Spring 2004Planning Digest V.8.1

A recent study suggests that the Northwest Territories' economy could remain the fastest growing in

Canada for the next decade (Reference 2). The NWT's red-hot economy is expected to be steady

for the next year, then take off again with the construction of the Snap Lake Diamond mine, 220

kilometres northeast of Yellowknife. However, the booming economy is already taking its toll on

health, social and infrastructure services in the territory as the government struggles to keep up

with an aboriginal and non-aboriginal population boom.

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In general, the growth of Canada's aboriginal

population is outpacing non-aboriginals by a

staggering margin. Statistics Canada released

n e w i n f o r m a t i o n o n C a n a d a ' s a b o r i g i n a l

population in January, 2003 (Reference 10),

and in the 2001 census , 976 ,300 peop le

i d en t i f i e d t h emse l v e s a s No r t h Ame r i c an

Indians, Métis or Inuit. This count was 22 per

cent higher than the 1996 figure of just under

800,000. In contrast the total non-aboriginal

populat ion grew only 3.4 per cent between

1996 and 2001.

The highest concentration of aboriginals is in

the North. The 22,720 aboriginals in Nunavut

represent 85 per cent of the territory's total

population, which is the highest concentration

in the country. Aboriginals make up 51 per

cent of the Northwest Territories' population,

and 23 per cent of Yukon's.

In March 2003, the Canada Mor tgage and

Housing Corporation hosted a forum on housing

in the City of Yellowknife (Reference 9). The

closed event was attended by more than 100

individuals representing developers, bankers,

landlords, and representatives from all three

l e v e l s o f g o v e r n m e n t i n t h e N o r t h w e s t

Te r r i to r ies . The key i ssues f rom the fo rum

identified included the need for more project

capital and easier financing, the high cost of

l a n d d e v e l o p m e n t i n t h e n o r t h , a n d t h e

shortfall in building capacity given the lack of

skilled trades people.

Communities in the Northwest Territories and

Nunavut are being challenged to keep up with

the growth demand for developed land. Land

deve lopment i s an expens i ve and complex

a c t i v i t y i n n o r t h e r n c o m m u n i t i e s ; i t i s a

process that may normally require a window of

3 to 5 years depending upon the community

(Reference 5).

In add i t i on , i t i s on l y one o f a number o f

competing priorities that communities have to

address, with limited funds. A development

n e e d s a s s e s s m e n t c o m p l e t e d b y t h e

G o v e r n m e n t o f t h e N o r t h w e s t Te r r i t o r i e s

(GNWT) in 2003 (Reference 4) identified that

a p p r o x i m a t e l y 8 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e s m a l l e r

communities may have sufficient inventory of

vacant lots to meet their development demands

in the next five years. However, the land use

documentation in most of the communities may

not reflect the changing land use demands that

these communities must address in the next

five years. It was recognized that most of the

s m a l l e r c o m m u n i t i e s n e e d t o r e v i e w t h e

administration of existing development sites

because the demand may exceed the inventory

for particular land uses.

Kenneth R. JohnsonDevelopment Needs for Northern Communities

The Challenges Associated

with the Continuing “Boom ”

Spring 2004Planning Digest V.8.1

One impo r t an t i s sue m i s sed i n t he GNWT

assessment is the proximity and problems for

community waste management. The Dogr ib

Commun i t y Se r v i c e s Boa rd ha s e xp r e s s ed

concerns that odors f rom landf i l l s i tes and

sewage lagoons (Reference 1) are making some

p e o p l e i n t h e i r c o m m u n i t i e s s i c k . T h e

c ommun i t i e s a r e g r ow i n g , a nd e x p and i n g

toward municipal waste sites. Relocating waste

management facilities is not a simple matter

because of the requirements from the various

regulatory and non-regulatory stakeholders, and

because of the simple fact that the capital

co s t s f o r a new was te f ac i l i t y ( l and f i l l o r

s e w a g e l a g o o n ) a r e i n t h e h u n d r e d s o f

thousands of dollars, and the access roads to

these facil it ies are approximately $250,000

per kilometre (Reference 5).

