Sahtu region faces winter of high unemployment and hard times, says MLA

The Sahturegion is experiencing a higher unemployment rate than previous winters.

That's according to the MLA for the region, Daniel McNeely. He says upwards of 150 people are currently out of work in the Sahtu, and the winter has only just begun.

"We've never seen a winter like this," McNeely said.

"We've always had industry activity here in the region, and this is the first winter that everybody has experienced a no-work environment."

McNeely says industry jobs left the Sahtu about four years ago. The gap was filled for three years by the Mackenzie Valley FibreLink project, but that was completed this March.

• Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link construction complete

"With that gone, and with industry's departure, this is the first winter that we are experiencing no third industry activity or projects," he said.

Big industry slow down hits small business

Matt Earls, who owns a local grocery store in Norman Wells, says his community started noticing a real issue with employment last November, after Enbridge shut down its Line 21 pipeline because of repairs needed near Fort Simpson.

The pipeline carries oil from Imperial Oilwells in Norman Wellsto Zama, Alta., where it enters athird-party pipeline system and continues on to Edmonton. The shutdown of the line meant Imperial Oil was forced to suspend its operations in Norman Wells.

• Enbridge shuts down Norman Wells pipeline, citing 'stability concerns' along riverbank

• Norman Wells mayor hopes for quick approval of Enbridge pipeline repair

"It had an impact on the economy completely here in Norman Wells," Earls said.

"We've felt it here at the store. Imperial employed a lot of people and they've shipped out a lot of families, so we've lost what feels like about 25 per cent of the population.

"As a business you feel it because you're not moving as much product, you're not making as many sales, so that does affect employment too because you're not going to hire as many employees to be stocking shelves, running the tills because you're not moving as much stuff."

While the store hasn't had to lay off any employees, Earls said they haven't been able to hire any new ones compared to past years.

McNeely says communities in the Sahtu have been trying to start small projects to create some form of income in time for the holidays.

McNeely is at the territorial government's fifth annual anti-poverty roundtable in Norman Wells this week. He's looking for a way to help address his region's high unemployment rate which he says is causing poverty among Sahtu communities.

"What we need are solutions and action plans to address and challenge and champion the poverty situation," he told CBC.