Kevin A. Menicoche

Certainly, even though we’re living in the North and we have small and remote communities, I always see in the news schools being locked down or severe incidents happening, so I am pleased we are moving forward with this. Perhaps the Minister could say how he’s handling the smaller communities. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. That would be nice to get that kind of documentation as soon as we can. Can the Minister commit to that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The residents of Nahendeh have been asking the Department of Transportation to consider moving from a 16-hour day to an 18-hour day, which means opening up the Lafferty Ferry at the Liard crossing from 6:00 a.m. until midnight. We were very pleased that we almost had a trial period this fall, but unfortunately the residents didn’t like the two-hour break which is prime time for traveling back home and would have created some other headaches. Since that time, I have spoken with the Minister to review how the Providence work was being done for an 18-hour day. I don’t know...

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Just in terms of the capital infrastructure that’s planned for next year. Of course, I’m certainly pleased to see the investment into Highway No. 7, the resources that are going there. It’s something that has been high on my agenda and will continue to be so. It’s $3 million a year, and certainly, it will help with that highway. Because I’ve always said, as part of our tourism plan, as well as to have a good solid highway, we can truly continue to sell the Deh Cho Trail which means coming in through Alberta and exiting through BC, or vice versa. It will be a...

I’d like to ask the Minister, will he commit to providing regular updates to Members of this House and our Priorities and Planning committee as the claims are evaluated over the next couple of weeks? Mahsi.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to ask some questions on my Member’s statement on the Inuvik-Tuk Highway. I know that they’re sensitive negotiations, so my experience will tell me that I’ve got to be pretty general about my questions, so I will proceed that way.

Just in terms of why did the Minister of Transportation not advise Regular Members of the claims of the Inuvik-Tuk Highway in an expedient and timely manner? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, rise in support of Mr. Dolynny’s point of privilege. For four years we’ve governed ourselves as an Assembly sharing as much information as we can. Having that announcement in the media without prior Member or committee involvement is a huge oversight of the way we’ve been running. I really feel that there was a misapplication of guidelines and procedures that we govern ourselves by in this case.

I don’t know why it is, but it seems to have happened more than once in the last month. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. The construction of the Fort Simpson Health Centre is certainly a priority for the community. The department is right; acquisition of the land was of primary importance. I do concur it did take some time. I know the red flag is a priority of the government, and like I said, I’m upset it was bumped up five years as opposed to including it into the capital plan sooner, like they were just talking about. Having it in 2022-23 doesn’t give me any comfort. Sometimes when they put plans in black and white they get stuck there without somebody following up on it. Let’s...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Of course, timing is an issue because we’ll be heading to dissolution pretty soon. In fact, our sitting of this House ends, I believe, next Thursday.

I’d just like to ask the Minister, perhaps, how they will be proceeding should there be an acceptable claim. Because I believe, and I’m sure my colleagues will concur, that you need the consent of the Assembly. So, I’d like to ask him, how will he proceed? Can the ministry and the Cabinet defer any decision until the first sitting of the 18th Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much. He didn’t really speak to why he chose to not inform Regular Members for at least a couple of weeks afterwards. Nevertheless, how long does the Minister expect this process to take? Thank you.