Debates of February 3, 2006 (day 22)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the Minister of Transportation. Last week, I indicated that I was in the Sahtu in a regional conference. One of the elders from Fort Good Hope said that the road is so good up in the Sahtu, it is beyond the gold road now. It is scary there. I want to thank the Minister and the Premier for the work. The elder said that he can put his coffee cup on the dashboard now and not spill the cup. I want to ask the Minister for an update in terms of the winter road in the Sahtu in terms of the bridge work that is going to be put into various creeks to conclude the bridge work of that road. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. McLeod.

Return To Question 337-15(4): Update On Bridge Construction In The Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is always good to get a compliment on some of the work and initiatives we have done in the different areas of the North. We have certainly put a lot of effort in the Sahtu. We have been working this year, I think, in the Sahtu region. We are working on two fairly large projects in terms of bridging. Big Smith and Little Smith creeks, those will be going ahead. We started doing some of the initial work this past year. We will continue to do that. The cost factor is a concern. Our prices are coming in fairly high. We are looking at ways that we can accommodate the needs for some additional investment to deal with that.

On the ice roads and the winter roads, I believe all of our winter roads and ice roads are now at the maximum level. So we are quite happy that we are able to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 337-15(4): Update On Bridge Construction In The Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to say this on behalf of the people, that they wanted to congratulate Minister McLeod and other people who made it happen that we happen to have a very excellent road this winter here. In terms of the bridge, I know that costs and factors are high. That is why I want to ask the Minister in terms of doing business in the Sahtu. It is certainly different in the south here. We have to pay the Sahtu prices for doing business there. I want to ask the Minister, what types of plans are in place for his department to stay in the Sahtu prices, because otherwise business would be leaving to look for work elsewhere in terms of finishing up the bridge. I want to ask if he would give special consideration to the local workers up in our region in terms of winter road work. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question337-15(4): Update On Bridge Construction In The Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we always give first consideration to the local companies in the area. We have done so with the Sahtu contractors. We have also had, actually, several sit-down meetings with a number of the companies. We will continue to do so. The requirement for additional investment is, of course, a concern. We will not be looking at going outside of the region, or we will probably look at a process that will allow us to have northern bidders or an RFP, for that matter. As to additional dollars, we may have to look at moving dollars from another project or another region. I am not sure how we are going to accommodate it at this point. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 337-15(4): Update On Bridge Construction In The Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the ice roads are a concern this year in the Sahtu. I know that Mr. Minister had indicated some time in the past about a bridge at the Bear River. I want to ask the Minister for an update on that progress. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 337-15(4): Update On Bridge Construction In The Sahtu

Mr. Speaker, the work continues to go ahead on the Bear River bridge. We did some early design work. We have done some early scoping and costing of the area. We have also had several meetings with the community to talk about the actual location of where this bridge can be accommodated. These meetings were very well attended. There was some good discussion. We feel that we are quite comfortable, along with the community, as to the actual site of the bridge. We have hired a company to do some pricing on this project. Some early costing has shown that this bridge will more than likely come at a high price tag, a lot higher than what was earlier budgeted for, so we are looking at different options of how we can deal with this bridge, including looking at buying a bridge that was from the South. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Time for oral questions has expired. Before we go on to the next order of the day, the Chair is going to call a short break.

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