NTCL cancels barge to Fort Good Hope, Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk

Low water levels have led to the cancellation of some shipments travelling by barge to the Northwest Territories' northern communities.

Bill Smith with Northern Transportation Company Ltd. says they managed to ship about 90 per cent of orders up the Mackenzie River, but the remaining orders were left stranded.

A senior climatologist with Environment Canada has said June and July in the Northwest Territories were the driest in 40 years.

Smith says the last time water levels in the river were this low was in 1981.

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"There's a couple of places, shallow places just before Fort Good Hope and we can usually transit them but the water levels in those areas are at or near all-time lows on the river," said Smith.

That means customers in Fort Good Hope, Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk need to find other means to get their goods.

"We hope this is a one year phenomenon and you know we certainly view the relationships with customers as much more long-term than what the river does for one year," he said.

Winston McNeely, a resident of Fort Good Hope, says this goes to show an all-weather road should be built for communities along the river.

"Sometimes I think they should have never bothered with winter roads and started all-weather roads 35 years ago," he said.

Smith says barge customers may choose to wait to have their goods shipped by winter road, wait until next year barge season or cancel their orders. He says they won't pass any of the extra costs on to the customers.