David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The mining, oil and gas sectors are literally in the bedrock of the Northwest Territories economy. These industries rely on modern, accessible geoscience information to make investment and land use decisions. The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment partners with the federal department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development to deliver geoscience programs for the Northwest Territories.

This partnership – known as the Northwest Territories Geoscience Office or NTGO – provides industry, government, Aboriginal organizations and many other stakeholders with...

That’s an area that the last government spent a great deal of time on. There was some additional funding put into the SEED Program and that’s something, as we move forward and work through the business plan for the upcoming year and the next four years, is a discussion that we will have to have with committee and Regular Members of this House to determine how that should happen. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure to recognize a few visitors in the gallery today. I’d like to first recognize Mr. Tom Hoefer, the executive director of the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines. Mr. John Ketchum, who is the GNWT manager at the Northwest Territories Geoscience Office. Both men were instrumental in the Geoscience Forum that was recently held and I thank them for that. Also with them this afternoon is Mr. Christian Bertelsen. He’s the acting director of minerals and petroleum with Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. I’d also like to welcome this afternoon our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That work is currently underway. I would suspect early in the new year that will in fact take place. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just to answer the Member’s last concern that was with the Tuk-Inuvik highway and how we might mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions on that project, that is going to be, I believe, a difficult task. I think we are going to have to, and it is going to be intensive over a short period of time where the construction of that highway would take place. There is going to be a lot of equipment used. Personally I want to ensure that the benefits accrue to local contractors and businesses in the Northwest Territories who may not have the latest emission standards or equipment...

The information that I have seen would indicate that on a B-Train it would be about $250. When you break that down to a four litre jug of milk, it would be a fraction of a cent. Cumulatively, it wouldn’t amount to much, but certainly when stores don’t have to bring in their refrigeration trucks and store lots of goods for the few weeks during the spring breakup, the cost to consumers really shouldn’t be much of a factor. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I thank Mr. Yakeleya for bringing the concerns from the Sahtu forward. I made a list. I’ll try to go through them, Mr. Yakeleya, and if I miss anything, perhaps Mr. Neudorf can fill in the gaps if I missed a comment of yours.

Going back to the beginning with Colville Lake, we are committed to working with the community there in Colville Lake to get a passenger shelter up and running. I know the new airport is a little further away so that’s important that that happen. In terms of a garage or a structure being built for equipment, and I guess the same answer would apply...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about an important project I have spoken about many times before in this House and I’m referring to the Deh Cho Bridge.

I want to assure all Members that my interests in this project remain the same as they’ve always been, to ensure that the Deh Cho Bridge Project is delivered safely in an efficient and effective manner. The Department of Transportation’s overarching commitment is to build the bridge to the highest standards of safety and quality. We have a team of highly motivated professionals overseeing every aspect of construction. I have every...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Looking forward, a potential would be in the area of claims. There are a number of claims both put forward on behalf of the government and the contractor as well. So in a project of this size there’s going to be claims from both sides and there is some potential there, but we’re going to work to ensure that our financial risk in this project is mitigated at every turn, or minimized at every turn. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair.