The GNWT Department of Infrastructure is conducting an independent review into the operations of its Marine Transportation Services (MTS) division, which delivers crucial freight to communities along the Mackenzie River and the Arctic Ocean coast.
“We expect to have a draft report ready by this summer that will outline the MTS governance options,” reads a statement from the department, which did not specify who has been tasked with the review.
This development comes after the NWT Association of Communities called for a review of MTS at its annual general meeting, which was hosted in Hay River from Feb. 29 to March 2.
The motion, brought forward by the Hamlet of Ulukhaktok, requests that a firm “experienced in the marine freight industry” investigate seven areas specifically:
-the suitability of vessels that are used for river and sea navigation
-scheduling
-the financial consequence to MTS when timely delivery of freight is not carried out
-communications to communities
-the marine experience and business acumen of senior management personnel
-the potential for contracting out to the private sector
-comparative analysis of using road transportation to Tuktoyaktuk via the Alaska and Dempster highways, and Highway 10
Ulukhaktok raised the motion due to the “snowball” effect caused by late or failed barge deliveries, according to Mayor Joshua Oliktoak.
“Our coastal communities really rely on MTS to bring in the barge with supplies and fuel and gas, the main reason being to keep costs down,” the mayor said. “Up here, if we miss the barge, or MTS doesn’t come in with the barge with all our groceries and fuel and gas, our jet fuel, our prices skyrocket. We can’t afford to pay as much as we are paying now.
“One year the barge didn’t make it into Ulukhaktok,” Oliktoak added. “It was something to do with the weather – high swells on the water and big winds. We missed the barge and that year we had very high prices for groceries, very high prices for gas.
“They brought in fuel and gas in bladders on the plane by air, and the prices were just crazy. We couldn’t afford it, and yet our membership had no choice but to buy it.”
This is not the first time Oliktoak has sought a review into MTS operations.
In October 2022, the mayor sent a letter to former Nunakput MLA Jackie Jacobson recommending a nearly identical investigation to be brought to the legislative assembly.
“They were having problems before the [expletive] hit the fan with water levels on the Mackenzie,” noted the community’s acting senior administrative officer Stephen Conway, who shared the 2022 letter with NNSL Media. “Proves prophetic, doesn’t it?”
Nothing came of the mayor’s 2022 request.
Oliktoak hopes a review will result in benefits for Ulukhaktok, as well as the other coastal communities of Nunakput, most notably the creation of a port in Tuktoyaktuk, which would allow freight to be more easily distributed across the region.
“Maybe a port would open up in Tuk,” the mayor said. “They have some sort of a base already set up there. It would really help out the coastal communities because then we’d have somewhere within our region, somewhere to get set up for our coastal communities.”
Speaking during the Feb. 28 session of the legislative assembly, Infrastructure Minister Caroline Wawzonek reflected on MTS’ first seven seasons. She commended MTS staff for navigating “an extremely challenging 2023” marked by low water levels on the Mackenzie River and two evacuations of Hay River, where the division is based.
“I am proud to say we succeeded in shipping 22.7 million litres of fuel and 3,400 tonnes of cargo to 11 Northern communities last year,” she said.
However, the minister also admitted that some of the challenges that MTS faced in 2023 were “insurmountable,” and pointed to the cancellation of the final planned shipment to Norman Wells and Tulita as an example.
With the 2024 shipping season rapidly approaching, she remarked that there could be more challenges on the way as “water levels throughout the Northwest Territories could be low once again, and the wildfire season is only a few months away.”
“To provide the best service possible, MTS staff are busy developing contingency plans on potential obstacles to operations, so our communities and customers get their fuel and goods when they need it,” she said.
MTS has been operated by the Department of Infrastructure since 2017. It uses high-powered shallow draft tugboats and barges to service communities in the NWT as well as Nunavut’s Kitikmeot region. Cargo rates are increasing 4.5 per cent in 2024.
“Providing the best value for the communities and customers we serve and setting a sustainable path forward are the GNWT’s top priorities for MTS’ operations,” a statement from the department continues. “An independent review of the MTS governance and operating model is currently underway, and we are committed to reviewing multiple options to determine the best long-term plan for the territorial government’s involvement in marine transportation.”