INUVIK - It's been 16 years, some longer than others.

Last year was a long one.

Premier Floyd Roland's affair with the legislative assembly's principal clerk of committees Patricia Russell was the talk of the territory, an inquiry labelled him in conflict of interest and his family life suffered.

Premier Floyd Roland was in his Inuvik office for a week ending on Dec. 7 hearing from his constituents. - Aaron Beswick/NNSL photo

"It was difficult having it all dragged out, having my family put to that level of public musings," said Roland. "For myself, it has taken a lot of the energy out of politics and I will have to look to whether I continue in the next election."

First elected in 1995 as MLA for Inuvik Boot Lake, Roland became premier in 2007 after serving many cabinet positions. By the time elections come around again in October 2011, Roland will have served the legislative assembly for 16 years - years he says have taken a toll and caused him to consider not running again.

"You've got to be in it for the right reasons; you've got to have that fire in your belly," he said.

Roland was in his constituency office last week, fighting a cold and accepting visitors. Inuvik Drum stopped by to put a few questions to the premier.

Inuvik Drum: Where do you stand on Inuvik Town Council's call for an independent audit of the NWT Power Corporation's operations in Inuvik?

Floyd Roland: "I had hoped to get together with the mayor while I was up here," said Roland, whose visit coincided with Mayor Denny Rogers being out of town. "I will speak to the new chair and the chief executive officer to get them to come up here, discuss with the town their concerns. We'll see where it goes from there."

ID: Many of the aboriginal groups vocally opposed your announcement of an agreement-in-principle on devolution negotiations with the federal government. After meeting with the leaders of these groups in Edmonton, there has been very little public discussion. What was decided in that meeting? Where do negotiations stand and do you expect to conclude them by the end of your term?

FR: "We met with them to hear their concerns and told them we were prepared to wait until the end of November for work to be completed on a protocol agreement," said Roland of the agreement which would state how the territorial and aboriginal governments would work together in devolution of power negotiations with the federal government. Roland said he expected to review a protocol agreement proposed by the aboriginal governments late last week. "We'll see what's presented to us."

Roland added that devolution negotiations with the federal government, which would hand province-like powers to the territory and consequent revenues from land and water resources would continue past the 2011 election.

"There will be forward movement before October 2011 but it will flow into the next government," said Roland. "It will be a minimum of two years if there are no hiccups, but it could be four years. We're just at the agreement-in-principle stage now. A final decision would have to be brought back to the assemblies and aboriginal governments."

ID: What's the status of the new K-12 school being built in Inuvik? Is it on budget, on schedule?

FR: "I haven't had any reports to tell me otherwise. We're on par with the south for facilities - the schools in Inuvik were due for replacement quite some time ago. This facility is designed for the best use of its heating system. When it is done it should be more practical for energy, school and community use."

ID: Among the territory's major infrastructure projects are the Deh Cho Bridge and the Taltson Hydro expansion. If the diamond mines are powered by hydro lines in several years, that will drastically reduce commercial trucking across the bridge because fuel tankers to the diamond mines make up a significant percentage of annual truck traffic. That means less money in tolls, which are being used to pay off the $182 million it will cost to construct the bridge. So where will that shortfall be made up? Will taxpayers wind up paying more for goods as a result of rising tolls on the decreasing traffic?

FR: "Any new power operation supplies power significantly cheaper and that affects the decision of companies on whether to begin new mining operations," said Roland. "Taltson will reduce greenhouse gases and won't totally eliminate fuel hauls."

Roland said that mines have "gone underground" and consequently require more concrete, which will be trucked in. Large trucks crossing the Deh Cho Bridge across the Mackenzie River, scheduled to be completed in November 2011, will pay tolls according to their tonnage. While passenger traffic crosses for free, tractor-trailer tolls are projected to pay off the bridge's price tag over some 30 years.

He said the proposed Gahcho Kue diamond mine is at a stage now where its owners, Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. and De Beers Canada Inc., are deciding whether to develop. That decision to go ahead with new mine would be made more feasible by cheaper power and would also result in more trucks crossing the Deh Cho Bridge.

"The bridge will be built; the steel is showing up," said Roland.

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