Kevin A. Menicoche

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d just like to reiterate one more time the frustration of the travelling public and the people of my communities at having the road closed.

Once again, can the Minister tell me when he can start building the road? I think we can still move gravel, even if the conditions are rainy, up to the muddy sections there. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister to reach out and grab all the resources he has, put them together and then build our road.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to know how much work has been done to date. It’s apparent to constituents that it looks like nothing is being done, but I’d like to know: have tenders been provided? Who is going to do the work? When, at the bare minimum, can they build a bypass road past these muddy sections that are causing the most interruption?

Mr. Speaker, our Health and Social Services authorities have been getting heightened profile and press coverage because of cost overruns, and I, too, am concerned. Firstly though, I want to commend all our hard-working staff — the doctors, the nurses and the many health professionals who serve us in our communities throughout the North. I also wish to extend my appreciation to the Deh Cho Health and Social Services Authority in my riding for their due diligence and hard work.

I do also recognize that differences exist and that each authority may have other unique challenges. I’m not intending...

That’s exactly the point. We are looking toward how we are going to implement a one-rate or levelized zone. It doesn’t mean the government has to do it, but the government should take a good, serious, hard look at it. I believe you do that by developing proposals and bird’s-eye view outlines of it. I’d like to know when this government will start that.

Once again I’d like to reiterate to the Minister that it’s a cry from our whole territory, as well as a request from this side of the House, that the ministry and the government look at a one-rate system or a levelized rate system. I’ll just ask again: what kind of work will this government be doing to work toward that?

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We all know the Northwest Territories has some of the highest energy costs in the country, and these high costs have a big impact on our cost of living. Community government leaders are struggling with these escalating costs, and there does not appear to be any relief in sight.

At the recent NWT Association of Communities annual general meeting in Fort Simpson, community government representatives passed two resolutions that raised concerns about the cost of electrical power and the management of the Northwest Territories Power...

I’ll ask it a different way. The Minister Responsible for the NWT Power Corporation has been instructed by this side of the House, by several motions, to look at moving toward a one-rate zone or levelized rate zone. I’d like to ask: what work has been done to work toward this, to develop a proposal, to look at the different ways of providing that type of service?

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister Responsible for the NWT Power Corporation with reference to my Member’s statement. We’re struggling with electrical costs all through the Northwest Territories. In my Member’s statement I referenced that three of our larger non-hydro communities are looking for some alternative ways of providing power at a cheaper rate. In fact, I believe all communities should have the right and access to cheaper power rates through a one-rate power zone. I’d like to know how much work the ministry’s office has done in light of the many motions we have...

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to hear it’s open again. The residents of Fort Liard are really, really quite frustrated with the highway system. To refresh the Minister’s memory, the word “goat” is part of the phrases they have been using.

We had spoken in the House last week about Highway No. 7 and had asked the Minister about the commitment level of getting those mud sections rebased and reconstructed this fiscal year. It has been like that for 20 years. Residents and our traveling public do not want to see it set aside as soon as it dries up. They want to see it rebuilt and reconstructed.

I’m very happy to see that the Ministry is working toward assisting the people in need in the communities.

Just once again, what type of guideline or policy is in place currently within the department for dealing with situations like this?