Tom Beaulieu

Can the Minister tell me if prior to our visit to Fort Resolution, if he’s able to provide me with some sort of a plan on what is going to occur as far as territorial park development goes in the Northwest Territories?

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk again about the camping area near Fort Resolution on the Slave River referred to as Big Eddy. In the past few days I have heard many of my colleagues and the Minister of ITI stand up in the House and talk about the importance of tourism in the NWT. This is good to hear, Mr. Speaker, but at the same time I have to wonder about this, because in my riding there is only one territorial park even though there are many areas that can be easily designated as parks.

So we need to start looking at...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources questions in the area of environmental protection. In Fort Resolution the community feels there are enough sites to warrant some sort of contaminated soil from within the community. Does the Minister have data on all the sites that are contaminated within the municipal boundaries in the Northwest Territories communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The community is very eager. Can the Minister commit to holding a public meeting in the community as soon as possible to discuss the project with the community, including the leadership? Thank you.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I talked about the mini-hydro project near Lutselk’e. There are many positive implications to the project; however, that means nothing unless we get started. So I have questions for the Minister of ITI. Mr. Speaker, Lutselk’e is eager to see some actual work started. Can the Minister tell me how the government is engaging the community on this project? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just along the same area, we do have a lot of discussion about having RCMP presence in every community in the North. I think that department should actually do that evaluation, because I don’t think we can have police in every community in the Northwest Territories. They don’t man the posts by themselves and then we have communities of 50 people and then we have communities that are part of the 33 communities that were recognized across the North that are attached to other communities. Like Dettah/Ndilo would probably not get their own police force and the Hay River...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That is just more confusing actually, because I was looking at page 7 and seeing that there is a negative $300,000 there as well, so that is okay. I just can’t figure it out, but I am sure I will if I look at it long enough.

I’m good with that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, too, do not have 100 percent confidence that this could be the last of the money. I hope it is. I have never supported the bridge, but it’s proceeding, and I have never said so publicly either. I know that there is no impact upon, or very little impact, unless this goes into deeper cost than what we’re looking at here, to the people of Fort Resolution. It does impact the people of Lutselk’e by way of freight costs if the cost of freight, the totals coming across hauling freight and groceries which are ultimately flown into Lutselk’e. I feel that we’re in this now as...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister tell me if there’s a good possibility that work could be done this summer, the summer of 2010? Thank you.