FACT FILE
More dollars for infrastructure: Canada-NWT Infrastructure Works Program
Arctic Bay	Renovation of Youth Friendship Centre.
Broughton Island	Renovate a building and install above ground swimming pool.
Fort McPherson	Ground work and site preparation for a community curling rink.
Trout Lake	Renovate the Transient Centre and build a small engine repair garage.
Umingmaktok	Renovate a building to use as a community snowmobile garage and carving shop. Upgrade the Hunters and Trappers Association office and construct emergency shelters for hunters and trappers.

by Jeff Colbourne
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 17/97) - Government capital spending may be down for 1997, but communities across the NWT are enjoying a flurry of new construction projects this year.

"This is our biggest year yet," said Bob Cahill, manager of the Gjoa Haven Development Corporation.

The corporation, working under a joint venture with Ninety North Construction, has won three major projects.

They are building a new RCMP detachment, additions are being done on the school and for 1998 construction is continuing on a new health care centre.

Cahill said the work has put around $700,000 into the local economy this fiscal year alone.

In Norman Wells, Flint Construction Northern Ltd. is also citing a number of construction projects going on.

"It's been very busy, extremely busy," said Gary Lane, operations centre manager for the firm.

For Flint, which has a labor force of 66 per cent aboriginal or Northerners, person-hours are up considerably.

Last year 175,000 hours were put in by the end of the season. As of last week Flint had already reached 200,000 hours with two months left in the year.

Most of Flint's work stems from contracts with Imperial Oil Resources.

Flint has been involved in the demolition of the old refinery and worked on a drilling program and at other construction projects in the field. "I'm quite proud of what we've accomplished this year," said Lane.

PCL Construction Northern Ltd., a key player in arctic construction, is also involved in a number of projects.

They just completed the accommodations building for BHP at the Ekati mine site and are still working on the Aurora College project at Northern United Place in Yellowknife.

For next year, they have been hired to build Resolute Bay's new airport terminal.

"Construction spending is actually down this year but we're quite excited about next year," said Ken Szarkowicz, Manager of PCL.

PCL is also continuing to follow Diavik's progress to hopefully pick up a few projects when the NWT's second diamond mine begins to take shape.

Building Nunavut

As of Nov. 4, the Nunavut Construction Corporation reports five construction sites in Nunavut.

"Construction this year was a rush job but now they're hot and heavy," said Tagak Curley, president of the corporation.

NCC will spend an estimated $20 million this year on construction, capitalizing on a majority of local labor and sub-contractors to do the work.

NCC currently employs 125 people, 106 of whom are land claim beneficiaries. Twenty-four people have been enrolled in the apprenticeship program.

This year, in Iqaluit, construction workers are building 20 housing units. NCC has also begun work on sites for office buildings in Iqaluit.

Arviat is getting 13 housing units with office building work slated for 1998.

In Cape Dorset, phase one of construction has began on eight housing units. Office construction is to begin in 1998.

Igloolik is getting 12 housing units and offices in 1998, and Kugluktuk's construction includes 13 housing units with office construction beginning next year.

Curley said the construction of housing units and office space will begin next year in the other six communities named under FootPrint II's decentralized government model.

"Next year we should be able to do more," he said.

Is it a territorial construction boom or not?

The NWT Construction Association says it depends on where you go.

The association found in a survey of capital spending that where dollars go varies from community to community. One community may be reporting a construction boom while a nearby community reports nothing.

"Some communities are benefiting more than others," said Richard Bushey, executive director of the association. "There's no rhyme or reason for this government spending. It's not based on need that's for sure."

For instance, Rankin Inlet gets a projected $20 million in assigned capital for 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1997-98, while Baker Lake gets a projected $5 million -- based on government's main estimates.

"All the spending has to do with political patronage rather than long-term need," Bushey said.

According to the survey, spending for capital projects have plummeted over the last few years.

"This drop in new construction over the last six years, at a rate of some $50 to $60 million annually has resulted in fewer projets being built, less jobs being created and more construction companies going out of business," said Bushey.

The association estimates that there will be over 900 jobs lost in the Northern construction industry this year because of government cutbacks.

This at a time when communities are claiming overcrowding in schools and housing shortages, Bushey added.