Robert Bouchard

Technology Service Centre, infrastructure investment, $2.310 million.

Thank you. Committee agreed?

Thank you, Deputy Minister Guy. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Next I have Mr. Moses, followed by Ms. Bisaro.

Public Works and Services, page 63. We’ll come back to that page. Public Works and Services, asset management, infrastructure investment $11.915 million.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will keep my comments fairly brief. I think most Members have taken on the issues that concern me.

I guess one of the biggest issues that I see right off the hop is, like other Members have indicated, it is one of the biggest operating budgets but yet it is probably well in the bottom half of the capital budget. My concerns would be the fact that we have to keep upgrading schools. We have to keep upgrading those facilities. I see a couple of retrofits on them but not a lot of big projects. I know we have done a couple of big projects in the regional centres, but it just...

I know some responsibilities that have been federal only, let’s say building new highways, have now become the responsibility of the GNWT. We’ve committed money to creating some of those new highways.

Is there a way that we can commit dollars to it to maybe move this project forward?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated in my Member’s statement, Hay River needs dredging. I know the Minister of Transportation had federal meetings, including the meeting with the federal Minister of Transportation. Was Hay River dredging on the agenda?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve been here for three years and I’m going to continue to dwell on the issue that Hay River needs dredging. The community of Hay River is the hub of the North. We do a lot of transportation; we have a railhead there. We’ve been asking for many years to get dredging in the Hay River.

It used to be a federal responsibility. We’ve been talking, I’ve been talking, my colleagues have been talking about dredging requirements. This year has been extremely low. As everybody knows, water levels are low everywhere, but now it is a critical situation.

Now we need our government...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister of Transportation commit to getting a meeting together of all the responsible federal Ministers to see that we can move this project forward in the future sooner than later?