Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Summer has begun and the ferries across the NWT are starting their engines. At a constituency meeting in Fort Simpson last fall, the people in my riding raised the possibility of running the daily ferry at the Liard crossing from 7 a.m. until midnight. It currently runs from 8 a.m. until midnight, and people are often in a rush to attend business in Hay River or Yellowknife or make other travel connections. This spring I had initial discussions with the Department of Transportation to propose operating the ferry between the hours of 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. They suggested there would be no added cost, but to constituents there is a lost benefit if we travel to Hay River for an early appointment but still have to rush to make it back for an 11 p.m. closing.
I recently took it upon myself to survey the community on this issue. The majority of the people I spoke with prefer a 7 a.m. start. There were several that wanted a 6 a.m. start, but the consensus among residents and businesses is to keep the ferry open until midnight and not close an hour earlier. I support serious consideration of a 7 a.m. until 12 a.m. operating hours. Over the last two years I have seen increased demand for the ferry services, especially at the earlier hour.
The potential operation of the Prairie Creek Mine will bring more travel between Fort Simpson and other regional centres. The government is also trying to promote tourism and road travel throughout the Northwest Territories. These economic reasons alone support extending ferry operations by just one hour. Residents of Fort Liard will also benefit when travelling down Highway No. 7. They can arrive in Fort Simpson sooner and/or business travellers can depart down Highway No. 7 by 7 a.m.
I am sure Members of this House are familiar with the frustration road travellers experience and sometimes bring to MLAs when they miss the ferry crossing and have to sleep in their vehicles, or their travel plans are upset by inconvenient operating hours.
We can improve things by running the ferry on a more convenient timetable, and also extending the Lafferty ferry service by one hour is a reasonable request. It’s a small thing that can make a big difference.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
