Today in Calgary, NWT Premier Caroline Cochrane met with NWT evacuees at the Westin Hotel evacuation centre in Calgary alongside Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
In the press conference following the tour, Premier Cochrane aimed at the federal government saying she is tired of asking for federal support regarding infrastructure in the territory.
“If this happens next year, is it my fault, who’s fault is it,” Cocrane asks.
“When we can’t get people out because we don’t have basic infrastructure that every Canadian takes for granted, I am tired, I’ve been tired for a long time of asking for infrastructure and now I’m angry,” she adds.
The premier recounted the first evacuation out of Hay River in May 2023, where residents were forced to flee on the only highway in and out of the town as fires surrounded the road.
“When our community of Hay River started on fire, people were driving through our one road out with fire on both sides, our communications went down, we had no redundancy, I couldn’t get ahold of people, to know if they were safe or evacuated or not,” Cochrane says.
“I’ve been screaming for infrastructure for decades.”
“22 of our roads have no roads in, no permanent roads, and we all know if the smoke is there, you can’t fly planes in,” the premier adds.
Additionally, Cochrane questioned the federal government, blaming a lack of infrastructure for the NWT’s “third-world” conditions.
“I need every single Canadian to say it is not okay that the territories live like third-world countries, that we do not have the same services that people in the south have,” Cochrane says.
“Please everyone raise your voice, because I need the federal government to hear, we are Canadians, and we deserve the same.”
Premier Cochrane is currently evacuated alongside 68% of the NWT as wildfires continue to ravage the territory.
