Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the MACA minister, which is Municipal and Community Affairs, and it's related to my statement on the flood situation at K’atl’odeeche First Nations.
It is appreciated that MACA, Health and Social Services, and possibly other departments, were on top of the evacuations of the residents in finding accommodations and providing meals.
Can the Minister advise if this will be evacuation preparations for any future flooding in K’atl’odeeche First Nations, Hay River, and other communities? Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I answer that question, I'd like to thank the Member for his statement. It was bang on. The leadership in K’atl’odeeche, the Chief, did an amazing job. And also the Member, we had been in constant communication throughout this disaster.
In regards to the question, so each year the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs reaches out to the affected communities, or the ones we feel that are affected. We do have plans in place with them. They have their plans. And we look at it.
We also again, it's about working we have regional staff that reach out to the leadership and the staff there and making sure we deal with that there. So again, we also give guidance. If you seen the preparation and information we got out there, telling residents and what they had to do and to get prepared for it, what the communities had to do, and what we were preparing to do.
In regards to scenarios, we do have tabletop exercises that we're able to use and that. But in reality, until you actually go through this, you find out how good your plan is and that there is it's unfortunate, but I think that plans in both the communities of Hay River and K’atl’odeeche First Nations, they did a great job.
One of the things that we did this year after the last flood, we reached out and looked at the Disaster Assistance Policy, and then we updated it. We looked at our crossjurisdictional reviews to making sure that what we were able to do is we were all consistent across Canada as well as with the federal government.
The other thing is, is that we created five new ENO positions which will then be working with our superintendents and the leadership in the communities and the regions to do that.
We also have created three positions at headquarters to help with disasters, whether it's floods, fires, COVID, situations like that. So we are always in constant contact with the communities, working with them, and we will be doing an evaluation after we move forward on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And mahsi to the Minister for that answer.
Mr. Speaker, it is a daunting task for any community to monitor for the changes in river ice flow, ice jamming, melting snow, unknowns such as the perfect storm situation as was the case at the Fox Barns, Paradise Gardens, West Point First Nations, West Channel, Hay River, K’atl’odeeche First Nations, including the Old Village.
Can the Minister commit to being the lead department for monitoring, providing warning systems, and working with the communities for possible flood conditions at all known flood zones? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, MACA does connect with the flood risk communities throughout the risk season. We have those communications, and we have, you know, partnership working with them to address these things. We also have the NWT alert system in place.
In regards to wearing my other hat as ENR minister, we also published an NWT water monitoring bulletin on a regular basis throughout the flood season. We also make sure that the information's available to the leadership in the communities.
This approach, though, is again we have to all please understand, it's a team approach. And what I mean by that, it's about individuals, communities, governments, working together on this disaster. So we do have the lead function on it but we also rely on municipalities and as well as other government departments. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And mahsi to the Minister.
We all know that on the yearly basis, we're getting floods, whether it's in different communities but there's still a flood zone. Hay River has been impacted every year, and all I wanted was the Minister's department to be the lead to help all these communities who are financially strapped for resources to be the lead monitor. Because as I mentioned before, like KFN, it was about 10:30, 11 o'clock at night they sounded the siren. It was dark by then. You know, there should have been actions taken before that. And if MACA had stepped up to the plate to help the communities, maybe we wouldn't be in that situation.
Many of the evacuees from K’atl’odeeche First Nations and surrounding areas were elders and persons with physical disabilities who were provided emergency cots. Of course this was a last minute emergency and people were placed where there were available accommodations.
Can the Minister commit his staff to look at placing the elders and persons with physical disabilities in comfortable accommodations as part of flood mitigation efforts? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, before I answer the question, I need to clarify something.
Municipal and Community Affairs is working with the community handinhand. We were working with the communities before. Our regional staff are working with their staff in the and I am been in constant contact with the leadership and having that conversation of what we need to do, how we can work together, and that's the most important aspect about the communities lead, and we are there to support. We as the Government of Northwest Territories are all there to help.
In regards to the question the Member asked, yeah, we have a process. So when an individual, whether it's an elder with mobility issues or young families, they come in to the system, like into the evacuation centre, we evaluate, we assess it, and we see if the individuals cannot stay in the environment.
We were able to, again, work with the Health and Social Services. We have a process. We set it up. We look at it. And then we move people if we need toother accommodations. So, again, it's about part of our plan. We have it in place. Did we fix it from last year? Yes. But, again, it's about a living document, and we're going to be seeing what happened this year and how we can better improve it. So, again, I thank the Member for this. And yes, we are doing that. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi to the Minister for that. Mr. Speaker, I believe the departments are still tallying up costs related to the last year's flooding at Jean Marie River and Fort Simpson. We are aware the GNWT has footed the bill for new builds for Jean Marie River. K’atl’odeeche First Nations riverfront homes have been damaged by the flooding and quite possibly are uninhabitable.
Will the Minister commit to replacing the damaged homes on the K’atl’odeeche First Nations? Mahsi.
Again, thank you to the Member for the question. We are fairly early into the process. So again, we need to identify the level of damages for all the homes. Damage assessments are currently underway, and this information will be utilized to make decisions by the homeowners related to the next steps in the process.
I can tell the Member that our pathfinder was in the community of K’atl’odeeche on Wednesday, and they were going door to door with the staff there. So we are working on that. Once that is done, we will make sure they're registered. Then the assessors will be in there.
We have seven assessors in to look at the damage and that there. So the GNWT will coordinate flood recovery for the K’atl’odeeche Reserve, and the federal government through Indigenous relationships or Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, CIRNAC, and Indigenous Service Canada. So we've already reached out to the federal government, handinhand with the KFN, to make sure we were able to work with them because it is on a reserve and we need to respect that. It is government to government relationship, and we work with them on that. So we have reached out to that there.
Unfortunately, at this point in time, we have yet to have all the information on the Coverly report, but I can guarantee you that I will keep the Members from Hay River North, Hay River South, and Deh Cho, updated as well as committee on the process of it when we're moving forward, as well as the local leadership in the communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
