Almost two years ago I covered a story where Town Council initially denied a request from EGT-Northwind to cut the price of dumping 250 truckloads of steel from the Tuk Island rehabilitation project, then after hearing concerns from the employees of EGT-Northwind, reversed the decision and allowed the company to deposit the waste at $500 a load, half the usual price.

At the time, Northwind IndustriesSA国际影视传媒� vice-president Fred Bailey explained the plan was a workaround for ExxonMobilSA国际影视传媒檚 internal environmental rehabilitation rules SA国际影视传媒� by getting the town involved, the contractors could operate on the local environmental regulations, which were far less complicated than the oil companySA国际影视传媒檚 international standards.

What made the decision so urgent was the the steel was found unexpectedly and the work season was drawing to a close. Bailey told council, SA国际影视传媒淚f it doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 go that way, the work just wonSA国际影视传媒檛 get done. TheySA国际影视传媒檒l just say, SA国际影视传媒榃ell, weSA国际影视传媒檒l just leave it all up here and it can sit for another 30 years.SA国际影视传媒� TheySA国际影视传媒檙e just trying to facilitate how to get as much work as possible out of the budget thatSA国际影视传媒檚 been given to them. If we go to (ExxonMobil) and say we donSA国际影视传媒檛 have enough money to do this, theySA国际影视传媒檒l just say donSA国际影视传媒檛 do it.SA国际影视传媒�

In other words, ExxonMobil wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 willing to pony up the extra $125,000 to clean up its own mess and passed that back to the taxpayer. Not wanting to be the ones left holding the SA国际影视传媒測ou lost work because of usSA国际影视传媒� hat, town council did the only thing it could.

Thanks to Covid-19, ExxonMobilSA国际影视传媒檚 gross profits for 2020 were a mere $30.9 billion, a 42.47 per cent drop from the year previous. TheySA国际影视传媒檝e since rebounded to a $64.2-billion windfall in 2021 and $91-billion this year, so hopefully executives remember the sacrifice we made here in Inuvik to save the global oil industry.

This sarcastic anecdote and Statistics Canada housing figures just released showing that more than half the homes in the NWT were built in the 1990s or earlier demonstrate how the North is hindered in economic development by its territorial status. Without the ability to raise capital, there are far too many logistical cracks to make things as simple as fixing your house worth trying, never mind starting a business.

A simple example: YouSA国际影视传媒榬e a producer in Inuvik. You have a customer in Yellowknife. How does your product get there? Your only option is airfreight, which means tacking the additional shipping costs on to the final product. It doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 matter how often you flash SA国际影视传媒淏uy LocalSA国际影视传媒� in front of someone alongside a hefty bottom line SA国际影视传媒� theySA国际影视传媒檙e going for the bargain every time.

ItSA国际影视传媒檚 not rocket science why the Beaufort Delta has stronger economic ties to Whitehorse SA国际影视传媒� a road is in service at least half the time. Before we can even begin to talk about sustainable economic development in the NWT, we need a logical and reliable road network.

How do we pay for that? The Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk highway SA国际影视传媒� which isnSA国际影视传媒檛 even paved SA国际影视传媒� cost nearly $300 million. WeSA国际影视传媒檙e looking at billions just to get started. The ExxonMobil example shows we canSA国际影视传媒檛 count on the resource industry and no federal government is going to incur nine-digit deficits on our behalf. It would be electoral suicide.

ItSA国际影视传媒檚 time Ottawa set the North free.