Wally Schumann

I will commit to the Member that I will go back to the department and get that exact information for him, who the northern local contact is, contractors that will be assisting on this contract. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker. I probably have to confirm to see if that’s public knowledge if I can mention that in the House today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As we have GST and they have GST and PST, and probably some other taxes that’s relevant to all contractors bidding on work probably in British Columbia. As far as contractors coming north and us, we all have the same contracts stuff we have to abide by. We’ve got to have workers’ compensation, you’ve got to have your permits in place, and pay GST and the payroll tax and all those number of things. There should be no impediment, any difference back and forth.

The reason that I made that decision is based on a negotiated contract policy, and there’s things in there that I base my decision on and that’s what I did.

Like I said, we will review it and get back to the Member as quickly as we can. The other thing is the Member has already invited me to tour his region. I look forward to going out to site and having a look at this road and Willow River and everything else this entails.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have said to the Member and to the House, we will be reviewing it and getting back to the Member shortly. The scope of this project, though, is well beyond the capacity of the CAP program. This $1-million funding that we have for all the communities in the Northwest Territories is a limited pot of money where a number of communities access for seasonal employment and opportunities for their communities. The Hamlet of Aklavik has asked a significant ask on this program. We will review it and get back to him as soon as we can. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The department anticipates the road will lead to opportunities in the Beaufort Delta, including lowering the cost of living to the community of Tuktoyaktuk, lead to more affordable housing, and promote economic development and tourism in the region.

A lead person within the Department of Transportation will be developing an opening ceremony and will be working in conjunction with the communities, with the other GNWT departments, and with the Government of Canada to ensure adequate input is received from all stakeholders. We are anticipating having a concept and preliminary plan for the grand opening later this summer in 2016.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have to go back to the department and find out exactly how we are going to track this stuff. I will share that information with the Member as soon as I can get that information to him. Thank you, Mr. Speaker

From the information that I’ve received on this the contractor has a northern component of local hires and a local contractor that will be assisting on this contract.