Mr. Speaker, in regard to my Member’s statement about the road to the gravel source in Aklavik and also about not having it — it’s an essential service — I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation…. In the last couple of years there has been some work that's ongoing between the Department of Transportation, the community of Fort McPherson and the residents of Aklavik for an all-weather road to connect the community of Aklavik to the Dempster Highway. Yet nowhere in the information I’ve been reviewing is there any capital investment in this idea.
I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation: exactly where is it in the capital planning process that the communities can see some capital investment in developing an access road in Aklavik to the gravel source, which is some 15 kilometres from the community?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the Member for Mackenzie Delta for the question in regard to the Aklavik gravel source.
In 1996 the community of Aklavik applied for funding under DOT’s programs in terms of a local program. They fit the funding of what they wanted, and the department responded in terms of assisting Aklavik through an ATV trail.
Since then, Aklavik has gone through many discussions with the department and has requested that the department, along with the government, look at an all-weather road to the gravel source, as the Member has indicated. They want to see where this fits in terms of the plans, in terms of having an access road to that gravel source.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister touched the wrong button with that one. The Community Local Access Road Program as it sits right now only allows a community to access $50,000 a year to put a road in place, yet I notice in the capital plan there is some $500,000 for Nahanni Butte to put a road into that community.
I'd like to ask the Minister: knowing that there is only $50,000 a year and the program hasn't worked, will the Minister consider giving us the same offer that’s being made to Nahanni Butte, of $500,000 a year, to put a road in to the gravel source? Maybe we can do something with that.
I'd like to ask the Minister: is he committed to consider looking at $500,000 a year, similar to what is being offered to Nahanni Butte, to put a road into the gravel source?
Mr. Speaker, the Nahanni Butte road program is a public access road program. The Aklavik road is a community access road program. I would work with the Members here in terms of the issue with Aklavik in terms of seeing what could be done, and I would have to take this up with my colleagues in terms of these programs. There are two different programs we’re looking at in terms of this issue.
Mr. Speaker, again, I believe the Minister said yes. I’d like to thank him for the $500,000, and I look forward to building my road.
Laughter.
I think it’s important, Mr. Speaker, that the Minister realizes that programs and services we do have are consistent and that they are also fairly distributed. I know we are looking at other communities. I know Tuk is asking for a similar arrangement. Again, I think the emergency we’re under is because of the effects of global warming, shore erosion, the amount of floods that we’re starting to see — they’re increasing — and the effect on capital, Mr. Speaker. We spent $2 million in regard to the flood in Aklavik two years ago to haul gravel from Inuvik to Aklavik. That’s a $2 million investment, which could have built this capital investment to get this road in there.
I’d like to ask the Minister: exactly how soon can he respond back to me to find alternatives or options that we can use to find a way to get this into the capital planning process and get this road built so that the people in the community of Aklavik can feel safe and secure in their community?
Mr. Speaker, on the programs we talked about, I would be happy to work with the Member in terms of his issue he’s pressing today for the department and this government. Of course, the department is always looking at ways to improve mobility and reduce the cost of living and have the benefits that go into any communities down the valley here. I’d be happy to sit with the Member, sit with my colleagues here, to see where we could look at requests the Member is asking for from the department, put it in our projects and see where we can move forward with it.
I did receive a letter from the Aklavik Dene Band in terms of their support for Mr. Krutko’s request. We’re taking that very seriously, and we’re looking at it. I’ll be happy to sit with the Member and see what we can do and have a discussion with committee in terms of when we put down our infrastructure and see where the priorities are.
A final, short supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Mr. Speaker, the community of Aklavik also has this in the strategic plan they developed last August. Again, the community is fully supportive of this. Knowing we are looking at alternative funding sources — we have the municipal infrastructure funding, and we’re talking about the Building Canada Fund — I’d like to ask the Minister to ensure that we do have our opportunity to have access to these program dollars sowe can take on this initiative. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, again, I would like to say to the Member that we received the request from the community of Aklavik. We are considering it within our plans in terms of our priorities, and we’ll look at that. Again, I’m very pleased to see that the community of Aklavik has actually put a number down to contribute to this project. That deals well within the department in terms of a partnership on certain projects.
