Bob Bromley

Again, not to be overly persistent, I am just wondering if we’ve changed our standards of construction with runways and airport landing strips. Thank you.

Thanks for that information. Maybe I could just hear what the costs were this year so far for the Hay River and Yellowknife situations. On a looking-forward basis, when our school roofs started to collapse because of snow loads, unexpected snow loads, we adapted by changing the standards that construction had to meet for the roofs of schools. Are there those sorts of adaptations happening in the construction of runways to deal with these eventualities or probabilities? Thank you.

I appreciate the Minister’s comments. I know he’s aware that we want to be doing these things before there is a consequence of not having these facilities there. So being in front of this stuff would be good.

I’d like to turn briefly to Inuvik and the example of some of the climate change impacts that are being experienced there with the runway. Obviously, I don’t see it in this budget. Presumably it will be handled some other way here soon. Do we know what the total cost of that issue is? Are there any other instants like that that are happening in our airport infrastructure that the Minister...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wonder if I can get an update on the situation in the Sahtu, given all the activity there. I don’t see much in the Sahtu other than a tractor for the Norman Wells Airport. I’m just wondering what the status is. Is the Minister anticipating getting… The word “prepared” comes to mind. If we could get an update on what the strategy is. I understand there is something like $630 million worth of activity in the Sahtu this year associated with the oil development alone and I’m just wondering what sorts of pressures we are experiencing and if there’s anything coming up...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to propose a motion. I move, if I may, that this committee strongly recommends that the government take immediate action to identify the multi-year funding necessary to complete construction of the Detah access road beginning in fiscal year 2014-2015.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. If we could, at the same time, provide that by community, the number of new spaces and the affordability of those child care spaces, that would be appreciated.

What is in the budget for new child care spaces and facilities this time around here? Thank you.

The Minister made many interesting statements there. First of all, safety, I would say, is an issue, and I can back that up with however many people the Minister would like me to bring as witnesses. It does, as the Minister said, take constant maintenance to maintain safety conditions on this road, and here we have a break in that constancy.

It would be very nice if we could just wait while we pursue these other funds, Corridors III or IV or whatever. But I’m afraid the conditions on this highway don’t stand aside and wait for the Minister to come forward with those dollars.

I think the Minister...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. It’s clear. The data are in and they’re accumulating more rapidly by the day. Universal daycare provides huge returns. The Quebec and Scandinavian examples prove those returns on dollars invested. Most recently, Quebec, Canada, $1.49 for every dollar invested, Mr. Finance Minister.

Will the Minister commit to examining this model closely and reporting back to committee soon so we can take action? I know he did express interest when this was brought up in committee. Sorry. I retract that remark. I know that the Minister is interested in this...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will be supporting the motion here. I appreciate my colleague bringing this forward. This relying on industry…(inaudible)…policy, as we heard during our tour in the Bakken from just about everybody not to rely on industry, don’t be controlled by them. In fact, take control and make them participate and so on. We heard a lot of horror stories last winter, and I know the Minister and the Member for the Sahtu described some of the close calls they actually witnessed, and we’ve all heard stories from people who drove the highway and observed people or truck drivers and...

Thanks to the Minister. We are certainly a planning Assembly, and we are hoping for action. After two years in office, people, of course, are starting to get tired of hearing statements of commitment and intentions. I feel that they are starting to look for actual actions.

Could the Minister estimate how many affordable daycare spaces have been created since we were elected?