David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member is well aware, building roads in the Northwest Territories is an expensive endeavour. With the resource development in the central Mackenzie and the Sahtu, I certainly believe there is opportunity, as we go forward, to develop transportation infrastructure, and that would include all-weather roads, by working with industry and also with our partner in Ottawa. I believe those discussions will take place as that resource is proven up and that resource continues to move forward. There are going to be a lot of opportunities in that area.

The Member brings up a good point and we’ll take that into consideration.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d be more than happy to look into the intervals on maintenance on that section of highway in comparison to other sections. It does have, and I do know this, something to do with the amount of traffic that is on the road, but I will get the information for the Member and then we can do a comparison. If there are issues with maintenance, the Member and the communities can certainly bring that to my attention and we will address that.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The discovery of diamonds at Lac de Gras in 1991 marked the beginning of a new economic era for the Northwest Territories. Since then, the mining industry has become the backbone of our economy, creating over 2,600 direct jobs and an annual economic impact of over $750 million. However, we have not had a comprehensive plan in place to ensure we make the most of our mineral resources. Today I would like to talk to you about this government’s plan to develop a mineral development strategy.

First, I would like to mention that this is NWT Mining Week. We celebrate the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “Communities and Diamonds: 2010 Annual Report of the Government of the Northwest Territories under the BHP Billiton, Diavik and DeBeers Socio-economic Agreements.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Over the weekend the website was updated on a continuous basis. It was updated because of the situation that was happening with the Liard River. As far as weather, we have somebody on every weekend updating the website. If there are events that are happening in the territory, I would expect that we’d have somebody available to update that website. I can get that level of detail for the Member on how that happens and when it happens. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This past spring the staff and students at N.J. Macpherson School challenged themselves to raise $15,000 to help Stanton Territorial Hospital. For a kindergarten to Grade 5 school with just over 250 students, that was an ambitious goal.

Mr. Speaker, I’m pleased to say not only did the students reach their goal, they surpassed it. They raised just over $17,000 and I’m extremely proud to say that the school is in my riding of Kam Lake.

After hearing that the Stanton Territorial Hospital Foundation is currently raising money for a dedicated area in our territorial hospital...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “NWT Economic Outlook Report, 2011-2012.” Thank you.

I’ve had the opportunity to sit down with the Territorial Farmers Association for a meeting, and I look forward, at the earliest opportunity, to meet with them again as we advance the Economic Development Strategy. I think we will be leaning heavily on organizations like the Territorial Farmers Association for that level of expertise and knowledge when it comes to agriculture here in the NWT and how they feel the government could help out in that regard. Certainly, they will be a part of this as we move forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In response to Mr. Nadli’s questions last week, we have done a great deal. We understand the importance of locally grown food. We recognize the importance of processing fish and meat locally and getting it into the local homes. We’ve been in 29 communities in the Northwest Territories on the Community Garden Initiative and that’s through the Growing Forward Fund that the federal government had. Also, I should note, we are advancing some capital investment aimed at replacing the defunct grading station in Hay River for eggs and the production of eggs in our territory...