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'It's certainly not neighbourly' Chief and mayor not impressed with Hay River's deadline to cut services
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, September 23, 2013
K'atlodeeche/Hay River Reserve
Chief Roy Fabian on the Hay River Reserve is not impressed with the Town of Hay River's recent pronouncement that it is giving the territorial government 180 days to change the funding formula for the municipality.
If that doesn't happen, the town says it will pull services from surrounding communities, including water, sewage treatment, fire protection, and ambulance service.
"It's certainly not neighbourly," said Fabian.
On Sept. 6, the mayor and town council of Hay River sent a letter to the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) setting the deadline.
The Hay River Reserve receives a number of services from the town - water, and fire and ambulance service - and also uses the sewage lagoon and landfill in Hay River.
"I'm not sure how all this stuff is going to impact us," said Fabian, referring to the possibility the town may follow through on its threat.
The chief said his understanding from MACA is that the Town of Hay River receives some funding to service the Hay River Reserve, Enterprise and Kakisa. He said K'atlodeeche First Nation (KFN) buys water from the town, which is supplied through a pipeline under the Hay River. Once on the reserve, the water is delivered to residents by a contractor working for KFN.
The chief is also not sure if the town intends to block access to its landfill and lagoon.
KFN has a fire truck, but in most cases, the Hay River Fire Department is called because "they got better equipment than we do," Fabian said.
The uncertainty regarding the services is prompting KFN to look at setting up its own water treatment plant, he said.
"Because we're fully dependent on Hay River for that and we are paying a significant amount for the water," said Fabian, adding prior to 2010, KFN was paying $40,000 to the Town of Hay River for water. As of 2010, that figure has increased to $136,000.
"Are they going to throw that money to the wind?" he asked.
"We are going to do a feasibility study on taking a look at providing our own water treatment plant and we're also going to take a look at our own sewage lagoon or some kind of a sewage disposal area, and also we're probably going to take a look at a new landfill," said Fabian.
Mayor Mike St. Amour of Enterprise said he wasn't surprised by the deadline from the Town of Hay River.
"They've been talking about that for a while and ways to get the GNWT to listen to them, but putting other communities at risk, I don't think is the right way to do it," he said, adding the town should have called representatives of Enterprise, the Hay River Reserve and Kakisa to discuss the issue.
"All I got was a 10-minute call (from Hay River Mayor Andrew Cassidy) prior to the press release, and that was it," he said.
St. Amour believes the GNWT would have been more likely to listen to Hay River's concerns if it had sought to create a united front with the other communities.
He said he doesn't feel the issue is creating divisions between Hay River and the other communities.
"They're going to do what they have to do and so are we to protect our communities," he said.
Enterprise, which has its own landfill, receives some fire coverage from Hay River, although the hamlet has its own fire department,
and its water comes from Hay River.
St. Amour is not concerned the water service will be interrupted, explaining the hamlet has a three-year contract with a Hay River company to supply water and it's up to that supplier to determine where the water comes from.
"There won't be any interruption. There are a couple of other water treatment plants in the area," the mayor said, mentioning Fort Providence, Fort Resolution and Fort Smith.
As for fire protection, St. Amour said Hay River has a bylaw containing callout rates for its fire department and ambulance, arguing the town's own legislation would require it to offer service to nearby communities.
Despite all the possible problems the Hay River ultimatum might create, the Enterprise mayor said he believes calmer heads will prevail.
The Town of Hay River is arguing it is the only community in the NWT to not see its funding levels from MACA return to pre-2010 levels, and that, while other municipalities see an increase in support, Hay River's allotment remains the same. Those concerns centre on the fact that the GNWT pulled $300,000 from the town's block funding in 2011 without notice.
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