Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I have no further questions at this time. Thank you.

It doesn’t seem fair that the maximum amount of assistance available through the CARE program is the same everywhere. You will get a lot more done for $3,000 in Yellowknife than in Aklavik. Will the Minister take local costs into account and adjust the CARE program? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. We have many problems of housing within our communities. In my region, in 2009 the NWT Housing Corporation considered 40 percent of the homes to be in core need. We are always talking about public housing, but we have lots of homeowners in the Mackenzie Delta. In Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic, almost half of the homes are privately owned. In Aklavik it is about one-third, but that is still about 80 houses.

Many homeowners have a hard time keeping their houses in good shape. Upkeep in Fort McPherson or Aklavik is a far cry from a situation in Yellowknife. If you want...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sorry. At this time I have no further questions. Thank you.

My next question is: When can the community expect work to begin on an all-weather access road? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Aklavik is one of 10 communities in the NWT that have only seasonal access to a gravel source. Aklavik gets about 23 tonnes of gravel per year from Willow River, which is 18 kilometres from town, or 27 kilometres if you take the Peel River channel. Every year the community builds an ice road to reach the gravel source. It can cost as much as $3,000 per kilometre, plus maintenance. Gravel is stockpiled in the community during the winter months so it can be used the rest of the year. Pit operations, ice thickness and safety have to be carefully planned to successfully...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, am in support of this motion. I believe that this is a long-term investment for the Northwest Territories. It seems we have become dependent on non-renewable resources. It’s quite clear. We need to begin our research into renewable resources and whether it’s producing our own wood pellets here in the Northwest Territories. We also need to fully support those communities that are stepping forward to champion these projects. For example, as Mr. Yakeleya stated, we have turbine energy in the Bear River. We also have the community of Tuktoyaktuk that is looking into...

Thank you. What will the department do to ensure that people and businesses in Aklavik have job opportunities in connection with the Inuvik-Tuk highway? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a follow-up to my Member’s statement, a couple of questions for the Minister of Transportation. What resources have been given to the community of Aklavik for the Willow River access road? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just to begin, I have one of the communities in my riding, which is Tsiigehtchic, who I’m sure would really enjoy having an airport. They’re one of the very few communities in the Northwest Territories that don’t have that luxury. Hopefully, within the next couple of years we could see that in the budget.

We do have the community of Aklavik who is hoping to, in the near future, have an extension on the airport, on the airstrip there. I know it was planned, I think, a year or two ago. I’m not sure what happened there, but I’m hoping that we could get that into the budget...