Terry Halifax
Northern News Services
Hay River (Feb 26/01) - It's the little things that make Hay River a great place, according to Mayor Duncan McNeill.
The mayor believes those little things recently helped Hay River attract a new doctor.
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The town on the southwest shore of Great Slave Lake is far removed from diamonds, gold, oil and natural gas, but its 3,600 residents like to think it as "the hub."
"With rail, highway, air and water transportation here, we are the hub," McNeill declared. He should know, he's lived here for 30 years, first working with Pacific Western Airlines, then owning the Imperial Oil bulk fuel franchise and now selling life insurance.
Named for the river that runs into Great Slave Lake, Hay River was a Slavey settlement in 1893 when the Anglican Church arrived, followed soon after by Catholic missionaries.
A road was pushed through in 1939 to bring supplies to the Yellowknife gold mines. The RCMP established a permanent post in 1947 and a year later, the Mackenzie Highway opened. A rail line arrived in 1964.
McNeill sees Hay River as a probable supply base should a pipeline be built through the Mackenzie Valley and also well-situated to benefit from hydro electric developments.
Deputy Premier Jane Groenewegen, MLA for Hay River South, has called the town home since she was 17. She would like to give the town a nudge with a new government program aimed at increasing the number of home-grown, skilled tradespersons in the territory.
Fort Smith is now the territorial centre for apprenticeship training, but Groenewegen feels that Hay River would also be ideal.
"Hay River not only has the capacity for teaching theory in classroom; we have a concentration of people involved with trades who have shop facilities," she said.
Elected to her second term as MLA in 1999, Groenewegen believes Hay River would also be an excellent depot should the government place deposit fees on containers and make recycling attractive to communities farther North.
"Right now there's no incentive for communities down the Mackenzie to think about putting their stuff together and maybe back-hauling it on barges," she suggested.
Groenewegen said Hay River's location makes it a natural transportation hub, but its real strength is economic diversity.
"Individually, all these things may not have huge potential, but collectively they all have an impact," she said.
The town is home port for Great Slave Lake's commercial fishing fleet and the centre for the territory's small, but determined agriculture sector.
Groenewegen is working with Hay River North MLA Paul Delorey to help the municipal council frame a policy on agriculture.
Delorey has also worked on issues for disabled persons and seniors and wants to give the fishing industry a boost.
"The fishermen seem to always be having a rough time," said Delorey. "Every time they get something going, something always gets in their way.
"The fishing is good now, but they have these huge increased costs in fuel. I'm trying to make sure that the fishermen get as much attention as the trappers do."
While Hay River may not benefit directly from the non-renewable resource boom, the mayor says there are spin-offs that will provide a good economic future.
McNeill said the stable, sure growth of Hay River has provided all the amenities that make it a nice place to live.
"We have all the things you need; it's a good place to be economically, sports facilities here are second-to-none in the Northwest Territories," he said, and delivered his punch line:
"It's safe -- a good place to raise children and families. What more could you want?"
