Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. In line with my Member's statement, I worked with the Minister responsible for ECE, Minister Archie, and ENR Minister Thompson, and I want to thank them for all the information they gave me. So far, I am going back to the Taltson. From my understanding then, BC is denying responsibility, and that is fine. I was given a lot of raw data, and it could be interpreted a lot of different ways. My question now is for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. Can he give us an update on what, if any, preliminary findings are on the cause of the high water levels? Marsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I would like to thank the Member for the question. He has been doing his due diligence. He has been phoning me throughout as this has been coming out there. Again, I thank him for that. I know he is very passionate about it, and he is working for his residents.
ENR has received data both from Water Survey of Canada and NWT Power Corporation, and we are assessing the situation. The Taltson River has experienced high water levels since the summer. High snowfall and rainfall, including two very large rainfall events in mid and late August 2020, have caused the high water levels. Available data on the Tazin and the Abitau Rivers, which flow to the Tazin Lake, indicates a very large flow event in mid to late August 2020 with slow recession. Water levels in the Tazin Lake have been high enough to cause flow over the existing weir since July 2019, which is extremely rare.
This has increased the area flow out to the Taltson River by about 20 percent. ENR issued a public service announcement on November 19, 2020, because of the high water and possibility of unusual freezing this winter and the fall. ENR has received data from NTPC and has confirmed that the facility has been in compliance with their water licence, including over summer and fall of 2020. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you for the response from the Minister. With that information, I will likely have some more questions in the form of a written question later on. I guess for my next question: Can the department provide scientific data from a neutral third party to provide an assessment of the overflow and flooding? Because I think it's important that we get information not just from a GNWT source but from an outside source to have a more unbiased look at what is happening.
The GNWT uses data from the hydrometric gauges operated by Water Survey of Canada. The Water Survey of Canada hydrometric stations are part of the national network of stations that have been operating following standardization methodology over their 100 years. Gauges in the Taltson River basin have been operating since 1962. ENR assessment includes an analysis of Water Survey of Canada data and data provided by NTPC.
Again, probably some more questions will be coming in the form of a written statement for those responses. I thank you for those responses. I am going to switch gears a little bit here. I want to think about some of the land users, the hunters and trappers in the area. Some of the images that we have seen in the media with the ice in the cabins, that is really impactful. Again, my heart goes out to them. I want to see if I can get a commitment from the Minister. Can the Minister report back to the House here with timelines on the loss of wildlife, i.e., beavers and muskrats and the lot, in the area?
Officials from ENR have done a field assessment of the flooding and have confirmed that there is some impact on the beavers, martens, and their habitats. Loss of beavers and martens due to flooding occurs periodically, and it's a natural part of the ecosystem. This will release nutrients into the environment and provide a source of food for scavengers, including insects, fish, birds, and other mammals. It is not possible to get an accurate count of the number of muskrats and beavers affected, but this event is not expected to have a large or long-term impact on their population. As such, ENR is not planning any further assessment of the impact on the beavers and martens at this time.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. That's interesting. You're not going to hear the last of that from me, so I'm going to be probing a little more on that. My last question, and this is probably the most important. I had mentioned before, hunting and trapping 30 or 40 years ago helped to put food on tables for a lot of my constituents and a lot of people around the North. Historically, it used to be. Now, it supplements a lot of income, and there is still a loss of income here that happened as a result of this event. My last question is: Can the Minister advise on what financial supports are available for the impacted hunters and trappers? Specifically, I'm looking for relief for lost income, lost or damaged equipment, and damaged cabins. Marsi cho.
I can guarantee the Member will be knocking on my door, asking me more questions, so I greatly appreciate that as we try to educate each other and the public. ENR's hunters and trappers disaster compensation program can assist the traditional harvesters who suffer losses or damage to their equipment or assets because of natural disasters, including floods. The program is available to the NWT harvesters who possess a general hunting license and/or are a land claim beneficiary actively engaged in renewable resource harvesting activities and whose harvesting provides at least 25 percent of their gross annual income. ENR staff have been working directly with impacted trappers on accessing financial support presently. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
