David Ramsay

Mr. Speaker, the traditional economy is an important source of income for many Northwest Territories residents and one of the sectors that this government supports as part of our goal of a diversified economy. Today I would like to share some good news about our Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program.

We are at the threshold of a new trapping season. Last year’s wild fur sold for record prices, resulting in nearly $2 million in income and program benefits for our trappers. This was the best year for sales in 23 years and prospects for this coming year are positive, as demand from China and Russia...

Yes, I’ve given a commitment to the Member that we will take a look at the situation in Nahanni. I’ve also got the policy here with me. Sometimes when things like this happen, they don’t necessarily conform to the policy that’s there, and we need to take a look at how best to help those residents in Nahanni that need assistance, both the hunters and trappers.

Okay, thank you. Maybe I’ll get you to just get that on record and then I’ll come back, Mr. Chair.

We’ve had a great deal of support from the federal government. It’s a project that the federal government believes has national significance. It’s going to lend itself to Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic. It’s going to connect this country from coast to coast to coast. We certainly look forward to continuing to work with the federal government as the project moves forward.

We have today a commitment of $150 million from the federal government. Again, I think there are some moving parts here. We need to nail down what exactly the cost of the project is going to be, and like other projects that...

Mr. Chair, I just wanted to mention, too, we have to continue to work on the Economic Opportunities Strategy the government is putting forward. We also have the Mineral Development Strategy. Those two strategies will feed directly into an update on our transportation strategy.

I think, again, that the Sahtu is in a position right now to be a focus of our attention, because the economic potential of that region certainly has the possibility of transforming the economy of the Northwest Territories virtually overnight. We need to be watching what is happening there. We have to get federal dollars...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for his recognition of the award. We hope to be concluded with the EA process and get a report back on that early in 2013. Between that time and when session starts again in February-March, we hope to be able to get the cost estimates on the project so that we can better ascertain what the cost of the project is going to be. We expect to be able to come back before the House in the February-March sitting to formally make a decision on the Inuvik-Tuk highway. I look forward to doing that.

I thank the Member for his questions. Certainly, the Sahtu holds much promise from an economic standpoint, and there’s going to be, again this winter, a tremendous amount of exploration in the area. We’ve had some preliminary discussions with industry on how we can work together. First off, we are, again, looking at partnering with industry on the maintenance and enhancement of the winter roads in the region so that heavier loads can be brought in, so that they can be opened earlier and last a little bit longer. That will be beneficial to residents as well as industry in the Sahtu.

As far as...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank the Member for his comments. It was certainly a pleasure to be in Colville Lake and open the Tommy Kochon Airport there in the community about two weeks ago with the Member. We’re happy to do that.

We are watching closely, as development occurs in the Sahtu and exploration continues, what the impact is going to be on transportation infrastructure in the Sahtu. I know the Member’s comments in this regard were airports. The region is served by a regional airport in Norman Wells. Last winter landings and take-offs increased threefold. We expect that trend will...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I believe that is done every, roughly, 10 years and we have had some success with that application. It’s also used, I’ll mention this, that compound EK35 has also been used in the community, I believe, of Tulita. They had used that to put it down in the community of Tulita to supress the dust and it does work. They were happy with that application. We’ve had success with it at runways around the territory.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There was a comprehensive review done in 2007 and the airport in Aklavik wasn’t identified at that time as a priority. We do review annually the priorities and needs around the territory, so if things have changed in Aklavik and the need arises to have another look at that, it’s something we would consider.