GN declares state of emergency in Kinngait over water distribution
Electrical issue at pumphouse affecting distribution; residents urged to conserve water
The state of emergency declared in Kinngait over water distribution last week has been lifted, the Government of Nunavut announced Tuesday. (File photo)
The Government of Nunavut declared a state of emergency in Kinngait late Wednesday due to issues with water distribution in the community.
Community and Government Services Minister David Joanasie declared a 14-day state of emergency under Nunavut’s Emergency Measures Act, effective from Wednesday through May 30.
An electrical issue at the Kinngait water pumphouse is limiting the hamlet’s ability to distribute treated water to the community, Joanasie said.
Available reserve volumes have been depleted, posing a risk to both public health and community infrastructure.
“We are working with the hamlet to restore services and support the residents of Kinngait,” the minister said in the news release.
The declaration of a state of emergency was needed to “expedite the processes required to deploy necessary resources to respond to the issue in Kinngait,” community and government services spokesperson Hala Duale said in the release.
This will also give the GN additional authority to control and assign assets of government departments and public agencies under the Emergency Measures Act.
Residents of Kinngait are urged to conserve water and follow direction and advice issued from both the GN and the Hamlet of Kinngait, Duale said.
Oh ya, definitely ready for devolution. Got it all under control…
The state of the water plants in Nunavut should be a Territorial embarrassment. And the sad thing is that Cape Dorset’s water plant is not one of the worst. Nunavut needs to prioritize water and housing and forget about all the would be nice to haves until these issues are addressed.
In the 2022/23 GN Capital Budget, $124M was earmarked for spending in Iqaluit alone. Only $80M was allocated for all the rest of Nunavut (ie, the other 24 places human being live up here). So much for Decentralization.
It is clearly not only a problem of our elected leaders not being capable of prioritization between pressing issues like Elder care and water infrastructure (does it matter if our Elders are in a home if they have nothing to drink?).
Another big part of the problem is that our leaders rely so much on their Deputies, who firmly believe that the Nunavut border is somewhere past the end of the Iqaluit runway.
How else can you explain MLAs being elected from all over, going to Iqaluit, and then happily handing the bulk of the capital budget to just one place? I know our Premier is an Iqaluit MLA, but come on.
The main thing wrong with the Kinngait water plant is that it was found guilty of being NII “Not In Iqaluit”.
Thanks, Taxpaper. I think all of your points are valid. Sadly, they reflect only the tip of the iceberg of the incompetence and malfeasance rife at GN and NTI
I’ll betcha Iqaluit is the majority recipient of the capital expenditures in Nunavut, including housing. A lot of the municipalities in the Baffin region are starving for capital expenditure.
Oh my goodness…..Kinngait. Another one of NU’s economic hot spots.
They should make a road to their water source and pump directly from the lake during this emergency. At least they would have water to fight a fire if that were to ever happen.
Question? Is the Government going to fly bottled water into town for the next 14 days like they did to Iqaluit or are this citizens second class?