Debates of March 9, 2005 (day 52)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there’s a song that goes something like this: you can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd, you can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd. However, I think the song could be more appropriate in the Sahtu. You can’t roller skate in a goat herd, you can’t roller skate in a goat herd and the emphasis I want to put on, Mr. Speaker, is roller skating. I want to ask the Minister of Transportation, in the Sahtu region, after the construction of all the bridges, when will they start on an all-weather road into the Sahtu from Wrigley up to Tuktoyaktuk? When will that be constructed? Thank you.

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

Return To Question 582-15(3): New Roads In The Sahtu

Thank you. I’d like to compliment the Member on his singing capabilities. Mr. Speaker, I guess the answer is very obvious. The construction of new roads still lies under the responsibility of the federal government and we’ll build these new roads as soon as we access the dollars from them and have that commitment. We have put together a number of proposals over the years to access some dollars. We plan to do that again and we continue to put investment in the Mackenzie Valley winter road. We have done a considerable amount of work in the last few years and we plan to do a lot more. We plan to do all the bridging by the year 2009, that’s including the Bear River Bridge.

Good government.

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Moving that forward would increase the season by a number of weeks and we have to still remember that it’s classified as a winter road. The trucks that operate on this winter road still use chains; they are obligated to use chains. So it’s really going to need commitment from the federal government, and we commit to doing the lobbying on that front and, again, I guess the short answer would be to have the federal government commit to it and that’s where we’re at. Thank you.

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

Supplementary To Question 582-15(3): New Roads In The Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to say I’m appreciative and the people of the Sahtu appreciate the amount of dollars that have gone into the winter road. With the announcement that came out on the 18th of January of this year with the Minister and the federal Minister in terms of Corridors for Canada, Mr. Speaker, I wanted to ask the Minister that last time they took $1 million out of our winter bridging project and I’m looking for some kind of commitment from this Minister that he won’t cut back this program any further. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 582-15(3): New Roads In The Sahtu

Mr. Speaker, the reason we took some money out of a number of different locations in the last fiscal year was to deal with our problem that we were experiencing on Highway No. 1. There was some urgency to deal with the foundation and some of the drainage that was happening in that area as a result of resource development. So we had to find the money somewhere and, in this case, there was some flexibility in the dollars allocated to that road, but we did what we had to. I can’t commit that we won’t do that again. If there’s an emergency situation or there’s some urgency to invest on a piece of transportation infrastructure, we’ll have to be able to have that flexibility to reallocate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Supplementary To Question 582-15(3): New Roads In The Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when you drive the winter road in the Sahtu there are drainage problems, lots of potholes, there are lots of creeks overflowing and I guess the Minister just skipped out $1 million into another region to fix their foundation. I’m asking again, in terms of the impact of the oil and gas activities on the region, if the Minister would commit to ensuring that our winter bridge project gets done on time and the people in the Sahtu can enjoy safe winter driving for next year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 582-15(3): New Roads In The Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t think there’s anybody more interested in seeing the winter bridging projects done on time and on budget than me. I certainly will do everything in my power and commit our department’s efforts to ensure that happens. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.