David Krutko

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had an opportunity to travel back to my constituency this week and do a whirlwind tour. One of the highlights of the trip was to go into Aklavik and have an official signing ceremony with the community. Aklavik is in the process of developing a community economic sustainable development plan along with a university on Vancouver Island and using graduate students to work with the community to develop this plan.

The whole initiative is going to be an historical project that will involve all members of the community through a process of developing, producing, and...

Mr. Chairman, I believe that it is needed. When basically there is a risk of moving goods and services on and off a vessel because you don’t have the proper docking facilities, I think that is something that has to be addressed. I think a lot of our communities basically don’t have year-round access and do depend on these barge resupplies that they do have to have the proper facilities. Again, I would just like to stress to the Minister if he can see if there is a possible way that we can design such a facility or even improve what is there already so that they are able to properly dock these...

If we could get that information from the Minister it would be great. But the reason I’m asking is that in the case of Aklavik, they apply that EK-35 and it does work. If anything, if you’re not going to extend the airport, I think that at least having an airport that’s in pretty good shape, especially with these chemicals. I think it’s important that you do continue to reapply the chemical if you’re not going to extend those airports, because it does make a difference for the aircraft. You even notice it flying into these communities. The ones that have the chemical you can notice the...

Mr. Chairman, it is good for this government to use this scenario. The communities are in the same predicament. They have the same types of costs. They have basically deficits that are running because of these unpredictable costs. The budget isn’t designed to deal with these types of trends, but yet we are not there to help out the communities. Now we are saying sorry, you are on your own. You have to budget. Sorry, you have to fend for yourselves. I would like to know exactly why is it that we allow this to happen in government but yet we are telling the municipalities and the small...

Are we under marine?

Yeah, just with regard to the federal legislation, because of the change in the legislation where it requires a certain length of airport, I am wondering if that airport falls within that required length or does it have to be extended under the new federal regulations where you operate certain types of aircraft on these airports in the communities. They have to be a certain length for certain types of aircraft. I would just like to know does that meet that specific federal standard. That’s why I asked the question if it has to be extended, because I believe it’s only 2,500 feet.

Just in regards to the supp again. I am just wondering why it wasn’t brought forward during the fiscal year 2007-08 when you did have the deficit and which you were able to account for that fiscal year than bringing it forward to 2008-09. Why wasn’t it addressed at that time?

Mr. Chair, I believe, for one, that we do have to find a way to work with the smaller communities. I think that through the program that was previously in place, which was to work with communities to find a concerted effort between the Department of Transportation with their expertise and Municipal and Community Affairs working with communities to find a way to deal with dust control in a lot of our communities. I think that unless you actually have to live with dust in your communities, it’s not really an issue. I think that it really does have an effect on the health and well-being of the...

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, in my four terms in this House and 12 years as a sitting Member, I have never seen the relationship between the Gwich’in Tribal Council and the Government of the Northwest Territories at such a low point. Mr. Speaker, after concluding a meeting earlier with the Gwich’in Tribal Council and the Premier, Minister of Transportation and other officials, I thought it was going to give them an opportunity to sit down and work out their differences, but, Mr. Speaker, all that came out of it was that the Gwich’in do not have any rights in Inuvik and they don’t have a land claim...

Again, that clearly shows this government is leaving aboriginal organizations and development corporations out of the decision making process of this government. There are other partnership arrangements between the Government of the Northwest Territories and aboriginal companies with regard to power distribution, residual heat, and other types of projects. I’d like to ask the Premier why other aboriginal groups are not given the same ability to submit a proposal on their ability to buy into the power corporation instead of having a southern company do it for us.