Mr. Speaker, I have a return to Written Question 4-16(3) posed by Mr. Yakeleya on February 16, 2009, regarding Mackenzie Valley Highway Construction.
The current estimate to construct the Mackenzie Valley Highway is $1.8 billion. This figure includes permanent bridges at all river crossings.
The environmental assessment for the Mackenzie Valley Highway would comply with the requirements of the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, the Inuvialuit Final Agreement and related other legislation and regulations.
The construction of a Mackenzie Valley Highway cannot be self-financed without significant funding from the federal government. The Department of Transportation has and will consider user-pay and other innovative approaches as a way of financing this highway. Confirmation of federal funding will help establish what financing options are available to the GNWT. These options are also highly dependent on whether the Mackenzie Gas Project is built and what levels of post-project induced oil and gas development and traffic are expected.
The 2005 funding proposal Connecting Canada: Coast to Coast to Coast, which was targeted towards the federal government, proposes a GNWT-federal partnership to construct an all-weather Mackenzie Valley Highway to the Arctic Coast. An update of this proposal along with other actions is being considered as part of a federal engagement strategy being developed.
The Department of Transportation has had and continues to have discussions with DIAND and other federal departments on programs that could fund the construction of this road. The department also continues to explore other funding options to construct this road, including partnerships with private industry. The maximization of local employment will be one of the objectives of any program to construct the Mackenzie Valley Highway. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
