David Ramsay

Certainly, the department’s heard the concerns and we are going to address those concerns. Especially when it’s a time sensitive thing and it deals with employment, I mean, that’s why we need to ensure that the wait times aren’t what they’ve been.

We are, again, certainly taking the steps to ensure that we are going to improve the wait times when it comes to receiving a driver’s licence and getting the driver examination here in Yellowknife.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know there are wait times. The department has been looking at a way to address this.

About 60 percent of all drivers’ examinations in the Northwest Territories are done in Yellowknife and that was by one driver examiner. Recently, the department has centralized the management structure of the transport compliance section and moved the driver examination program to that area. This has given the department some additional flexibility to deal with the significant demand that we’ve seen in that area.

Staff are working on a plan right now to reduce the waiting times in...

Again, I will provide the detail to the Member, but we also recently signed an MOU with Canadian Zinc and the Prairie Creek Mine on how industry and the government can work together on improvements to Highway No. 7 and the Nahanni access road, and that’s certainly something we also look forward to completing as well. I think that’s an important step forward, too, as we realize some resource development and some jobs and some opportunities in the Deh Cho and the Nahendeh riding. So we’ve got some things in front of that that look very, very good and we intend to keep moving forward with Highway...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t have the exact figures with me, but I’d be more than happy to provide those to the Member when I do get them. Thank you.

Yes, Mr. Speaker. A Northwest Territories driver’s licence issued at any community in the Northwest Territories is good anywhere in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Again I thank the Member for bringing up the question of on-line services provided by DOT. I’m not sure if I wasn’t clear enough, but the answer was yes, we will look at it and we will provide Members with an update as we move forward with plans to provide on-line services.

I could commit to providing Members with that information. In some of the other communities in the Northwest Territories, the wait times aren’t what we see here, in Yellowknife. Some of the statistics that I have and have provided to the Member, would indicate that they’re not near what they are in Yellowknife. Once we get the information and compile it, we’ll share it with the Members.

We’ve recognized that; the department’s recognized that. As I’ve mentioned earlier, we’re taking steps to address that.

In terms of monitoring, I’m an MLA, I’ve got constituents, as well, and the Member’s got constituents and we hear from our constituents whether or not the level of services is up to par. If it’s taking longer than three months to receive a driver’s licence, we’re going to hear about it.

Certainly, we’re paying attention to the issue and we’re taking steps so that the wait times aren’t what they’ve been in the past and they will improve.

It is there, it has been there in the past with the Deh Cho Connection, the Deh Cho Trail. Certainly, it is part of our highway system here in the Northwest Territories. We have some beautiful parks located on there and some beautiful communities as well. So, certainly, that is part of the Tourism Strategy as we move forward. Thank you.

I thank the Member for bringing up Highway No. 7 again today and I also thank him for earlier this summer the trip we had between Liard and Simpson on Highway No. 7. Certainly, it was a dry year and all indications are that travel on that road by tourists was up. Again, I’ve committed to get the member some figures on the numbers and I will do that.

But certainly, we have to ensure that there’s a long-term plan for Highway No. 7 and I believe that there is. We need to look at some capital dollars going forward for the maintenance and rehabilitation of that road and I’ve mentioned it before in...