Kevin A. Menicoche

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to go back to Item 6 on the order paper.

I’m just concerned that if the department puts it off too long and tries to encompass the many, many changes that are contemplated for the Motor Vehicles Act, they’ll just push the date back for this. I’m just wondering if they’ve examined the possibility of doing separate legislation just for this alone.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to follow up on my Member’s statement where I spoke about ignition interlock devices. A constituent from Fort Simpson recently advised me that Alberta is instituting theirs beginning July 1. In the 15th Assembly I did raise it in this House with the Minister of Transportation then. I’d just like to know how much work is being done with the ignition interlock device issue within our government and within the Ministry of Transportation.

I’d like to thank the Minister for a much better answer. The intent of question period is not to get the short answers. I didn’t like the tone of that. The intent is to inform me and the public and our communities that the government is here to provide services for our communities. Safety is one of them. Once again, I’d like to tell the Minister that my communities feel that not having these runway lights installed is a safety issue, and I’d like him to do something about it.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up on my Member’s statement to the Minister of Transportation. Recently I was flying over the communities of Nahanni Butte and Jean Marie, and I noticed there were no runway lights there. I’d just like to ask the Minister: is purchasing of these lights or fixing them up being planned for this fiscal year?

I’d like to thank the Minister for the brevity of that answer and his efficiency there. I thought in the budget cycle previous to this there was a line item specifically referring to repairs to runway lights in Jean Marie and even in Nahanni Butte, I believe. I’d like to ask the Minister if there are plans this coming year to at least assess them and evaluate the repairs to those lights.

[English translation not provided].

Mr. Speaker, because of the long distances between our communities in the NWT, air travel has become an essential service for our residents. Most community airports across the NWT are equipped with basic infrastructure, such as adequate runways, navigational aids and runway lighting. This ensures that communities can be safely accessed by air 24 hours a day.

Unfortunately, that is not the case for two communities in my riding. The airports in the communities of Jean Marie River and Nahanni Butte do not have runway lights. The lack of runway lights makes it...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Stephen King began one of his books by saying, “He wasn’t a good boy, but he wasn’t a bad boy either.” So what we have is…. That’s how I’d like to talk about the budget: it’s not a bad budget, but it’s not a good budget either.

It took a lot of hard work to get to where we are today. It took the power of the 11. It had a big impact, working with Cabinet, because when we first started the process so many months ago, we had our input, and for whatever reason it didn’t seem like we had our footprint. I mentioned it several times that it didn’t have the impact that our...

Once again, the bypass road has got to be part of the reconstruction plans. I would like to know when they will be building and constructing the bypass road. Failing that, Mr. Speaker, can we get a bridge?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Hon. Norman Yakeleya, Minister of Transportation.

I hear with great interest that Highway No. 7 is still having its share of problems. That’s the section between Fort Simpson and Fort Liard. The conditions are still muddy, and the road is closed once again. This is really, really causing a lot of grief to constituents, especially those in Fort Liard. I know that the Minister committed to reconstruction and fixing of the drainage surface and great improvement. I’d just like to know what has been done in the planning stages so far, because I...