David Krutko

Department of Transportation, appropriation authority required: $26,756,000.

Transportation, $26,756,000 approved.

At this time I’ll ask the Minister if he’d like to bring in witnesses.

We are under Education. So, Mr. Bromley, if you have a question under Education.

Is the committee agreed?

In regard to capacity in communities, one of the biggest challenges we’re facing in our communities is finding professionals to run and maintain our communities: the SCOs, the financial officers, even bylaw officers in some cases. I know we had the Community Capacity Program where we used to train people through MACA, Housing and whatnot.

I’d like to ask the Minister: will we continue with such a program so we can have homegrown individuals who can take on these jobs in their home communities?

Mr. Speaker, in regard to the new deal, it is a new initiative. I know that it does have some hiccups in the way it will be implemented, but I would like to ask the Minister: will there be a period of time, say within the next year or so, where we can do an evaluation or assessment to see what is working and what is not and adjust it so we can make this program successful?

Mr. Speaker, the community of Aklavik also has this in the strategic plan they developed last August. Again, the community is fully supportive of this. Knowing we are looking at alternative funding sources — we have the municipal infrastructure funding, and we’re talking about the Building Canada Fund — I’d like to ask the Minister to ensure that we do have our opportunity to have access to these program dollars sowe can take on this initiative. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister touched the wrong button with that one. The Community Local Access Road Program as it sits right now only allows a community to access $50,000 a year to put a road in place, yet I notice in the capital plan there is some $500,000 for Nahanni Butte to put a road into that community.

I'd like to ask the Minister: knowing that there is only $50,000 a year and the program hasn't worked, will the Minister consider giving us the same offer that’s being made to Nahanni Butte, of $500,000 a year, to put a road in to the gravel source? Maybe we can do something with that.

I'd...

It’s been some time since the community of Aklavik has been endeavouring to get connected to the rest of the world via a connection to the Dempster Highway from the community of Aklavik.

There have been discussions over the years with the Department of Transportation, the hamlet, the municipality and the Association of Municipalities by way of motions that have been passed to investigate the possibility of connecting the community to the Dempster Highway.

A road to a quarry for gravel, such as the one at Willow River, is about 5 kilometres from the community, yet in light of the floods of two...

Prior to the break we decided to have the opening comments with regard to Bill 1, Interim Appropriation Act, 2008-2009. So with that, I’d like to ask the Minister if he has any opening comments.