David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The ongoing maintenance and operation of that highway would be the responsibility of the Government of the Northwest Territories like other highways in the territory. So the answer would be no.

Mr. Speaker, if the Member would like us to contact Greyhound directly and begin some discussions on what it would cost to get that service, I guess that is something we can certainly find out and bring back to this House and see if there is support for something like that to happen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we haven’t explored the prospect of subsidies to accompany Greyhound to operate. We certainly understand there’s a negative impact on tourism numbers in the South Slave because of the discontinuation of Greyhound service.

I would say that there’s a business opportunity here for somebody in the South Slave to pick up the slack and have some type of service, scheduled service, whether it’s to Grande Prairie or Peace River or wherever the case may be in northern Alberta, to connect to the Greyhound line. That’s an opportunity for somebody to pick up that slack.

If there is an...

Mr. Speaker, for that level of detail, I can get that and commit to get that to the Member. Certainly, this road will be the first one to get to the Arctic Coast in Canada. It’s going to connect the country from coast to coast to coast, and our belief is we are going to see a lot of interested parties that want to drive this road to get to the Arctic Coast. Currently, you have to fly in there or take the ice road in the winter. It’s a great opportunity for the region, a great opportunity for our territory and a great opportunity for this country. Thank you.

I don’t have that figure and I’d be guessing, but I can perhaps read the Member’s mind. The projections on the maintenance costs of the Inuvik-Tuk highway would be approximately $2 million a year. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the 17th Legislative Assembly identified the need for an Economic Development Strategy to strengthen and diversify the Northwest Territories economy.

Our strategy will respond to changing circumstances in the North and address business opportunities in all regions of our territory.

Mr. Speaker, the Economic Opportunities Strategy is part of a much bigger picture. It complements other initiatives the GNWT is undertaking such as a comprehensive Mineral Development Strategy, and other linked initiatives such as the Land Use and Sustainability Framework and a Northwest Territories Anti...

Luckily enough, there’s no piranha in the Mackenzie River, so the worse he’ll have to fear is the Jackfish in the Mackenzie.

Certainly, we need to coordinate efforts. The swim would take place down the entire length of the Mackenzie, so it would include our ITI staff in the Sahtu and in the Mackenzie as well. So it would have to be a coordinated effort, if we are going to look at doing this. I’m going to go back to the department and see where discussions are at with Mr. Strel and his team on trying to pull this off.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, last year the Member wrote to myself and the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources in regard to the Big River Man and the swim down the Mackenzie. Although at first glance of the proposal it would appear that his idea wouldn’t match up with any funding program that the government currently has, our officials were going to contact Martin Strel himself and propose to help out in other ways, and that was to talk to communities along the proposed route and drum up support for such an event to happen. I’d have to go back to the department and see if they’ve...

I believe that’s a very worthwhile exercise and certainly something that, through the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, we can work with the Member and try to make something like that happen. We had the readiness session last year, and I believe we should be having a readiness session each fall in preparation for the upcoming season. I want to see that become an annual-type event.

Certainly, I understand what the Member is saying, and if there is a need to get together after the season is over in the spring to talk about issues, I think that’s a worthwhile exercise and certainly...

The government, through ITI, has done a fair bit when it comes to getting people educated about fracking, what it is, how it works. We had a study tour with Members last fall and we’ve more recently taken a group of 15 leaders from the Sahtu down to I believe it was Calgary for a study tour as well. I really think it’s important that the leadership in the Sahtu understand what is at risk here.

Certainly, there’s going to be a lot of business opportunities and economic potential for Aboriginal businesses and development corporations in the Sahtu. I think it’s very important at the earliest...