David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s a great idea and that’s how ideas are born. I think we need to be looking to Regular Members to supply us with ideas on how we can enhance public education and awareness when it comes to safety on the water, on our roads, on our trails. Certainly as we move forward, we’ll be looking for partners to help us deliver that safety message. I appreciate the Member’s comments.

We are in the process of putting together another plan that will just lead again to stressing the importance of our transportation infrastructure here in the Northwest Territories and how we can avail ourselves of some substantial capital dollars to carry out the work that is required there. So I think the Member can look forward to us continuing to pursue that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The condition of Highway No. 7 is important to the Government of the Northwest Territories and the folks who live in Nahendeh and the Deh Cho region. We certainly will be trying to set up a meeting with my counterpart, Minister Lebel. I will be in Ottawa from the 27th to the 29th, and I’m hoping to have the opportunity to sit down with Minister Lebel at that time. Thank you.

I think the legislation as it pertains to distracted driving is another tool that keeps our roads safe. There have been a number of tickets issued for folks driving with cell phones and things like that. We’re encouraged that people are putting their phones away when they’re driving. I know me personally, before the new legislation came in, I was guilty of using my cell phone, but now that the new legislation is in place, I, too, leave the phone alone when I’m driving and I encourage anybody else out there to do the same.

We’ve got a number of initiatives that we’re looking at for next year, and certainly incorporating something like a lifejacket borrowing system is something that I believe we can look at. I do appreciate the Member bringing that issue up today.

Again, I appreciate the Member’s passion for Highway No. 7 and the need to get those capital dollars that are required for the reconstruction of that highway. I will continue to work with the Member to see that that happens. Again, we are going to have to pursue capital dollars wherever we can find them. Thank you.

I’d be happy to provide the Member with that timeline and an update on the status of the relocation of the airport in Trout Lake.

That would be until sometime in the winter of 2013.

Yes, that’s something that we could certainly look at in the upcoming business plans.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A training component to that is something the department is interested in and something that we will look at.