B u i l d i n g a n e w s u b d i v i s i o n t o m e e t F o r t

Simpson's housing needs isn't a simple process

(Reference 8). The Liidli i Kue First Nation

(LKFN) has proposed to create 40 to 50 new

housing units, but the proposed development

area is unsurveyed Commissioner's land. This

land falls under the administrative jurisdiction

of the Government of the Northwest Territories,

a n d d e m a n d s a l e n g t h y p r o c e s s b e f o r e

development can actually begin. The process

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involves obtaining solicited letters of support

f r o m t h e M é t i s L o c a l , t h e D e h C h o F i r s t

Na t i o n s and t h e Dene Na t i o n , a s we l l a s

stakeholder consultations. At the end of this

process, the land may be transferred from the

GNWT to the Village of Fort Simpson, who, in

t u r n , c a n s i g n o v e r t h e l a n d t o N o g h a

Enterprises, the LKFN's economic development

arm.

The Capital City of Nunavut, Iqaluit remains

one o f the fas tes t g rowing communi t ies in

Canada, 4 years after the boom associated with

the creation of Nunavut. According to Statistics

Canada, Iqaluit's population grew to 5,236 in

2001 - an increase of almost 1,000 over five

years, and the trend is supposed to continue

for a number of years.

According to Iqaluit developers it's becoming

increasingly difficult to find land on which to

build (Reference 7). Contractors have stated

that the lack of sites has driven prices so high

t h a t c ompan i e s c an ' t a f f o r d t o d e v e l o p -

unserviced lots may cost as much as $60,000.

In the fall of 2003, the City of Iqaluit turned

down a proposal to develop a subdivision called

Tundra Valley East area, after politicians and

residents demanded that the land be put aside

and not developed because of the potential

impact on a traditional land use area. The City

has at least one pro ject in the pre l iminary

stages, but that development may not start

until 2006.

By the end of 2003, the City of Yellowknife

had approximately 1000 more housing units

that it did at the beginning of 2002 (Reference

3 ) . Th i s g r ow th t r ans l a t e s i n t o o ve r $45

mi l l i on in r es iden t i a l r e l a ted cons t ruc t i on

approved by the C i ty in 2003 a lone. Th is

g r ow th i s we l l o n t h e wa y t o b e a t i n g t h e

estimates of early 2002, which suggested that

1400 to 1600 housing units would be required

in the City by 2007. The total value for all

construct ion in Yel lowknife was a whopping

$85 million in 2003.

Development demands on communities are also

e m e r g i n g f r o m o u t s i d e t h e c o m m u n i t y

boundar ies . Resource deve lopment b r ings

sma l l t empora ry c i t i es fo r exp lo ra t i on and

construction, and these camps are often using

t h e e s t a b l i s h e d n e a r b y c o m m u n i t y

i n f r a s t r u c t u r e ( R e f e r e n c e 6 ) . T h e u s e o f

infrastructure of nearby communities simplifies

the regulatory and logistical demands for the

s m a l l s c a l e w a t e r , s e w e r , a n d w a s t e

Development Needs for Northern Communities

The Challenges Associated with the Continuing “Boom ”

landfill in Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories

View toward downtown Yellowknife

Spring 2004Planning Digest V.8.1

The development in the City of Iqaluit has produced some unique structures; this complex is know as "Legoland".

management systems associated with camps.

Howeve r, c amps a r e o f t en u t i l i z i n g t h e s e

services without the appropriate compensation

to the loca l gove rnments . Th i s add i t i ona l

service demand may push the capacity limits of

some community systems, which were never

designed to respond to resource based needs.

