Michael McLeod

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, the Department of Public Works and Services is proceeding with the delivery of the combined schools project for the replacement of the Samuel Hearne Secondary School and Sir Alexander Mackenzie School in Inuvik. This combined facility is one of our largest building projects in the history of our government and will support this Assembly’s goal of healthy, educated Northerners.

Mr. Speaker, it’s only been 30 months since the start of construction of the Inuvik Schools Project and it’s already over 66 percent complete...

With the departments I represent, our goal is to hire 48 students, and we’re just about there. We’re short roughly a dozen students. The reason for that is we have a number of students who have identified that they want to work with us but they still haven’t, in some cases, finalized their registration with HR or are requiring certain documentation. We fully expect to reach our goal of 48 for both departments. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 15, An Act to Amend the Deh Cho Bridge Act, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill amends the Deh Cho Bridge Act to:

remove references to the Deh Cho Bridge Fund;

extend to the registered owner of a vehicle the obligation to pay or arrange to pay a toll for the vehicle to be operated on the Deh Cho Bridge; and

authorize the making of regulations respecting the use of transponders and other devices for purposes of enforcing the collection of tolls.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Giant Mine Project and the Ingraham Trail Realignment Project are not on the same boat as ITI and Fred Henne Park. Those discussions have been taking place. Right now it would be a different initiative. It would not be part of the dollars earmarked for a realignment that we’re looking at.

This is something we need to confirm as to what route we’re going to use. Right now we are looking at two possible routes. We’d like to narrow that down to one within the next little while, within the next month or so. A park is not part of that.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all I have to thank the Member for being patient on this project, something that all of us had to do as we waited for the remediation team to put their plans together.

A lot of that work has been concluded. We’ve taken the opportunity over the last while to meet with the various organizations, including the remediation team and the Public Works and Government Services Canada to look at the different issues that needed to be addressed. We’ve also been meeting with the Aboriginal governments in the area, and we now have a schedule, and that schedule involves...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 16, An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill includes amendments that make the use of a restricted electronic device while operating a motor vehicle an offence, unless it is designated as a hands-free device and used in a hands-free manner. Restricted electronic devices are to be prescribed along with who may use them. Certain classes of drivers are exempt or may be exempted under the regulations. The holders of learner’s and probationary driver’s licences...

The realignment will be funded by the Federal Remediation Team and from the GNWT Giant Mine Liability Account. There is no avenue to tie in a park with those types of resources. There has been discussion with ITI. I believe the department was not able to come up with the capital dollars for any type of camping services or camping facilities along this road. They may be able to do that at a later date; however, at this point we have not made any allowance for camping as part of this.

I certainly can confirm that option three corridor has been discontinued. It does not meet the needs of what the team requires. We have recognized that this is a remediation project but it’s also the Ingraham Trail Realignment Project that has to fit along both the group’s needs or both the project needs. We are not looking at this point to deal with any additional camping space for Fred Henne Park. That’s not something that’s part of this project.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to welcome everybody here today. I want to especially recognize an inductee to the Hall of Fame, a well-known educator from Fort Providence, Ms. Margaret Field. She’s been working for many years at the school and more recently as an adult educator. She was here as a senior parliamentarian and did a very good job. I want to say congratulations to her. I also wanted to congratulate her on her most recent addition to her clan, her recent grandchild that was born about a month ago.

I also wanted to, since I don’t get very many visitors here, recognize a former...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 15, An Act to Amend the Deh Cho Bridge Act, be read for the first time.