Kam Lake

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 36)

The design continually changes in a way to address and mitigate climate change. As I mentioned, the runway repair back 10 years ago, the materials that were used, I mean, we’re learning something with every repair we do here in the Northwest Territories on what works best. Again, it’s all in an effort to mitigate the impact. Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 36)

No, the Department of Transportation takes very seriously the safety of our roads and the Member may be… When we were there, maybe it was the Corridors for Canada III proposal where we do have money for all highways in the Northwest Territories on a go-forward basis. We are anticipating we will be getting some success with that proposal and we’ll have the ability to address concerns from around the territory, including Highway No. 8. Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 36)

The issues with the runways have been ongoing for a number of years. Again, we are trying our best to mitigate those issues with our runways, and they are O and M. We treat them as O and M. In the case of Hay River, the repairs to the Hay River runway, I think we were in the magnitude of $2 million, maybe just slightly over $2 million. As I mentioned earlier, the complete fix for the dip in the Inuvik runway at the end of the day is going to be about $2.5 million. Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 36)

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As Members know, the facility has reached its end of service life and generally is in fair to poor condition. We had an issue last winter with a wind storm and the building suffered some damage as a result of that. So we need to move forward. Our long-term plan is to build a new air terminal building in Inuvik, so part of the process is to get a planning study underway. The money is going to hopefully be coming through the Corridors for Canada III proposal. Again, that’s a proposal, but we’re looking to build a new air terminal building in Inuvik and this is just part...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 36)

Two things with the Inuvik Airport, through the Corridors for Canada III proposal we are looking at a new terminal building for Inuvik. That’s a very positive move forward. Also the Member has talked about climate change and the impact it’s had on the runway in Inuvik, and we just recently experienced a dip in the runway and we had to provide an immediate fix. That immediate fix cost about $600,000. It will be a total repair of about $2.5 million when all is said and done on that runway.

We continue to have discussions with the Department of National Defence on extending the runway in Inuvik...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 35)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents, entitled NWT Business Development and Investment Corporation 2012-13 Annual Report, and NWT Business Development and Investment Corporation 2013-14 Corporate Plan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 35)

Mr. Speaker, we can certainly look at that. I would be more than happy to discuss the opportunity with my colleague Minister Miltenberger of ENR and set out to get some more community workshops and exercises like that underway. One of the things I think will also go a long way to helping community members understand the process is – and I believe the Member saw a big display case which showed a well being drilled and then going out horizontally and explaining the process of hydraulic fracturing in layman’s terms – I think if we put that in the local language and also in English, and put these...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 35)

Mr. Speaker, what we heard resoundingly in both southeastern Saskatchewan and North Dakota is that if people could do it all over again, they have the ability to plan and get ready for the development. That is what we have here. We have an opportunity. We have some time on our side. There is an application here to hopefully drill and frack two wells this coming winter here in the Northwest Territories.

I believe we can balance protecting the environment with advancing the economy here in the Northwest Territories and getting people the jobs and opportunities that they require. We have to have...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 35)

The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment would have helped communities fund these workshops that have been much anticipated in the Sahtu. For a detailed breakdown of costs and who is paying for what, I will make a commitment today to get the Member that information. Certainly, we have been looking for partners to help pay for these workshops. That is how we have gone about this, is partnerships, and if that’s with industry and communities, that’s how we are going to continue to pursue getting people the education that they need when it comes to making an informed decision about...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 35)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to hydraulic fracturing, and the Northwest Territories is no different.

It has been suggested many times that we do more community meetings and workshops when it comes to hydraulic fracturing. At the suggestion of the community of Fort Good Hope, who wanted a third-party workshop to be set up in the communities in the Sahtu – the Member mentioned the communities of Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope – this week. We are also hoping to have meetings take place in Deline and also Tulita. The meeting in Fort Good Hope...