Members of the NWT legislative assembly have unanimously approved $75 million in additional funds to cover the costs to fight wildfires.
Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek described the sum as 鈥渟ubstantial.鈥�
The GNWT鈥檚 $178 million surplus announced in February wasn鈥檛 enough to cover all of the extraordinary expenses that have arisen.
鈥淭hat surplus is all but wiped out now,鈥� the finance minister said as the legislative assembly reconvened for an emergency sitting on Monday.
Low water levels have been putting pressure on the NWT Power Corporation, which has more difficulty generating cheaper hydro power, and the low water has also posed challenges for Marine Transportation Services in delivery supplies to communities along the Mackenzie River, Wawzonek stated.
鈥淲e have a litany of problems before us,鈥� she said, noting that $35 million as part of the territorial government鈥檚 supplementary reserve will also be depleted.
The base budget for the annual fire suppression budget under the Department of Environment and Climate Change is $21.8 million. Wawzonek expects the $75 million in additional funding should be enough, but could provide no guarantees and acknowledged that the figure was tabulated as of Aug. 22, several days earlier. Rocky Simpson, MLA for Hay River South, said he anticipates that Monday鈥檚 $75 million is 鈥渏ust the start鈥� of what will be needed.
A typical fire season would end in October but Wawzonek acknowledged that nothing about this year has been typical.
The costs under the extra funding break down as approximately $10 million per week, air tanker and helicopter support, moving crews around and fighting fires threatening communities.
鈥淭his is going to leave us in a huge hole,鈥� Frame Lake MLA Kevin O鈥橰eilly said of the territorial budget.
NWT Premier Caroline Cochrane met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the weekend and she revealed Monday that Trudeau made no firm commitment to provide any funding beyond what鈥檚 in the federal government鈥檚 disaster assistance program because he talked about ensuring fairness for all Canadian jurisdictions.
READ MORE: NWT premier: Trudeau made 鈥榮pecific commitments鈥� for better support
Wawzonek was asked what sort of costs NWT municipalities will ultimately have to bear. She responded that it鈥檚 too soon to determine that.
