Clyde River council agrees to call state of emergency
Hamlet has had difficulty clearing snow after a series of blizzards and heavy equipment breaking down
A file photo of Clyde River. The hamlet’s council agreed to call a state of emergency to address the buildup of snow preventing essential services from running. (File photo)
Clyde River hamlet council agreed on Thursday night to call a state of emergency over a lack of fuel for snow-clearing vehicles during a harsh winter, chief administrative officer Jerry Natanine said.
He added that he is currently filling out the necessary documentation to make the state of emergency official.
Natanine said that by calling a state of emergency the hamlet will have faster access to diesel fuel or heavy equipment to help clear the mounds of snow in Clyde River.
The hamlet has experienced a series of blizzards over the past month and two of the community’s three snow-clearing vehicles are not working. As a result, snow is blocking roads and houses from receiving essential services like water delivery and sewage disposal.
Natanine said the hamlet is currently out of diesel, and having more of the fuel would help get the two out-of-commission snow-clearing vehicles running again.
Anyways… Where did all their diesel go? Did it just evaporate into thin air?
I would like to call upon Nunatsiaq News to follow up on the Clyde River diesel fuel situation and keep the territory informed on what situation would allow a community to run out of fuel.
A news article from a year prior, when Igloolik ran out of diesel just before the barge arrived suggested that homes were also being heated on high sulfur jet fuel instead of its regular fuel source. Is the same happening in Clyde River? Will the heaters see extra maintenance from being run on non-ideal fuel?
The previous article about Clyde suggested that the two other snow removal machines were damaged due to running on Jet Fuel. How long were the machines run on the jet fuel before they were damaged? Can they be repaired in Clyde River? Will the hamlet initiate any plans to mitigate this issue in the future?
Thank you.
Who has (not) been watching the essentials in Clyde River?
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You know, the food, the water, the fuel, the equipment, the health care service delivery capacity, airport operating capacity, etc.
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Looks like CGS was expecting the community to handle things, while the community was expecting CGS to handle things.
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Could it have something to do with CGS operating below 70% of capacity?
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What is the situation in each of the other communities? How many of them are in or near to being in a similar situation?
All Hamlets in Nunavut including PPD contractors (i.e. Co-op stores) have no control over how much diesel, fuel, gas is delivered to communities, only CGS does. GN should not increase the cost of fuel, gas because GN already bought it.