Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We all know that road salt is damaging to our vehicles but it’s also providing much harm to our natural world. Research in Canada and the United States shows that road salt is affecting drinking water sources and aquatic life. Levels of contamination to water and sediment near Pickering, Ontario, exceed provincial water quality standards as much as 250 percent due to the amount of salt applied to the roads in winter.

Road salt is increasingly being used here in the North along Ingraham Trail. From the details provided by the Minister of DOT, it shows in the last six...

I guess if that is the way he wants to answer the question, but the obvious question is yet again his earlier answer was yes, you drive to the conditions of the road. Does the Minister of Transportation note that there is a concern about the buffalo licking salt off the highways on our roads? Does that not pose a problem with the Department of Transportation or, at the very least, a concern? Thank you.

I just want to follow up with some of the issues Member Groenewegen raised, and I don’t disagree with some of the concerns she highlighted. My question, of course, evidently will be directed to the Minister of Transportation.

Is it not part of the law to drive with due care and attention to the conditions of the road? I wonder if the Minister could answer that particular question. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Not to sound combative, but just because we’ve done it for 20 years this way doesn’t mean we couldn’t do it better or another way tomorrow. We’ve all been using the same beaver pelt hats where they use mercury on them in order to be safe. So, I’ll take the Minister’s point, though, and if he could provide that to the standing committee as well as all Members, that would be very useful for us, especially the companion of the Environment Canada study that has been looking at the lakes along the highways here. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I did earlier this afternoon provide some committee observations. I just wanted to provide a few of my own, and seeing as how we have an opportunity to vote on this deletion, it’s probably a good time to throw them in as well.

Just quickly, the Minister did agree to look into many things, as I highlighted earlier today, and he’s giving me his nod and he’s certainly doing that. I believe he will do that as he’s agreed to follow through.

Just some of the concerns that I’ve had, which is there is a lot of good faith taken in on committee’s side of this equation whether we...

No, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today as well as yesterday and in my oral questions yesterday and certainly today will be principally based on the fact that I don’t feel fair consultation was given on this particular project. Discussion and debate are the pillars of democracy in this Assembly and I would ask the Premier to this House if this is going to be the tone of this particular government when we get great projects like this. Are they just going to pass them through without committee consultation, or are they going to ensure that they engage the Membership on this...

Thank you, Madam Chair. One of the particular issues in this briefing note is the Inuvik-Tuk highway. I thought it would be beneficial for everyone if he provided a quick synopsis of some of the discussions that were happening. I will speak in terms of theme as opposed to specifics and allow Members to speak in favour or against or their overall position.

Some of the issues that have arisen out of the Inuvik-Tuk highway have been things along the lines of funding arrangements with the federal government to build a proportion of 75/25 being sort of the final billing. Are there other...

May I state for the record that’s one of the best answers I’ve heard in this House in years.

My next question to the Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation is: Would he provide at least a written briefing note to Members to show us where this particular money came from, how it was flowed through and how it will affect the bottom line books of the NWT? If it’s flow-through money I’m sure the briefing note will explain this. That’s the type of information I feel was lost in this discussion and debate.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to return to the issue I raised yesterday, which is the Betty House, and I want to again state to this House that the Betty House is a very important project in the Northwest Territories. It’s very exciting what it will do, and the fact is it will provide so much support for women here trying to get on their feet. Whether they’re by themselves or with their children, sometimes they just need that extra lending hand of support. I certainly support the objectives of this particular project.

Since yesterday’s statement and certain questions in the House, I’ve...