Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier I spoke about the shoreline erosion in the community of Tuktoyaktuk, and my questions are for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Mr. Speaker, my question is: what is the department doing to help the community of Tuktoyaktuk address its longstanding shoreline erosion challenges? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs submitted a proposal to the federal and national disaster mitigation program. I'm pleased to report that we have been just recently approved for the amount of $250,000 through this program to complete a disaster mitigation plan for Tuktoyaktuk. The hamlet is also contributing $70,000 towards this project.
The mitigation plan will lessen the impact of future disasters resulting from intense wave action and severe storm surges. The plan will also guide the development and protection of critical infrastructure and improve planning and emergency preparedness and flood response. Both the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and the hamlet council are supportive of this work, and we're pleased to be able to complete this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, my second question to the Minister is: when will work be completed, and how will it involve community leadership and residents?
Work will begin right away, in the fall of 2016. We're assuming that the project will take approximately 16 months to complete. Much of the work will occur during the summer of 2017. In addition to community visits, the project will involve engagement, consultation, and collaboration with community leadership and residents. We also recognize that traditional knowledge is a really important part of understanding flood risk and the damage that has occurred over the years. As such, this traditional knowledge will be incorporated into the research. We'll also be sharing the report with the federal Minister of Infrastructure and with the Minister of the Environment.
Mr. Speaker, my third question to the Minister is: given the effort is aimed at completing a planning study only, what can be done beyond this project to actually protect the shoreline and residents in the future?
The Government of the Northwest Territories takes the climate change and the shoreline erosion very seriously, so we have seriously invested time and energy into lobbying the federal government.
Once the mitigation options are identified through the plan, the hamlet may also submit future funding proposals through this program to help fund mitigation projects, such as potentially relocating structures to safer areas, diversions, and flood proofing. We're also going to continue working closely with the hamlet to identify any options and opportunities to action the recommendations in the plan. Of course, we recognize that good community planning will be necessary to ensure success in this project, so the hamlet is currently taking steps in this area through their review of a community plan.
Once again, the Government of the Northwest Territories takes this issue very seriously, and we're looking for all funding and options to actually implement the plan once developed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for that response, very detailed. Mr. Speaker, my final question for the Minister is: will funding be available in the future to complete mitigation projects? Quyanainni, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At the moment, the federal government has made funding available for only five years. However, there remains a great interest amongst the provinces and territories and, I believe, the federal government to address the climate change issues that we're experiencing.
Therefore, MACA will continue to advocate for disaster mitigation funding through its role at the federalprovincialterritorial tables. As before, MACA will continue to work with the community to prepare any proposal that they wish to advance. However, there are no guarantees at this time that approval will be received. The program is entirely meritbased, and approval depends largely on where the greatest cost savings might be achieved from future flood events.
The hamlet currently has the ability, also, to allocate a portion or all of their community public infrastructure dollars yearly to mitigation projects to support the erosion issue that is impacting this community. We do recognize that the community of Tuktoyaktuk is in serious condition, and we are doing our best to try to support them in mitigating this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
