Wally Schumann

This is something that the department is still working on with all Aboriginal governments and partners, including Parks Canada and people in the general public, so what the park and who controls what in the end is still not a final decision. That’s something that we will continue to work on, and we can engage the Member on that too.

The Territorial Parks Act is actually under the banner of ITI, but we will be looking at bringing that forward with him and it's something in the mandate of this 18th Assembly.

The department has a number of asks into the Federal Government through the Building Canada Infrastructure Projects. One of them is the P3 Project Plan through the FPT process for the Whati Highway. We have the Mackenzie Valley Highway, which is through the New Building Canada Plan Fund as well, and we also have the bundle three project through the FPT process with the federal government.

Replacing existing winter roads will help us adapt to the pressure of climate change, which is reducing the window of access into more of these remote communities. Our winters are getting shorter and increasingly, warmer weather means that we cannot open up our winter roads as usual, as we've seen this year. This winter, our roads were late in opening resulting in an increased cost to our communities, delays in resupply, and decreased access to both residents and businesses.

The department is working closely with many regulators that have mandates regarding the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway, including the Inuvialuit Land Administration and the Inuvialuit Water Board, as well as the departments of Lands and Environment and Natural Resources. Recognizing that the new highway will change access to fantastic nearby fisheries, the department has provided funding and other resources to fishery managers to create a fisheries management plan along the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway corridor. To satisfy wildlife commitments that came from the environmental assessment, DOT is...

Delivering meaningful training opportunities contributes to a sustainable future of northern residents who wish to enter into the construction industry. To date, the contractors' training focuses have been on operating heavy equipment. As I mentioned earlier this week, more than 70 people from the region are now trained as heavy equipment operators, and more than 30 individuals have been trained as Class 1 and Class 3 drivers with air brakes. Another heavy equipment operator training course is going to be available for Beaufort-Delta residents in the 2016 season. Nine seats are available in a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Collaboration is one of the priorities of the Assembly and is an important part of how the Government of the Northwest Territories does business. That includes developing and fostering effective partnerships in supporting a comprehensive and collaborative approach to managing and conserving our environment and our wildlife, forests and water resources.

Engaging with a wide range of partners including Aboriginal governments and communities, regulatory and co-management boards, non-governmental organizations, funding agencies and academic institutions can ensure we are...

As I've said in this House before, the Department of Transportation is pursuing funding from the New Building Canada Plan to fund these new projects. With access to this funding, it will bring economic benefits to all Northerners and communities, and help us tackle the climate change issue and other issues facing the remote and small communities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Increasing the number of communities connected to the public highway system is a key objective of expanding the transportation system. Transportation of goods and materials by the roads continues to be the most cost-effective way to deliver essential services to the communities. Construction of the Mackenzie Valley Highway and Tlicho all-weather road will add several communities to the highway system and greatly increase the window of access provided by winter roads to many other communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The department has made over 230 commitments during the environmental assessment, and each one has been implemented, monitored, and reported on. Most of the commitments are also being tracked through the regulatory approval, such as land use permits and water licences. These permits and licences come with all typical monitoring and reporting, so there's constant and timely feedback. We track the status of all commitments on a real-time basis, and any issues or potential issues are brought forward to the management group on a timely action.