Statements in Debates
Mr. Speaker, on an annual basis, we do go through the business planning process. The leaders in the Beaufort-Delta have certainly been talking about the Inuvik-Tuk road for a number of years now, decades in fact. We see it as the first stage in the construction of the Mackenzie Valley Highway that will be integral to the economic growth and success of this territory.
It is something that, with a partnership with the federal government, we feel that we can get it done. It is in an area of our territory right now, in the Beaufort-Delta, where there is not a lot of equipment moving, there is not a...
The project would be connected to the increase in our borrowing limit. We would access that to put our portion of the construction of that road.
Our hope is that a new plan will come forward in 2014. In the absence of that, that is something we would consider.
The federal dredging program ended in 1994. There hasn’t been a program in place since then. The federal government has completed hydrographical surveys of the port of Hay River. They’ve identified several areas of concerns, but yet they haven’t been able to come up with the resources that are necessary to, in a meaningful way, dredge the port of Hay River. Again, that’s an area that we have identified as a concern and something that we need to continue to address with the federal government.
That will have to be balanced with the other urgent demands for the highway further down from the community of Fort Liard. We certainly hope to find a balance to find the money to get the chipsealing done.
Reconstruction of that highway is a major concern for us. I’ve mentioned it before. It will probably require upwards of $200 million to completely reconstruct the highway. We need to reconstruct portions of that highway that are in desperate need of it. That should be where the capital dollars go first.
On a project this size, it is inevitable that, up front, you have to do that type of geotechnical analysis, and the work, the engineering has to get done to get you the cost estimates that you require. That is what we see. That is what we’ve been pursuing.
Like any other project, it requires an environmental assessment. That’s a requirement of the federal government before we can enter into a funding arrangement with the federal government. These are necessary steps that the Government of the Northwest Territories is following and we will be making a decision, based on those cost estimates...
Again, I have made the commitment in the past. There will be additional funding for Highway No. 7. I certainly look forward to that as the process moves along. We’ll hear more about that at a later date.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No. It is in our best interest, as well, to see the completion of the Mackenzie Valley Highway, and it is going to start with the section between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. Certainly, there are other demands around the territory when it comes to transportation infrastructure that we’ll be hearing loud and clear from… I know I’ve heard from the Member for the Sahtu in his conversations with the leadership in the Sahtu about the advancement of the Mackenzie Valley Highway through the Sahtu, and south from Norman Wells or north from Wrigley or however you want to call it...
Our belief as a government and department is that the cost will be offset because companies will have to stockpile goods. They will not have to store goods. There will not be the need for refrigerated units. There will be no need to fly things over during freeze-up and breakup. Those costs in warehousing that will be saved, the feeling is it will be a wash. Certainly, the toll that transportation companies are going to have to pay, it will be up to the companies whether or not and how they pass that onto businesses that they do business with.
We haven’t got a firm date but it should be, the expectation is by the end of November. If it can happen before that, we’ll be advising the House of such.