Deh Cho

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 30)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The reservation of steel and the production of steel has been something that we were concerned about and there have been allowances made and we’ve put our reservations in the appropriate production companies to have the steel available when we’re going to need it. The Member is correct; it’s transferrable to different companies. Thank you.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 30)

Mr. Chairman, I was just trying to remember when the Member had raised it, but I believe it was some time ago and as we proceed right now with the methodology that we’re using in the plans, it doesn’t include a walking trail or a biking trail. However, at some point as we move forward with the reclamation of Giant Mine we will be required to move the road and widen the road and we would plan to include plans of the nature that the Member is talking about as part of that.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 30)

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The budget that we are referring to we have talked about a little bit already and as a result of the Rural and Remote committee that suggested we increase the budget and also change the criteria, we have done that, we have allowed for marine and we have also allowed for gravel. However, the criteria is more specifically geared towards a gravel haul than the construction of a road. Mr. Chairman, this is a million dollar budget to respond to all the applications that come from the communities and it is really not sufficient to expect that we would build a gravel road, of...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 30)

Mr. Chairman, two parts, I guess, to the comments there. The first, on the airport authority, we are looking at some of the recommendations. There is, as part of the recommendations to move towards an airport authority, the desire to have an airport that’s more businesslike or businesslike operations and, of course, we want to do that also. It also looks at how to generate and raise fees so that the airport itself would be generating its own revenues. So we are looking at all different areas of our fees and our permitting so that we can be more on-line with other jurisdictions. As to the last...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 30)

Mr. Chairman, I believe the information is gone to committee and the Finance department is waiting for a response. That’s my understanding. The responsibility for the P3 policy doesn’t fall under me, so I’m just relaying the message.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 30)

Mr. Speaker, there is a review that requires us to demonstrate need, to demonstrate the design and confirm why we would need certain designs. We are moving to a more consistent approach of what the actual needs are versus allowing for all kinds of inclusion including sometimes the community wants certain things for cultural aspect or things that would reflect art or things of that nature. We have to be very convinced that it is a useful part of the building. In the case of the new school, for example, we have done a lot of work in the early stages. The design was close to being something that...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 30)

We have right now the quarry permit. We’re working on getting the land use permit. There’s still a little bit of work in the area of engineering that needs to be done, but right now we are progressing very smoothly, I think.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 30)

If the situation is as the Member describes, then certainly we will take a closer look. It has not been brought to our attention that the water levels are getting higher than normal. We are aware, however, that there have been issues with high water and every time the water raises above a certain level it causes problems and, of course, the captain of the vessel is the one that makes the deciding call on whether to cross or not. We need to look at the situation and if there is anything that we need to do in terms of adaptation to respond to a climate change issue, we certainly will have to do...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 30)

Mr. Chairman, discussions on a new governance model for the airport have not moved or has not progressed any further since the last time we had these discussions.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 30)

Mr. Chairman, the government’s ability to pay for reconstruction and also the chipsealing or resurfacing would make that dependant on how fast we go. Right now, we have a long-term plan to reconstruct a lot of our highways and as part of that we want to start doing the chipseal. So I can’t give him a firm date at this time.