Michael McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take the occasion to recognize a former colleague from my time in RWED in my past life, Mr. Robert Bouchard. I understand Robert has developed a keen interest in politics and I want to wish him all the best. Of course, I want to recognize Melody McLeod, my sister-in-law, and say welcome.

We are also trying to deal with the issues that are occurring on the Wrigley highway. We are, of course, being challenged this year with additional traffic due to the oil spill that happened along the pipeline route. We are discussing with the pipeline company to work with us, to partner up with us to address some of the issues that the road is receiving in terms of traffic volumes and heavy trucks on it. They have agreed, and I think we have an agreement. If we have not signed one, we will be signing one where we will try to jointly address some of the issues that are challenging that stretch...

We are working on the very request that the Member has raised. We are conducting a full engineering assessment. We’re preparing a functional design on Highway No. 7. This will help us to develop the rehabilitation plan that’s needed. This will also determine the next steps for meeting the current and future traffic needs of that area.

I believe we’re all on the same page on this issue. There is still a lot of work, as I’ve stated before, that needs to be done before we have a final, complete design and plan with all the investment requirements in place.

Yes, we could do that. That’s something that the Member has some desire to get some results from any potential differences. We’ll review it, and sit down with him and provide that information.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Dempster Highway has been a priority for some time, and has been raised in the House by the Member on a number of occasions. We continue to focus on reconstruction of this highway, the Dempster Highway. We’ve done a lot of work on improving the roadway alignments, the roadbed and driving surfaces.

As I responded to this question by this Member on a number of occasions, the road needs to be reconstructed. We are attempting to do that with the resources we have on hand and we’ll continue to focus on that. However, the reconstruction process for this length of highway...

Yes, I’ve talked to all my colleagues at the national level. It’s a concern right across the board. The decision by Greyhound to continue their service into B.C. all the way to Whitehorse is a business decision. They have the market volumes there to warrant carrying of passengers. We had the jurisdiction of Manitoba look at doing one year of subsidies. They have since discontinued that and I’m not sure where they’re going to go as next steps. We have looked and talked with all our colleagues at different jurisdictions and are looking at all the options.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The NWT is one of four jurisdictions that do not regulate passenger or bus industry. We certainly control and insist on safety and insurance requirements to provide service. However, in the last while since we were made aware of the bus service that came into Hay River, as the Member referred to, we are not going to provide passenger service anymore. We’ve taken the occasion to try to get as much information as we can to see what that meant in terms of are they also going to discontinue hauling freight. Are there other people out there that would step up to the plate to...

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about another potentially significant development in our northern transportation system. On Monday, June 6, 2011, the Government of Canada announced funding for the construction of an all-season road between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk.

Mr. Speaker, this investment not only builds momentum behind a dream long held by residents of the region, to drive on an all-season road between the communities, but it also realizes the first step to complete the construction of the Mackenzie Valley Highway project.

As the celebrating and the handshaking were underway, Mr. Speaker...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Karl is survived by his wife, Anne, who continues to live in Enterprise. He was cremated and will be buried in Winnipeg, Manitoba, near some of his relatives. A memorial service will be held on May 28th at 2:00 p.m. in the community hall of Enterprise and we welcome any visitors. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to advise the Members of the House of the passing of Mr. Karl Mueller of Enterprise. Karl...everyone knew him. He suffered a heart attack and passed away on May the 12th of this year at the extended care unit of H.H. Williams Hospital in Hay River.

Karl was born on April 19, 1929, in Vienna, Austria. He immigrated to Canada in 1957, with Toronto being his first Canadian home. He then moved to the North, living and mining in the Yukon for several years before moving to Fort Smith, where he lived for approximately 20 years and worked in the field of...