Michael McLeod

The Department of Transportation has taken the lead role on this whole review and also has been providing oversight on the Food Mail Program for quite a few years now, and we are working and have partnered up with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, and the Department of Health, and we are looking at the options and looking to see what are the benefits and the pros and cons of each option that has been put forward.

Indian Affairs has had their representatives come and make their presentation to committee. I am sure every Member will be in a position to make their comments...

We are always looking for opportunities to reduce the costs of living in the communities. This is an excellent way to do it. We have roughly 18 communities that take part and take advantage of the Food Mail Program as it exists. However, we are still a very small percentage in terms of the overall budget that is set out for the rest of Canada and we’d be very happy to see what the recommendations are from the Members. If there was a submission the Member wants to make, we’d be glad to forward that. We’d also be very pleased to share our recommendations, once that’s formalized and presented to...

Mr. Speaker, the Food Mail Program is probably long overdue for an overhaul and I think many Members in this House have recognized that. We’ve had some discussions over the years as to possible changes. Our desire was to see this review finally came to reality in the last couple of years. In 2008 there was a review through the federal government with an assignment with a number of consultants to do an evaluation and, more recently, there were further reviews that are ongoing that we are hoping will make the necessary changes.

At the request of the Members of this House, we did talk to INAC and...

Mr. Speaker, the current plan is to have the road reconstructed and chipsealed from, I believe, kilometre 68 to the community. It will, as the Member indicates, require further investment.

Our goal as a department is to do the whole road over the long term. Right now we have not identified the resources to complete the last part of the project, but that is our intention, is to find the resources and bring it forward as part of our capital planning and when the time is appropriate to do so. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the total investment for Highway No. 6 is $6.9 million over three years and will be focusing on key areas of that portion of road that needs upgrading and reconstruction. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t know if I’ll use his analogy for any of our discussions. I think the federal government has recognized that this is an important piece of infrastructure for the Northwest Territories and they have been continually investing over the last long term with all the different programs that have come forward. It has enabled us to improve a lot of the portions of the winter roads, for example, and great improvements in the Member’s riding. It has allowed us to build 34 bridges and most of them are in the Member’s riding, and it has allowed us to do a lot of improvement...

Mr. Speaker, the Member is asking if I’m going to table it and I’ve responded by stating that I would not be able to do that until the next session. I may be able to share the document with him in advance of that and make it public.

Mr. Speaker, in a nutshell, the review has come back and shows that investment into the Mackenzie Valley Highway, the $1.8 billion or $2 billion required will have a positive return and there are some really good opportunities as a result of having a highway built down the Mackenzie Valley and that’s reflected in the document. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the Member is asking a very difficult question because it really depends on the level of reconstruction and availability of materials and how far the design program has gone. In a lot of cases that we found, very much is dependent on how much resources we can secure for the completion of the road. So there are a number of factors that we have to consider, but the biggest one is being able to attract the dollars that are required to do the final part of this road and that is what we are working on right now. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the intention of reconstruction of Highway No. 6 is to improve the road base in preparation of having a final chipseal service on the road, and at the end of the project we should expect to have a safer road and certainly a smoother ride for all the travelling public and a very improved link in our transportation system. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that later today I will table Green Light: Signalling the Department of Transportation’s Commitment to the Environment.

Maintaining a healthy environment is one of the most important issues facing us today. Managing climate change, air and water pollution, and stemming the loss of wildlife habitat are some of our biggest challenges.

The residents of the Northwest Territories are fortunate to live in a vast and relatively unspoiled environment that supports subsistence harvesting, resource development, recreation and tourism. Northerners have a strong and...