Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, every evacuation story is different. Residents had access to different levels of public or personal support, and sometimes it came down to where they stood in a line. The government supplied air charters for residents to leave and return to the territory and, because of this, will not reimburse evacuation airfare costs. But the finer details of accessing those flights matter.
Yellowknife's evacuation day buzzed with evacuation rumors that Regular MLAs were never able to verify. By 9 a.m., multiple NGOs were told to move their clients because of the impending evacuation order. By 9:30, residents were told by connected East Coast friends, quote, "you're being evacuated at seven, hit the road now", end quote. By 10, people in with the right meetings knew and told friends. By noon, multiple families hit the road, and some got on flights. By 2, banks and city facilities had closed. This is all before the 7:30 p.m. press conference announcing the evacuation order. My point, Mr. Speaker, is that multiple people knew before 7:30 and got out before discussions about government support.
During the press conference, the Premier asked residents who could get on a commercial flight and leave town to do so. And they did.
On Thursday, August 17th, a kilometrelong line for evacuation flights formed at Sir John Franklin High School. Three evacuation flights left that day. Many people waited in that same line through the night to save their spot. Some were elders, many were children, some with health conditions, and some pregnant. People who could opted instead for the certainty of commercial flights.
Mr. Speaker, people didn't pay for flights because they could afford it. On the heels of watching Hay River drive through literal flames to get to safety and while expecting the fires to reach Yellowknife by weekend, they paid for flights out of fear they couldn't afford not to.
Mr. Speaker, this government also provided reentry flights. Some residents are still waiting to hear what flight they're on. They watched as multiple flights left half empty while they were desperate to get on, but they couldn't afford to wait. They had businesses to open, employers needed them, and they had a role to fill in our community. Some needed safety of home, or simply couldn't afford to be away any longer. There's so many stories and nuances as to why evacuation flights didn't work for everyone. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.
Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to my colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of serving many newcomer Canadians whose immigration status relies on their employment. Without employment, they risk deportation. Some support essential services and many received undue pressure from employers to get home now. Like many, they needed those empty seats. Another was a teen moved from a safe hotel to an unsafe one. She was alone in Edmonton while her older siblings returned to postsecondary. Getting on that flight was a massive safety concern for her. Mr. Speaker, we eventually showed up and waited until they put her on a flight.
The government's insistence on hand holding all residents, rather than supporting those who actually needed it, meant that they did not have the capacity to serve Northerners equitably. Many things went right in this evacuation, but others did not work. This is an opportunity for this government to acknowledge that by reimbursing airfare costs of residents who worked to support the government's evacuation orders and then tried but could not be served by the GNWT's reentry flights. Mr. Speaker, it is clear not every evacuation support system was built the same. Unfortunately, for some it came down to where they stood in a line. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Members' statements. Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
