Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to follow up with questions to the Minister of Transportation about my initial concern for my riding and the residents of Fort Liard and reconstruction of Highway No. 7. I know that in this year’s federal budget they have indicated a new Building Canada Plan. It’s $53 billion. I don’t know that they had time to talk with the departments, talk with their federal counterparts, and see just how much of that money will be available for our Northwest Territories government in building infrastructure for our Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The federal government, on the Building Canada Fund, has provided us an indication that they will approve $258 million for the NWT for both transportation and community infrastructure. Thank you.
That’s the exact amount of money I need to reconstruct Highway No. 7.
---Laughter
That’s great news. Maybe the Minister can detail how that $258 million will be broken up – he did indicate I think it was municipalities and transportation – maybe what kind of dialogue and is it $258 million over 10 years. How is that $258 million allocated for the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, it’s split between the community governments and transportation infrastructure. We have not determined that, but the $258 million has to be leveraged and they are what we refer to as 75 cent dollars so the GNWT will have to come back to the House to get our corresponding share, which would be 25 percent. It is over 10 years, so approximately $25.8 million per year from the federal government to the GNWT. Thank you.
I know that Transportation had an excellent Corridors for Canada III proposal, Building for Prosperity. That was $600 million over a 10-year period and it addressed many of the concerns in each of our constituencies and, in fact, for the whole of the Northwest Territories.
How does that funding impact our ability to follow through with Corridors for Canada III: Building for Prosperity in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the Provincial/Territorial Infrastructure Fund request was for $415 million and that was the initial $600 million ask from the GNWT to the federal government. The portion that the Member speaks of where Highway No. 7 would sit was a $415 million request and we didn’t, obviously, get all of that since the entire ask to us was $258 million, so we’re discussing this between ourselves as departments, and also our infrastructure Minister McLeod has been leading some meetings to determine the split between the communities and the highways. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It certainly impacts the well-touted Corridors for Canada III plan of the Department of Transportation. I’m just wondering: What does the department have? Will the department come back for a Corridors for Canada III divided by half proposal? How is the department going to manage all those initiatives? I know we had great discussion in committee and it seemed like a great plan, but now with the reduced amount the Minister has already said he doesn’t know how much he’s actually getting because there are still discussions happening.
I guess the other question, too, if I may, is there any other highway initiative funding that the federal government has that will also help us with the Corridors for Canada III plan? Thank you.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, there is another fund. I believe its $4 billion. It’s projects of national significance and we are taking a portion of our ask and looking at it again, and we will be presenting the work that’s going to be needed to build new infrastructure and the project would be the Mackenzie Valley Highway. We’re going to be presenting that to the federal government before the end of this month. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
