Katrina Nokleby

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Excuse me, here. Marine Transportation Services continues to improve capacity to upgrade a professional and reliable marine shipping service in a challenging Arctic environment. It remains committed to providing the best possible service to all customers. I am currently looking to instruct my department to provide me with a fulsome summary of the marine transportation system so I can have a better understanding of how it all operates, so I can ensure that it is moving forward in the proper manner. I can commit to sharing information with the Member as I receive it, and...

While I would not like to speak to that specific instance or person, as that is not appropriate for me, we have been having a larger conversation about the composition of our boards in the Northwest Territories and making sure that they more adequately and accurately reflect the people who they are supposed to be making decisions for. I commit to the Member that I will review the appointment of our board member and look into ensuring that that person is more representative of the people who they are speaking for.

I'm not sure if my department would be engaged to provide feedback to the trucking industry. However, we could definitely look into some ways and see if there is an opportunity, or a forum that maybe we need to become a member of, in order to be providing that. I did want to say, with respect to the mud and the rocks, and such, we are trying to implement, as much as we can, chipseal programs on roads that are not currently paved. Chipseal is basically a type of asphalt or pavement. We are looking to reduce the number of gravel roads that we have; however, again, very expensive. We also have a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, I have not read those two documents. I do commit to the Member to getting to them as soon as possible. I have had some scheduling constraints that have made delving into every departmental item quite difficult. I will commit to the Member that I will take a read of those items. Thank you.

As an engineer, a professional engineer, I take an oath to protect public safety. That may be something that's not as out there as the doctors, who take their oath to protect people, but, yes, I am very concerned to hear that buildings are being built to a substandard level, and I will commit to the Member to doing the best that I can do in the next four years. As we've all been saying, this a very, very large ship to change course on, so I'm not sure exactly how much I will be able to change. However, I commit to doing everything in my department as safely as a I can, and I will carry your...

I commit to the Member that I would definitely look into whether or not a building act is needed here. I do want to remind the Member that, at times, Northerners and northern engineers and geoscientists are involved with creating the federal standards. There have recently been four building standards that were released. There is the guideline for foundations, geotechnical investigations and foundations and permafrost-rich soils. There is a land farm one that has come out recently. I do want to state that the national codes or standards do have northern input.

I recognize what the Member is...

Yes, I will commit to providing the Member with a synopsis or summary of why this contract was not included. It may just be a matter of it wasn't asked for, and therefore it didn't come up; I'm not quite sure. However, I would like to assure the Member that this contract, as well as every contract that we are going to be looking at going forward, will be looked at with the lens of the priorities of our mandate and of the 19th Assembly, which includes increasing contract opportunities for northern and Indigenous businesses and retaining our money in the north. I can assure the Member that all...

Yes, there are penalties in the contract, if I'm reading correctly. Rather than maybe reading off a whack of numbers here, I could just provide that as a written response to the Member, and then he would have it for his records.

I note the Member's comment, and I thank him for his input. He has done very hard work in keeping the issues for his communities in the forefront of my mind and my attention. I agree; we need to make sure that people have security, and that they know that they're going to have fuel, and they know that they're going to have food, and that they're not paying through the nose, because we've had to fly all of that in, because there was some sort of a mix-up in the scheduling. I commit to the Member that we will work out the best way to fix this issue. Thank you.

Yes. It is my belief, personally, that the marine transportation system's first priority should be the resupply and refuelling of our communities, ahead of any charter or business interest that they may have. So, yes, I commit to the Member that the priority of MTS will be the resupply and not the business aspect of it.