Michael McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think I just answered that in my last response. I’ll respond again. The combined services building is substantially complete. We anticipate we’re going to have an official opening by sometime maybe in August. These dollars are to address some of the ongoing work and to rectify some of the deficiencies. The carry-over is required to meet our commitment. It’s not new money, it’s not additional money, it’s dollars that were identified that were not expended in last year’s budget. This is separate dollars not earmarked for the alternate energy system, it’s to complete...

Mr. Chairman, there are two questions I think being posed here. First of all on the dollars identified here for a little over $1 million as to what it would be for, the building and the site works are substantially complete for this facility. We anticipate we’re going to have an official opening sometime before the end of the summer and more than likely it would be sometime in August. However, there are some deficiencies that cause this to have a carry-over and there’s still other associated work that needs to be addressed.

This carry-over is required to meet our commitment and rectify some of...

Mr. Chairman, the Member is correct that the bulk of the dollars earmarked for investment along the Dettah access road has been carried over. We’ve been working with the development corporation out of the community, which is the economic arm of the Yellowknives Dene First Nations. I think we’ve developed a very good working relationship. They’ve done some very good quality work for us. They’re still relatively new at this type of work.

Some of the work that had been done and needed as a guideline and work that would allow us to move forward wasn’t quite done on time. The quarry work that was...

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to make every effort to bring the message forward to the federal government that there is a real need for a Mackenzie Valley Highway. We will continue to take the opportunities, whether it is myself as the Transportation Minister or the Premier or the Finance Minister or any other Minister that sits for this government to make the arguments. Mr. Speaker, it may warrant further trips to Ottawa. It may warrant involving other people. We will have to look at that. There are other considerations, of course, in terms of elections and things of that nature, but we are...

Mr. Speaker, I have to apologize to the Member. I don’t have that information in front of me. I do recall that the report that was conducted and the research that was done in the communities came back indicating there would be huge benefit to the communities along the right-of-way. There would be huge benefit in terms of jobs in the area of road construction. There would be a lot of savings to the communities in the cost of living as they’d be able to travel on a year-round road. It would certainly increase tourism. That part of the country is very beautiful, as the Member knows. There are...

Mr. Speaker, I can commit to give it to him again. Mr. Speaker, this is information he has already received. We already approved our capital plan in October. As to what’s coming up in the next plan, that’s still being drafted and I’m not in a position to commit to something that I can’t guarantee.

Mr. Speaker, we don’t expect the money for Highway No. 7 to go anywhere except on Highway No. 7. I have to agree with the Member that there is a lot of investment that is going to be required over the next while to continue reconstruction of the road. The whole road needs to be reconstructed. It also needs to have a hardtop surface of some sort to protect it. That is going to require further investment.

I know the Member is trying to get some response from me as to what is in the upcoming budget. Mr. Speaker, that is in the process of being drafted.

There are huge needs right across the...

Mr. Speaker, I know that all Members share my interest in doing everything we can to prevent needless deaths and injuries from occurring on our streets and highways. Every injury or loss of life is especially hard on our communities, especially when there is so much we can do to reduce the risks associated with the use of snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles (ATV), and vehicles on our roads and trails.

Two thousand and eleven is the Year of Road Safety in Canada, Mr. Speaker. It is the first year of Canada’s Road Safety Strategy 2015 as well as the

international decade of Road Safety 2020. This is...

[Microphone turned off] transportation report to the Legislative Assembly for 2010 on the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1990. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the concept of a highway down the Mackenzie Valley has been around for many, many years, even from way back as far as the Diefenbaker days. The idea has been brought forward from the Government of the Northwest Territories on many occasions. Almost at every Assembly there’s been strategies developed over the years and they have included the concept of a highway, and we’ve indicated that there is a desire to see this move forward. Documents such as Corridors for Canada were drafted and included highways and to really no avail. It’s our interpretation that maybe we needed to do more...