Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Friday, March 23, 2007

FORT SIMPSON - The village of Fort Simpson will be receiving more funding thanks to a new deal for NWT community governments created by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Sheila Bassi-Kellett, assistant deputy minister with the department, presented some of the benefits of the deal to the village council on March 19.

"It's going to change for the better for the village," said Bassi-Kellett.

Starting April 1, the village will receive $1.3 million for operations and maintenance costs, a nearly $300,000 increase from last year. There will also be a large increase in the water and sewage services subsidy policy. The village will receive $488,720, up from an average of $166,504 over the past eight years.

The village will also be receiving $761,000 in capital formula funding. This funding hasn't been given to tax-based communities before.

The new deal will also put the village on equal footing with hamlets. There is no longer a distinction between funding for tax-based and non-tax-based communities, said Bassi-Kellett.

The increased funding will be welcomed, said Mayor Duncan Canvin.

"I'm glad to hear some funding disputes have been resolved," Canvin said.

A busy department

A good working relationship with village council is bolstering the spirits of the Fort Simpson volunteer fire department, according to fire chief Pat Rowe.

As a result of the council keeping the department informed, the firefighters are enjoying the best working relationship with any council in his more than 20 years with the department, said Rowe. The department is now up to 18 dedicated members, he said.

Rowe was at the council meeting to provide an update on department services.

In 2006, the department responded to 14 fires, made 152 ambulance calls, had 24 regular training sessions, conducted 12 public visits and attended numerous false alarms. The average number of fires in a year is 15 with 185 ambulance calls, said Rowe.

So far this year there have been 38 ambulance calls, seven training sessions and seven fires. Many of the fires were in chimneys, said Rowe.

Airport exercise

Many organizations in the village will benefit from a planned emergency exercise to take place at the airport in the fall, according to representatives from the Department of Transportation. Three representatives made a presentation to council on the plans for the exercise. The event is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 15.

The exercise is a learning tool for organizations in the community to help identify areas that need improvement in emergency response, said Russ Head, a senior security and protective services officer. Areas of jurisdiction often need to be sorted out, he said. The exercise is important because Fort Simpson's airport is becoming busier, said Scott McIntosh, airport manager.

Cracking down on loose dogs

Council members voiced their continued support for stringent measures to deal with loose dogs after receiving numerous complaints and two letters concerning the problem.

"This is very serious and it has to be taken seriously," said Coun. Bob Hanna.

The by-law officer has been instructed to come in every day in the afternoons to deal with complaints, said Tom Matus, senior administrative officer.

Previously he was not working daily.

Some council members said further actions would be needed.

People will tie their dogs up to match the new hours the by-law officer works and let them out afterwards, said Coun. Tom Wilson.

"I don't like seeing dogs shot but I don't like people being attacked by dogs," said Wilson."I don't want us appearing on the news as a place where someone was mauled, killed by dogs."

Mayor Duncan Canvin said the village will get someone who can adequately enforce the bylaws, which may involve an extra person who is more willing to destroy dogs.

Dig a ditch

The village needs a plan for working on ditching, said Coun. Tom Wilson.

For a number of years the village has been discussing creating more ditches but every year the project seems to be stalled because of lack of workers, he said.

"I'm getting really tired of waiting for it," said Wilson. "We have some bad spots in town that really need attending to."

Ditches will be addressed this summer as part of a three-pronged project that is based on replacing water and sewer mains, said Tom Matus.

As the mains are replaced, chipsealing and ditching will also be looked at, Matus said.