DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE
Balancing the need for business with care for the environment will be a top issue for the 18th Legislative Assembly to tackle, according to Deh Cho MLA candidate Michael Nadli.

Michael Nadli: Incumbent will be re-running for his Deh Cho seat in the upcoming election.

Nadli is the incumbent for his seat and faces challenges from three other candidates: Lyle Fabian, Greg Nyuli and Ron Bonnetrouge.

"The heart of the balance is, how do you compromise the need for economic development, business, prosperity and employment and at the same time the environment?" Nadli asked, citing fracking concerns as one example of the NWT trying to strike that balance.

"There are concerns about climate change and its effect on the environment," he said, referring to communities in southern Canada and the U.S. where fracking has taken place.

"We're seeing record-low water levels ... and of course fracking does use water. There have been incidences, unfortunately, with contamination of water (from fracking) and that's what people are scared to witness up here in the NWT."

With a 50-per-cent unemployment rate in the Deh Cho and pressing social issues, including alcohol and drug abuse, Nadli said the next government will need to work hard to find a solution.

One such solution in Fort Providence, he said, could be found in the biomass initiative and wood pellet mill, which he describes as a more sustainable source of economic development.

"The biomass initiative could replace fossil fuel, since the effluence of fuel goes into the sky, affects the ozone and contributes to climate change. I think there are ways of trying to change," he said.

Nadli declined to speak on infrastructure priorities for the Deh Cho riding, but said he sees a need for more engagement with the communities.

"You can't always get what you want. There needs to be planning and co-ordination with local leaders. An effective capital planning process could take three years, from the time you identify the need for a new facility or infrastructure. From there, work actually begins and there has to be a lot of intensive discussions locally," he said. "Here in the Deh Cho riding, we've been fortunate to have a few (infrastructure projects). Those initiatives at the local level help to bring employment to residents and at the same time spur and invigorate the local community."

He points to the example of cellular services being extended to smaller Deh Cho communities during his term as MLA. Those services were put in place after a community petition with hundreds of signatures was delivered to the government.

"I could have taken the long road (in the legislative assembly) but we wanted to bring to light the power of democracy," Nadli said.

"We wanted to give that sense (of democracy) to the people involved by creating a petition that the people were in a dark spot between Yellowknife and Hay River and this was for public safety purposes."

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