Yellowknife is home to a potential health and safety risk, Mr. Speaker.
Water and sewer infrastructure exists in one small corner of the city that is well beyond its shelf life and badly in need of repair. These pipes are more than 30 years old and a disaster waiting to happen. Northlands Trailer Park, Condominium Corporation No. 8., sits just outside downtown Yellowknife and provides low-cost and affordable housing to some 1,200 Yellowknife residents. Many are low-income earners or are on fixed incomes.
Because the trailer park is a condominium, it’s treated like a private homeowner. The costs of repairs to their infrastructure must be borne by the homeowners. Estimates of the costs to replace or update Northlands’ roads, water and sewer range from $10 million to $15 million. With about 275 condo members, that works out to a potential $50,000 per member.
These owners are facing a huge personal expense for basic infrastructure needs, and they have been struggling for years to find a fair and equitable solution. I believe that the cost should not be borne by this group alone. The federal government has infrastructure program funding that must be made available to these residents through the G.N.W.T. Nor is the G.N.W.T. blameless in either a moral or an ethical sense.
At the time the Condo Corp No. 8 was formed, the NWT . Condominium Act was very outdated and inadequate. It provided no protection to buyers from less-than-ethical sellers. The Condo Corp got stuck with degraded infrastructure and had no legal recourse with the seller. The city bears no responsibility for this parcel of land because the Condo Corp is treated like a private homeowner.
To the city’s credit, they have been assisting Northlands for several years. City funds have been spent in man-hours and seed money for studies, and the amount is considerable. Northlands’ owners are not looking for a handout, but they are looking for a helping hand.
We are the parent of a struggling child, in this case, and the G.N.W.T. can assist. We can facilitate some of the Building Canada Fund dollars for this project. We can provide funding for community emergency assistance. We can provide a low-interest loan to the Condo Corp.
Government assistance for this type of situation is not unprecedented. In previous years other N.W.T. communities have received funding for water and sewer emergency repairs.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
Unanimous consent granted.
This is an issue of public safety. A major sewer collapse will create both unsanitary and uninhabitable conditions in the trailer park. It’s not inconceivable that 1,200 people will be displaced from their homes with nowhere to go.
So when planning this year’s budget, consider the plight of the Northlands residents. Be the helping hand and get this infrastructure replacement going before it is too late.
