Thank you, Mr. Speaker. People in my riding are used to harsh weather but it seems that that are some still very difficult times like these last few days. Situation at Reindeer Point, seven kilometres outside of Tuk, still a part of Tuk, is still having a tough time. The power went out there February 27th and it took 24 hours to restore the power. The power line problem, once the lineman was there it only took an hour to repair. It had been broken in high winds of 90 kilometres. Twenty housing units froze up. Many have broken pipes. Once the tenants ran out of white gas for their primer stoves they had to move out. They had no heat, no power, no phones, and no Internet, and the winds are still blowing. All these people had to stay with relatives and friends. I’m proud to say that the people of Tuktoyaktuk are still taking care of each other as we always do. It’s still hard for the people to leave their homes.
Once the weather cleared, the kids still had to go to school. It’s hard to stay organized when your life is disrupted. Most of the families are now back at their homes but their lives are not back to normal. You either have heat and power or your pipes and pumps still have to be replaced. No water.
The housing crew is working on this but there’s a lot of work and patchwork to do. It’s a real hardship for the people. It’s especially hard when there are three private homeowners who have to pay for their own repairs. It’s ironic that Richard Cockney is one of those people. He’s a superintendent at the Tuk power plant. He kept working for the two or three days that the blizzard was going on. He really served his people of Tuk but he lost the furnace in his house at Reindeer Point; it froze up. I want to thank him again for his hard work. Private homeowners are facing expensive damages that they should get some help.
I told you the phone lines are still not working at Reindeer Point. This incident makes me wonder if we’re well prepared in our communities. This government and the services for big emergencies, how ready are we when a crisis comes? It seems when the power goes out and the damage is done, people are on their own.
I will have questions for the Premier at the appropriate time.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
