Statements in Debates
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon. I’m here with the Honourable Michael Miltenberger to discuss the 2011-2012 Capital Estimates of the Government of the Northwest Territories.
As lead Minister for infrastructure, I was tasked with revising the Government of the Northwest Territories capital planning process, with the aim of improving how we plan for, acquire, deliver and maintain infrastructure necessary to deliver required programs and services for our residents.
The changes we have implemented as a result ensure that all major projects are properly planned and costs are accurately...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am happy to hear that the Member is pleased, at least with the process. He’s raised a number of concerns, the first one being the issue of tenders still being put out later than we would anticipate because of the change in the timing and the approval process. I think that is a concern that has also been voiced by the NWT Construction Association, although they are very pleased that we have changed the timing of our capital budget approval. They’ve endorsed it. We have consulted with them.
Our challenge, of course, over the last two years is the number of projects we have...
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I also want to thank the Member for her comments and some of the feedback she’s provided on her take of the benefits and the positive results we’re seeing and some of the changes we’ve made in the last little while.
Of course, there are concerns that all of us recognize up front, including carryovers. It’s always been an issue and historically we’ve seen that number grow. I’m pleased to report that this coming year we would expect that amount is going to be a lot less than we’ve seen. We’re still crunching the numbers. We don’t have all the numbers in, but as of today...
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With me I have Paul Guy, deputy minister of Public Works and Services.
The strategy that we have used to determine which roads need attention has been developed by our engineers. We certainly can ask them if they want to relocate some investment. However, that would be asking us to move away from areas that we think have issues with safety and vision and they may have some difficulty doing that without increased funding in this area. We would have to be relocating dollars that are targeted for specific areas. We can certainly discuss that and see what possibilities there are, but I would say it’s unlikely.
I have no control on what the Member is going to label his road...
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The reality is, Mr. Speaker, this road is going to require probably a complete reconstruction. We’ve been really focused on trying to develop a plan that will do that. However, the challenge is that there has been excessive rainfall in that area. It has contributed to eroding, it has contributed to culvert failures, flooding, things of that nature and it has forced us to redirect our efforts from reconstruction on a portion of the road that has been targeted, to trying to deal with some of the crisis situations that...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A visitor here today has been recognized as the Speaker, former MLA and grand chief. I also want to recognize Sam Gargan as a constituent from my riding. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, obviously the Member is still not paying attention.
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Mr. Speaker, we committed to committee and provided information to committee on our findings. We provided a number of options that we would like considered as we move forward. We have response from committee. We are also watching, with great interest, as Alberta unveils their legislation sometime this fall. We have also had discussions with the CCMTA, the federal body that deals with best practices. They are coming out with recommendations that we would like to compile the findings of all that information with what we...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t think anybody is going to argue that a driver’s performance is severely undermined while talking on the cell phone or texting. I don’t think anybody is going to argue that driving around in your Lexus, drinking coffee, chewing gum and trying to stop your two kids from fighting in the back is considered a hazard.
Mr. Speaker, the Member pointed out in his Member’s statement that I, as a Minister, was amusing or flirting with legislation. I would suggest the Member make a date in the standing committee that we are working with, to find out where this piece of...
Thank you. I just returned from a federal/provincial/territorial conference in Halifax and we did discuss a number of issues related to Transportation, including a strategic plan for all of Canada, including the Northwest Territories. We have a number of our officials that are leading the research and development of planning in this area and we certainly have all agreed that the future is going to be a lot different from the environment that we’ve dealt with in the past and our infrastructure is going to have to adapt to that. We had agreement from the new federal infrastructure Minister to...