OTTAWA — Northern leaders and businesses are saying $130 million from Ottawa to shore up supply chains and health care during the COVID-19 pandemic can't come soon enough.
Nunavut Premier Joe Savikataaq said his territory made its first call for help in mid-March.
"Four weeks is a long time to wait," he said.
On Tuesday, Ottawa announced $73 million is to go to territorial governments for health and social services. Of that, roughly $18 million is for Yukon, $20 million for the Northwest Territories and $18 million for Nunavut.
Nunavut and the N.W.T. are to receive extra cash for temporary structures to help people self-isolate.
Businesses with needs that aren't met by federal emergency aid such as the wage subsidy program are to receive a total of $15 million.
Northern air carriers are to get $17.3 million to help maintain supplies of food, medicine and other essential goods. Another $25 million is for Nutrition North to subsidize food costs.
Savikataaq said Nunavut, which has no confirmed COVID-19 cases, will spend the money on personal protective equipment. It will also help pay quarantine costs for Nunavummiut stranded in the south —230 people were finally able to return home on the weekend.
Nunavut still has no testing equipment and has to wait weeks for results, he said.
"If you do get a case in a community, then that would just not be adequate."
Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal said the money is on its way.
"It's going to go out near immediately," he said. "Days."
That will be crucial, said Kirt Ejeesiak of the Inuit Business Council.
"For us in the North, we don't have the luxury of having a huge selection of businesses that do the same thing. We need to keep those businesses running."
Last week, Ejeesiak's group said it needed forgivable loans of up to $50,000 as well as a $250,000 zero-interest line of credit. It also wants restrictions on the wage subsidy program relaxed.
Vandal said the $15 million announced Tuesday doesn't have to be repaid.
"(The business money) is to help them stay afloat and it's non-repayable."
Yukon Premier Sandy Silver said the funding addresses specific requests from his government.
"Today’s announcement of further supports for the territories is appreciated. Aspects of this announcement are in direct response to requests we have made," he said in a statement.
Vandal said the health-care money comes with few strings and is designed to let the territories decide where to spend it. He said future funding announcements are likely.
"I'm not under any delusion that this is going to be the end of it."
That's good, said Savikataaq, who noted Nunavut had asked for $42 million.
Northern air carrier Canadian North said it was still evaluating the funding.
"This is an encouraging recognition of the essential service we provide and follows our efforts over the last month to have the government take note of our unique role," spokesman Dan Valin said in an email.
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, also critic for Crown-Indigenous relations and Indigenous services, said the funding needs to be accompanied by long-term changes.
"That means investments in safe housing and infrastructure to prevent COVID-19 and tuberculosis from spreading," he said in a statement.
Northern communities, because of their remoteness, are considered the most vulnerable if COVID-19 begins to spread to them.
"We don't have the resources to deal with it if we get an outbreak in the communities," Savikataaq said. "It would be hard to isolate people."
So far, there have been eight confirmed cases in Yukon and five in the Northwest Territories.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 14, 2020
— By Bob Weber in Edmonton. Follow @row1960 on Twitter
The Canadian Press
