Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In inquiries from constituents of Aklavik one of the issues that came up is in regard to problems we’re having with docking the barges for NTCL’s resupply to the communities. They depend on that transportation connection to resupply the communities with goods and services.
I’d just like to ask the Minister of Transportation: is it possible that his department can assist the community by providing gravel or grounding materials? There is a stockpile of gravel in the community. They are having problems docking the barges and unloading them. I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation: is it possible for the Department of Transportation to assist the community in regard to a landing for the barges in Aklavik?
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In our Marine Division we do have a program for marine docks and supplies. I would be happy to talk with the Member and the community of Aklavik in terms of how we could access that program to address some of the concerns he’s raised today.
Mr. Speaker, there is some urgency to this problem, because the barges are coming in, and they’re having problems docking to unload the goods and services.
I’d like to ask the Minister: is there an emergency program that’s out there that the community can access now? It is that season when the barges are coming in. Also, with these barges having problems docking, they’re not able to get their goods and services off.
I’d like to ask the Minister if he could look into this and put some urgency to finding a solution to this problem.
Mr. Speaker, at the rise of the House today I will speak with my DM and look at the issue of the Aklavik landing site and see what we can do within a short period of time, hopefully before the barges land in Aklavik.
Mr. Speaker, a lot of our isolated communities still depend on barging as an essential way of moving goods and services. It is part of the government’s responsibility. The Minister mentioned that the marine division is responsible for this. I’d like to ask the Minister if he can also try to find a long-term solution for dealing with docking problems, not only for the community of Aklavik but for other communities that depend on that barge traffic. We need a plan in place to deal with these types of problems so we won’t have to continue to raise them here in the House. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, we’ve been very fortunate with the federal government in terms of having money available for communities for issues such as Mr. Krutko has raised. We certainly will have a discussion with the communities and see what the long-term solutions of this docking issue might be. Other communities use the barging system for re-supply, and we certainly would encourage communities to take advantage of this program so we can fix their long-term problem and so, as Mr. Krutko said, it wouldn’t be coming back up for discussion in the House. I certainly will look into that. I’ll ask the marine division to do an assessment of all the communities that do need this type of support.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister, if after his inquiries I could possibly have an answer at the end of this week so that I can also mention to the residents of Aklavik that we are working on something here and will hopefully have a solution by the end of this week. Thanks.
Mr. Speaker, I’ve indicated I will speak to my deputy as soon as possible at the rise of this House, and hopefully I’ll have an answer for Mr. Krutko before the end of this week.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
