Residents of Norman Wells, N.W.T. facing 'impossible' costs as fuel prices skyrocket: mayor

The Mayor of Norman Wells, N.W.T. says his community is in a "crisis situation," with already high fuel costs set to skyrocket next week as suppliers begin to bring in fuel through costly air barging.

Mayor Frank Pope told CBC he is expecting the price of heating oil in his community to increase to approximately $5.50 per litre early next week. 

Meanwhile, pictures shared with CBC show the wholesale price of gasoline in the community was $4.60 on Thursday — up from $2.38 per litre less than a week before. Shawn MacDonald, who manages the only gas station in Norman Wells, told CBC on Saturday that he will likely have to raise retail gas prices accordingly very soon.

"We are in a state of chaos, high costs and impossible costs," Pope said.

"I will not be able to pay [for] my heating fuel for the month of November if it goes to $5.50 a litre. I can't do that. I don't know what I'm going to do, I live on a pension. Many other people are single income families, pensioners. What are we going to do?"

Pope said the high fuel prices are the result of years of disruptions to the town's supply chain, as climate change shortens the winter road season and low water levels on the Mackenzie River have prevented barges from reaching the community.

He said those conditions, together with recent uncertainty around the future of Imperial Oil's Norman Wells oil field, have created a "perfect storm" that is negatively impacting every aspect of Norman Wells' economy.

Sahtu MLA Danny McNeely also said Norman Wells is in a "crisis situation" right now, adding that he believes rising costs in the town will affect the entire Sahtu region.

McNeely said many businesses serving the region are headquartered in Norman Wells, and customers in smaller Sahtu communities will likely also see higher prices as those businesses try to offset increases to their heating, gas and freight expenses.

Both Pope and McNeely will be travelling to Ottawa on Monday to lobby the federal government for support on cost-of-living issues in the region.

Pope said they will be asking the federal government to cover air freight costs for all fuel coming into the community until the winter road opens this year.

The Norman Wells mayor said he is also hoping the federal government will commit to providing similar support in the future if low water levels on the Mackenzie River continue to prevent Norman Wells from resupplying by barge.

"This is not just a one-shot deal, this is a long-term impact on not only Norman Wells but the Sahtu communities," he said. "We just don't know what's going to happen next."