Marine Transportation Services (MTS) has increased its cargo rate by 4.5 per cent ahead of the 2024 sailing season.

The change was announced in a March 14 news release from the GNWTSA国际影视传媒檚 Department of Infrastructure, which oversees MTS.

SA国际影视传媒淭hese rates are adjusted annually and are based on changes to the Consumer Price Index (CPI),SA国际影视传媒� the release reads. SA国际影视传媒淭he CPI represents the changes in prices as experienced by Canadian consumers and is measured by comparing, through time, the cost of a fixed basket of goods and services.SA国际影视传媒�

Along with the rate change, the government department also announced the final dates MTS will accept freight for delivery to the communities it serves. The cutoff for 2024 will be June 15, by which point all goods intended for shipment must be at the main MTS terminal in Hay River. The lone exception is for shipments bound for Lutsel KSA国际影视传媒檈, which will have an Aug. 1 cutoff.

The June 15 cargo deadline is earlier than previous years and is intended to SA国际影视传媒渁llow MTS to load its barges and be ready to sail earlier in the season when water levels will be higher on the Mackenzie River,SA国际影视传媒� the news release explained.

The deadline for LutselSA国际影视传媒� Ke is later because the community is situated on Great Slave Lake, rather than the Mackenzie River, and SA国际影视传媒淢TS does not anticipate that water levels on Great Slave Lake will impact its resupply effortsSA国际影视传媒� for the community.

The 2023 sailing season was heavily impacted by low water levels on the Mackenzie, culminating with the final shipments bound for Tulita and Norman Wells being cancelled. The summerSA国际影视传媒檚 destructive wildfires also impacted shipping efforts.