Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. In reference to my Member’s statement on Highway No. 1, I’d also like to indicate that the same type of emergency closures happened on Highway No. 7 and the Liard Highway as well. The same types of things happened there, as well: the travelling public was uninformed and unaware there were issues on the road. When they went there, in Highway No. 7’s case, because there weren’t enough warning signs, they actually got stuck in the highway because the highway deteriorated really bad there.
I’d just like to ask the Minister: exactly what is the communication strategy when there are emergencies or road closures, and how do we inform the travelling public?
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For all the highways in the Northwest Territories, the web site is updated, as the resource people working on them are dedicated to informing the public of the most recent, current, updated conditions of the highways this time of the season. I’d like the Member to know that due to the spring thaw, in the spring season there are unforeseen conditions that hinder the conditions of our roads, and with these unforeseen conditions of the spring season — heavy rainfalls and the conditions of the roads — sometimes our staff positions are not manned 24 hours. However, we do keep a close eye on our roads, as foremen, superintendents and workers are out there — even the travelling public — inform the staff of the conditions of the roads.
The point I’m coming from is: how do we mitigate these interruptions on our highway systems?
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. I’ll allow the Minister to answer that question.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department certainly is very concerned at this time of the season, as I said, in the springtime and the fall time, in terms of our best ways and best solutions. I certainly look forward to Members’ comments and suggestions as to how we can close the window in terms of the mitigation of certain conditions we have. We certainly have those kinds of conditions in my own regions and we have very limited opportunity in terms of our winter road seasons, and these conditions sometimes are very difficult to work with. However, we do have plans in place; we do have systems in place. I look forward to improving our communication awareness in terms of letting the public know these are conditions that could be coming to the roads in their area.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m sure glad the Minister picked a question out of that.
Laughter.
One of the other questions I had is: where is the contact point when incidents do happen? Is there one single window where constituents can phone? And how current is the web site as well?
The department offers a 1-800 number to all residents of the Northwest Territories, and I’ll be very happy to send a notification right over to the Member’s office for his constituents and all constituents of the Northwest Territories. We have regional operations, and the regional superintendents know there are contact numbers for the driving public. The department continues to look for ways to improve their communication. The web site, I believe, is updated on a daily basis by our staff, and sometimes, even, our staff does come in over the weekends when conditions like this warrant it. We certainly appreciate the patience of some of the travelling public when they have to drive through some of the conditions we have endured for the last couple of months.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. These incidents happened on the weekend. Is there a way for the department to update the information on a weekend? That would really, really help the travelling public.
Mr. Speaker, I will check with my officials to ensure that with the incidences that do happen after hours and on the weekends, and sometimes in the wee early hours of the morning, there is a contact number for the travelling public to get hold of us if they have concerns on the highways, on our ferries, within our infrastructure. I will make sure this is directed to our officials and get back to the Member as soon as possible.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
