Wally Schumann

I'd like to inform this House that we're actually going to spend another $22.5 million on Highway 8 for reconstruction and rehabilitation between 2019 and 2024, which is a significant investment in that Member's riding. What I can say about this guardrail in this section of highway is that I can have our staff go out there and have a look at this and meet with the community members and have a look at it, if we can do a safety audit on what's happening there and get back to the Member.

Yes, it was about five years ago that the department had this same exact situation come up, and they actually wrote letters to all the manufacturers, stating that this was part of the public road system, supplied them with that and maps of the Northwest Territories and asked them to reach out to all of their call centres and share this with local service providers that they actually contract this to. To the Member's point, I will actually ask the department to do this. We will step in and write the same letters and reassure the manufacturers that this is part of the public system. Thank you...

Yes, the Department of Infrastructure follows the guidelines for safe ice construction that was developed with expertise from within and outside of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Other jurisdictions actually use our guidelines, and so does private industry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize a couple of Pages from Hay River South, Jon Tatti and Shaelyn Mabbitt. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that, on Thursday, February 21, 2019, I will move that Bill 37, An Act to Amend the Oil and Gas Operations Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled "Follow-up Letter to Oral Question 522-18(3): Diamond Policy Framework Analysis." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Guardrails, we've had this conversation with the Member who looks after the Ingraham Trail, as well, around guardrails. Guardrails are identified if there's a safety hazard to traffic, but they are set up as according to industry standards as to the Transportation Association of Canada Guide, and I'm sure that our superintendent is all over that on that whole section of highway. I can actually ask the department to give me a list of where we think we need to be doing this or where we're planning on doing guardrails and let the Member know what we're going to be installing.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is asking me about, I think, a section of highway where, when he just did a constituency tour, if I remember correctly, he and the Minister of Finance were pulled over. That is a 70-kilometre-an-hour zone there, Mr. Speaker.

There was a guardrail on this section of highway back in 2002, the department has informed me, and it fell over due to a soft shoulder. Since that time, the highway has actually been widened in that section, so at the present time there have been a couple of incidents, I think, in that area. There are a number of cabins right around there...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 35, Supply Chain Management Professional Designation Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I don't know the exact specific tender that the Member is talking about, but I suspect, the way the process works, that if there was a procurement for an NWT manufactured product, that would be put out to all compliant northern manufacturers for a bidding process, and, if there were no compliant bids, then it would be going out to public release. That would change the wording of the document.