Wally Schumann

Mr. Speaker, the department data indicates that the Louis Cardinal is sufficient and it meets the adequate needs of the capacity of the region right now, and we continue to track that with the data received on the volume of traffic on the Louis Cardinal.

The other thing we do, and the Member stated, we're throwing money around with capital investments. We just replaced the bottom of the Louis Cardinal in the last cycle year, in the last season, and we're about to rebuild the engines on the Louis Cardinal this coming winter.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department is continually working to improve the transportation system. Available resources rely on asset management tools which we use continually on an ongoing basis to make strategic operational decisions around all our assets. But moving forward, we have to maximize what we have with the limited funding we have, and that makes choices pretty tough sometimes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

With respect to this northern contractor and the employment of residents in Fort Liard on this contract, I'm glad to report to the House that almost 31 per cent of the workforce in June was from the community, 40 per cent in July and 43 per cent in August, and that includes some residents from Nahanni Butte as well.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Transportation uses every opportunity to maximize northern involvement in residents and delivering programs and services to upgrade and maintain all the highways in the Northwest Territories including the Liard Highway. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I cannot commit to putting it into Bundle 3. As this Legislative Assembly know, ours infrastructure needs across the territory are huge, and I'll say the same thing here I've said at FPT table. We could take every dollar the federal government has put into infrastructure, all three bundles that the government has proposed and this country could spend every dime of it just on upgrading the road system into Canada. So the limited amount of funds the Northwest Territories gets, we have to spread it across the complete territory to meet the needs of all residents.

Gravel sources are a very valuable resource and the challenge in the Dempster area has been finding access to gravel. We've continued to work on our lands and Gwich'in lands to try to access this stuff; I believe we have enough gravel probably to finish the work in the next coming season. But we will continue moving forward to try to find pits that are sourceable that can work for resurfacing and reconstruction of the highway, and we need to work with all players in the region moving forward.

I don't have an answer to that question. I'll have to get back to the Member on that.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is the work that we want to commence. On loop A we'd be commencing hopefully in this fiscal year coming up; this is summer-type work, and hopefully we'd have it all done within the summer season. If not, some of that work may have to be carried over to the next year, but hopefully we would have it all completed in one season.

I can't answer that question in detail, I'd have to get back to you exactly how we're doing the review. But what I can say is we are completing it. As I said, the SEED policy and programs is expected to be completed this fiscal year, and we will be tabling it with the committee as soon as that's possible.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The reporting for the Fort Providence Territorial Park is done through the Hay River Regional Office. Thank you, Mr. Chair.