Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I have a couple of questions for the Minister of Transportation.

As I mentioned earlier in the session here, many people in the Mackenzie Delta depend on the Rat Pass channel. We have many elders in the Mackenzie Delta who live in their bush camps year round. Some of them are in their 70s and 80s and they depend on the Rat Pass receiver to communicate with their loved ones in the communities. I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation, will the Department of Transportation continue paying the $10,000 for maintaining the receiver on the Rat Pass channel. Thank you.

When the Housing Corporation does repairs for public housing in small communities, could arrangements be made for its crew to assist private homeowners? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. In follow up to my Member’s statement, I have questions for the Minister of Housing.

Will the Minister make changes to the CARE program right away so that the northern communities can take advantage of this this summer? Thank you.

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, 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...

The other concern was the condition of the actual landing in the community of Inuvik. Thank you.