Kevin A. Menicoche

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Our priority right now is to do the 44 kilometres from the border towards Midway Lake and that’s where we’re expending our efforts. We’ve got regular O and M funding that does, as well, address some of the issues of that particular section the Member is talking about, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I was very happy to take the opportunity to go to Inuvik and to the northern reaches of our great territory and drive on the infrastructure that we do have over there. My opinion, it would be moot at this point but I can give the Member some facts, and the fact is that we have spent $35 million on the Dempster Highway over the years, and the last two years, Mr. Speaker, we have spent $5 million upgrading that piece of infrastructure and we've been very happy with the contractors that work there and work hard on our highways. We are working towards safe...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I actually heard a couple questions there and I'll follow up with the first one, which was the commitment to follow up on the study that's been previously committed. I can certainly do that. I'll check with the department and see where that assessment is at. As well, in answering the second part of his question is, I'll continue to do the same with the department and find out where the assessment and evaluation of extending the boundary from Behchoko to Boundary Creek. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The department, along with many other departments in our government, have been using and will continue to ask for local workforce in all its communities and regions that we represent. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The contract to repair the Hay River runway has been awarded and the construction schedule is for the first week of September to complete the work. There has been notification to air carriers and anybody using the airport that this work will be taking place and hopefully it won’t interfere with the regular scheduled aircraft that run into Hay River. Mahsi.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I would be glad to provide the Member with more details. I’ll simply go back to the provider, the people doing the testing, and get a firm date for the Member to answer her request. Mahsi.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to say that the department has been working hard with the providers of the software and there have been software changes made. We’re continually testing it in the next couple weeks and we expect to roll out the new changes by close to the end of September, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

As far as I am aware, it’s still an alternate destination for Yellowknife, but, once again, the notice has been given to all air carriers that the depression on the runway will be remediated soon. However, it is still a secondary location for emergency purposes. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In April of this year, the departmental staff and air carriers were aware of a portion of the Hay River runway. Approximately 650 feet of runway had some serious depressions in there that were deep enough to impact jet planes. So we did look at that. We did initiate some remediation of that section, Mr. Speaker. As well, we just closed a contract to completely resurface and reconstruct that section that has that depression, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Certainly the changes of the new computer programming or general identity card system, the problems have been that there are only 45 characters allotted on the first line and so we usually run into issues when we’re providing many names there, Mr. Speaker. That was one of the complications that we have had. The software changes have taken a lot more time than anticipated. Thank you.