Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I am sure you’re aware, as is everyone else in the territory based on how my inbox and messages are blowing up , ECE and the City of Yellowknife have announced their intent to consider the parcel of land locally known as Tin Can Hill as the site of the futureproposed campus of the polytechnic university.
Based on the emails and the posts I am seeing online, residents appear to bewildered to hear that once again their beloved Tin Can Hill is being considered for development. In fact, in one email to the city I was cc’d on, the author provided a long list of unsuccessful projects previously considered that had all been shot down by residents' want to save one of the few dogfriendly urban green spaces in town. Some residents use the scenic trails in my riding as much as twice a day, five to seven days a week.
One comment from social media sums it up perfectly: "Tin Can Hill is a treasured recreational area. It’s not compatible with a campus, parking, student residence, and the traffic congestion that comes with this facility. Construction will be destructive, subjecting residents to blasting and removal of treasured green space. It’ll ruin the area for dog walkers, hikers, runners, cyclists, and tourists. Many residents have voiced concerns and feel that the city needs to stop allowing development pitches to be made for this space."
Since taking office, I’ve heard concerns about traffic through the residential areas adjacent Tin Can Hill. With the construction of a campus in this area, Copper Sky Apartments will likely become a thoroughfare. And affordable housing in the area will become nonexistent as southern students take away our already limited vacancies. Gentrification will force our longterm and Indigenous residents from their apartments they currently call home.
Mr. Speaker, I’m not against the construction of the university in my riding. However, I’m concerned about the silo in which this work has been carried out. Clearly, residents have a lot to say on the future of Tin Can Hill. And I have to ask, like I do about my own role as an MLA, why weren’t we asked? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Members' statements. Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
