic. My riding of Nunakput, Sachs Harbour, Paulatuk, Ulukhaktok, and Tuktoyaktuk, are the most coastal communities in our territory and have little or no industry, no economy. Our people in Nunakput were struggling to make ends meet before this pandemic hit, Mr. Speaker.

Now, things are going even harder. We are still in the early days, and we are still in the pandemic. We are emerging from our lockdown of this pandemic. We are faced with a potential second wave of COVID-19 this fall...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I have questions for the Minister of Infrastructure. I would like the Minister to assure that everything is going as planned for the MTS shipping season, the 2020 shipping season, without any delays. Yes or no? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

For the cargo acceptance dates, are those finalized at this time on the website, just to make sure that the people have proper notification in regards to ordering their food and their trucks or building materials for the community? Also, with our government purchasing bulk fuel from Edmonton rack price because the prices up there, they only change once a year when the barge comes in. Right now, at the pumps here, 97 cents. Back home, it's $1.51 and it only gets higher, so to try and get cheaper fuel into the communities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to bring up the MTS sea lift for Nunakput for the 2020 season.

Mr. Speaker, in this House before, I brought up that the sea lift for Nunakput is a vital lifeline in remote coastal communities in my riding. The sea lift gives families the annual chance for lower cost of food, fuel, and building materials shipped into our communities, and also vehicles and snowmobiles. It's more cost effective shipping by sea lift than by air. This is even more important, Mr. Speaker, with the economic impact of COVID-19.

In 2016, Northern Transportation Company Limited...

Could I ask the Minister to have a commitment from her in regards to advise us if there's any delays or anything with MTS for the outlying communities, just to make sure that the department stays on top of it? They are our lifeline in our small communities that I represent, and we have to make sure that any potential problems be rectified as soon as possible. Just a commitment from the Minister and her department?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I stand up, and I would like to say condolences to some of members of my community of Tuktoyaktuk. We lost a great leader, Eddie Dillon, community corporation chair, longest standing mayor of Tuktoyaktuk, and a big asset to the Inuvialuit Final Agreement. He sat on so many boards, and the Tuktoyaktuk community corporation chair. At his passing, I would like to give condolences to his brothers, Billy, Wayne, Floyd, and his sister Coreen (ph); his children, Sara (ph), Terry-Lee (ph), Tessa (ph), Tia (ph), and his son William. Thoughts and prayers are with you.

Mr...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, with staffing, we have 33 communities, and not all communities have nursing stations. We have nursing stations, but no staff, such as Tsiigehtchic. For the next three months, are we going to be providing a nurse in Tsiigehtchic, and making sure that all of our nursing stations are properly complemented with nursing staff? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to make sure that the communities across the territory, not only my riding, have portable health breathing equipment for them in regard to if anybody does get COVID-19, making sure our elders and that are properly cared for. I know that they're working hard. Our frontline staff are working hard, and just to make sure that equipment is in the community prior. Like I always say, it's better to be proactive than reactive.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The payment plans, I guess, for all our riding of Nunakput would have to go through Inuvik because we don't have any Power Corporation offices and that would be basically for the whole Delta. Would the Minister provide numbers for the people for our ridings of the whole Beaufort Delta in regard to if they're in arrears with the power corporation, to make sure that his staff know in Inuvik that the payment plan will be signed, and they don't have to worry about it, so the limiters will be not put on? That's the worst thing that we need, because it's still cold weather...

I want to thank the Minister for that. In regard to the power limiters, no. Power limiters in our communities right now through this COVID-19 state of emergency in regard to our communities. Would the Minister commit today that we shut down all power limiters until we get through to May/June for our residents so they don't have to worry about it?