Deh Cho

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 10)

Other jurisdictions have engaged in the process. Right now there’s only, I think, five companies that are considered to be certified. We are looking at the consequences of what it would mean to all the different departments involved and communities and their different contractors and different sizes of contractors. So it’s something being considered right now and we’ll be looking at it very seriously. Thank you.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 10)

Mr. Speaker, the answer is yes, we are considering it at this point.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 10)

Mr. Chairman, we have had correspondence back and forth on this issue. The Member has raised concern regarding the condition of this operator’s shelter in one of his communities and we have indicated to him that we’d be making some minor upgrades to ensure that the building continues to be useful and viable. This project is in our plans, in our five-year capital needs, and is scheduled to begin in 2011. So we’re very reluctant to invest a whole lot of money as this building is going to be replaced very quickly. Thank you.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 9)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think all the Members in the House recognize the cost of building bridges are very extreme and it certainly would be a fiscal challenge for our government to actually finance and provide the resources to build one bridge in the typical fashion required for building a bridge.

We have considered, as part of what would be a Mackenzie Valley Highway, that the bridges along that route would be covered and part of the road, if there was ever federal resources to build that road. We do have, as the Member has indicated, expertise on a lot of the aspects of building bridges. We...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 9)

Mr. Chairman, the relationship we have with the MAC Group is through the Gwich’in Tribal Council and the president. They have had some discussions with myself and also with some of our staff and demonstrated an interest in doing some of the project description report work that we’d like to see done that’s within their traditional area. They have indicated to us that they are getting close to some kind of agreement that would see some investment from the federal government and they’ve asked us to stay in touch with them or to see if we’d be interested. I believe our Premier has given them a...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 9)

Mr. Chairman, I am certainly glad that the Member has recognized that there is a need for more money in our budget. Of course, once again, it is a matter of where our priorities are. We certainly could have set up our budget a little differently, but there is so much need right across the Territories.

Our goal was to try to target investment on all our road systems. We also had a number of ACAP program projects that we used to improve our airport and we also had the federal government come forward and announce some projects in Nunakput for the air terminals. Mr. Chairman, it is a matter of how...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 9)

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There are a number of issues being raised here. First of all, the contract for Blackwater. I am sure the Member heard the disappointment in my voice when I responded to the question and especially the comments made that he was not happy with the government not responding.

Mr. Chairman, at the Member’s request, we did carve out a portion for earth works, so it would be negotiated with the community. We did also extend the deadline for the contract. We also responded to his request for a negotiated contract. We found extra dollars so we could negotiate the contract. The...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 9)

Mr. Chairman, it was always understood and it was in the agreement that we would be providing this portion of the toll collection. As to why it wasn’t, I wasn’t actually at the negotiating table, so I couldn’t tell. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 9)

Mr. Chairman, I can commit to the Member that we can do an analysis of what the cost would be to apply different types of dust suppression and highway top, whether chipseal or Easy Street asphalt, and look at the cost, look at the benefits and look at the possibilities, and share that information with the Member and have a discussion before next year’s budget. We are still at a point where we don’t know what the actual cost and benefit would be from Easy Street. The product is manufactured in Alberta and it’s quite a distance to truck it all the way to the Dempster. So we’d have to see if...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 9)

Mr. Chairman, under our responsibilities and under the conditions of the concession agreement, it falls under our responsibility to develop and to design and supply, install, upgrade and manage the whole toll system. There are two components to the toll system. In the capital budget, we have already received approval for the $400,000 for last year. This year, we are looking for an additional $600,000 in this budget. There are two areas that will be considered or will be invested in. This is, first of all, to do with vehicle counts and classification. For the most part, that has already been...