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T h e d e v e l o p m e n t a n d s u s t a i n i n g o f

infrastructure in cold region communities has

a l w a y s b e e n i n f l u e n c e d b y a v a r i e t y o f

f i nanc i a l , admin i s t r a t i v e , ope ra t i ona l and

regulatory factors. Over the past 10 years the

comp lex i t y o f these f ac to r s has i nc reased

substant ia l ly wi th changes to the avai lable

f i n a n c i a l r e s o u r c e s , t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e

structures, the operational responsibilities, and

the regulatory environments.

Many o f these changes have increased the

o v e r a l l c o m p l e x i t y o f i n f r a s t r u c t u r e

development, and sustainability in cold region

communit ies, part icular ly at the community

leve l . Many communit ies are f inding the

demands o f these comp lex i t i e s t o be we l l

be yond the i r f i nanc i a l and admin i s t r a t i v e

resources, and as a consequence are placing

themselves in very undesirable situations with

regard to community funding and regulatory

compliance.

Many cold region communities are seeking, and

receiving the needed technical and capacity

a s s i s t a n c e f r o m s e n i o r g o v e r n m e n t s a n d

consul tants . However, these resources a re

discovering that new and innovative approaches

wi l l u l t imately be required in the future to

m e e t t h e c h a l l e n g e s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h

development needs for northern communities.

Kenneth R. Johnson is a

S e n i o r P l a n n e r a n d

Engineer with Earth Tech

Canada in Edmonton. He

has been wo rk ing w i th

n o r t h e r n A b o r i g i n a l

communities since the early 1980's on land

use and infrastructure related problems.

He is a nationally recognized expert in cold

region community infrastructure, and he

maintains an award winning website called

Cryofront (www.cryofront.com).

Development Needs for Northern Communities

The Challenges Associated with the Continuing “Boom ”

The town centre of the City of Iqaluit has experienced unprecedented growth since the creation of Nunavut in 1999.

Kenneth R. Johnson is a

S e n i o r P l a n n e r a n d

Engineer with Earth Tech

Canada in Edmonton. He

has been wo rk ing w i th

n o r t h e r n A b o r i g i n a l

communities since the early 1980's on land

use and infrastructure related problems.

He is a nationally recognized expert in cold

region community infrastructure, and he

maintains an award winning website called

Cryofront (www.cryofront.com).

Kenneth R. Johnson is a

S e n i o r P l a n n e r a n d

Engineer with Earth Tech

Canada in Edmonton. He

has been wo rk ing w i th

n o r t h e r n A b o r i g i n a l

communities since the early 1980's on land

use and infrastructure related problems.

He is a nationally recognized expert in cold

region community infrastructure, and he

maintains an award winning website called

Cryofront (www.cryofront.com).

Kenneth R. Johnson is a

S e n i o r P l a n n e r a n d

Engineer with Earth Tech

Canada in Edmonton. He

has been wo rk ing w i th

n o r t h e r n A b o r i g i n a l

communities since the early 1980's on land

use and infrastructure related problems.

He is a nationally recognized expert in cold

region community infrastructure, and he

maintains an award winning website called

Cryofront (www.cryofront.com).

1. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Expansion a Growing Problem for Dogrib Towns.

January 30 2004.

2. Ibid. NWT at Start of Decade-Long Boom.

December 8, 2003.

3. Ibid. No End in Sight for Yellowknife.

July 17, 2003.

4. Department of Municipal and Community Affairs,

Government of the Northwest Territories.

Land Development Needs Assessment. March, 2003

5. Johnson, Kenneth R.

Water and Sewer Infrastructure in Northern Communities

Comprehensive Summary. November, 2003.

6. Northern News Services. Bracing for Impact.

December 12, 2003.

7. Ibid. Housing Crunch in Iqaluit. November 10, 2003.

8. Ibid. This is Our Land - We Want to Develop It.

September 5, 2003.

9. Ibid. Search For Housing Answers. March 19, 2003.

10. Ibid. Aboriginal Growth Spurt. January 27, 2003.

References

Aboriginal Peoples of Canada: A Demographic Profile, 2001 Census (Analysis series, 2001 Census)

Graph Population reporting Aboriginal ancestry (origin), Canada, 1901-2001