Mr. Speaker, what should they -- Fort Resolution and people coming into the community on a highway -- see at the end of the reconstruction of Highway No. 6? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the intention of reconstruction of Highway No. 6 is to improve the road base in preparation of having a final chipseal service on the road, and at the end of the project we should expect to have a safer road and certainly a smoother ride for all the travelling public and a very improved link in our transportation system. Thank you.
Beyond the three years that is currently in the infrastructure plan, is there a further timeline for reconstruction activities of Highway No. 6? Is there something planned beyond three years? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the current plan is to have the road reconstructed and chipsealed from, I believe, kilometre 68 to the community. It will, as the Member indicates, require further investment.
Our goal as a department is to do the whole road over the long term. Right now we have not identified the resources to complete the last part of the project, but that is our intention, is to find the resources and bring it forward as part of our capital planning and when the time is appropriate to do so. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t want to have the Minister do any speculation, but with the assumption that money will be found to complete Highway No. 6, how long does it normally take to complete the reconstruction of approximately 65 kilometres of highway 100 percent to a chipseal state? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the Member is asking a very difficult question because it really depends on the level of reconstruction and availability of materials and how far the design program has gone. In a lot of cases that we found, very much is dependent on how much resources we can secure for the completion of the road. So there are a number of factors that we have to consider, but the biggest one is being able to attract the dollars that are required to do the final part of this road and that is what we are working on right now. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Environment and Natural Resources Minister about the environmental regulatory reform issues that I raised in the previous session. The point was that we could improve the regulatory processes by ensuring that board appointments are not allowed to lapse. The Minister replied to my request for information on which of our appointed seats were vacant and his information shows we have been diligent. I then asked what efforts are being made to see that our federal and First Nations partners are keeping their appointments up to date. Part of my previous question, as well, dealt with putting measures in place to begin confirming new appointments in expectation of their coming vacancy. Can the Minister tell me what measures are now in place to ensure that there are timely appointments made? I will leave it at that for now, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue of board appointments ties clearly into the issue of regulatory reform and the challenge… There are two pieces, the challenge of making sure our appointments are up to date and then through the existing process, and we have a system in place to track that and we use lead time to consult the appropriate parties. But the bigger issue is the consistent demand we have made and are continuing to make to the federal government, that simple regulatory reform can start immediately by giving the Northwest Territories government the authority to make the board appointments for the positions that they are eligible to do so. That would avoid all the issues of quorum. It would give northern control over a very fundamental issue and would help speed up the efficiency of the regulatory process. That is the message we have been taking to the federal government. Thank you.
I appreciate that response from the Minister. I do agree with him. What progress is being made? What is the response that we are hearing back on that? I know that has been something we have been raising even probably in the previous Assemblies. I know it is getting additional attention here. What is the status? What is our progress? What can be done to expedite that? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has followed up in writing on the McCrank report. A number of weeks ago we were in Ottawa. We met with Minister Strahl to talk about the issue of regulatory reform. We talked about the board appointments, a clear definition of mandates, clearing up policy overlap. Where there are grey areas, we avoid things like the Giant Mine. We met again in Calgary a week or so ago. We raised the same issue very well and passionately by myself, by Minister McLeod, by other northern folks that were there. It is a political issue. The federal government could make the decision tomorrow. They are not yet ready to act on regulatory reform. For us the plan is clear. That is the plan we laid out for them. Thank you.
Again, I appreciate those comments and the update. Mr. Speaker, I feel strongly that this is the same issue. The other aspect of regulatory reform was the appropriate level of funding provided to our regulatory agencies. It was acknowledged that that was insufficient. What progress is being made on that front? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, in the position put forward by other governments and put forward by all the Ministers and the Premier when we meet with the federal Ministers, there is the issue of board appointments. There is the issue of land use frameworks. There is the issue of clarification and fixing up of the current process and adequately funding the system that is now in place, which is still a relatively young system. There is a package that we put forward that we think will help us move on regulatory reform that won’t require any legislative change. It won’t require the reopening of land claims. It could be done immediately. That is one of the issues that we put on the table to the Minister. Thank you.
Again, I agree with the approach being taken as stated by the Minister. What progress is being made here? Obviously, I am assuming from the responses, that we have not increased resources to these agencies. There has been no increase by the federal government. Is that the situation? Is there an expectation on when we might expect to see that? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the federal government has not officially responded to the McCrank report yet. We are using, and are continuing to use, every opportunity to press the case more and more for the need for regulatory reform. We are doing a lot of other things to get ready to take over, devolve authorities to us, our planning on water, the planning on our land use framework. Let’s get the regulatory reform done. We tell the federal government that regulatory reform as we are putting it out can be done now. It will move us very clearly down the path towards a more efficient system, provide certainty in the industry. We are doing what we can.
The federal government wants to make a decision. They haven’t decided exactly what decision they are going to make. But we are continuing to push our case at every table we have access to. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. I would like to follow up on some of the comments he made in his Minister’s statement today. I would like to, first of all, commend the communities that were involved in the pilot projects, the communities of Fort Liard, Fort McPherson, Fort Good Hope and the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. I agree with the Minister that the New Deal is working, but I am still concerned for community capacity related to capital projects and community infrastructure. I would like to ask the Minister, the Minister stated in his remarks that MACA’s role is to support and mentor community governments to take on these responsibilities. I need to ask him how MACA supports communities that struggle to advance their capital program. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When a community has a project that they are working on, they require assistance from MACA. Our regional staff will go into the community at their request and assist them in working out their capital plans and also advising them of funding and anything else, any other help that they might need, then the community would take it from there. We are available from the regional office to assist the communities. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister for that explanation. I appreciate that the regional staff are there to assist. I am sure they do that on a regular basis, but I am particularly concerned about the lack of human resource capacity to deal with capital projects, specifically the expertise that is required to manage projects and so on. I know that MACA often works with the NWT Association of Communities to address human resource needs at the community level. I know that there is a plan in the works to develop those needs. The technical expertise I don’t think has been addressed. I would like to know if MACA has any plans to fund the NWT Association of Communities for a PY or half a PY to assist communities with their capital projects. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, at this point there is no plan. This is something that we can have that discussion with NWTAC. I do know that the communities that do put forward a lot of projects, there are a few of them that have hired their own expertise. There’s a community that’s hired a consultant and their own project manager to bring the project forward. But we’re willing to have that discussion with NWTAC and we’ll go from there. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister again. If communities hire their own expertise to assist with the project to be a project manager or to provide the technical engineering and architectural and whatever assistance, are those costs undertaken by the community? Are they available to be funded through the community infrastructure contribution for capital infrastructure or through gas tax and other funds which communities receive? Thank you.
The Member is correct; the communities do have the option of hiring whoever they want to assist with their project, and that funding does come out of the capital money that’s advanced to the community. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thanks again, Mr. Speaker. Again I’d like to ask the Minister, with the increase in the number of community-owned buildings and infrastructure that is now coming on stream through the money that communities have, there are associated maintenance costs for these buildings. I’d like to know how MACA plans to assist communities with these extra maintenance costs. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, it is true that there is more operation and maintenance required. The operation and maintenance budget is reviewed every two years and if adjustments have to be made, they’re made at that time. The last couple of years, recognizing the fact that there is new infrastructure, the O and M budgets have gone up for the communities and they’re well appreciative of that. But it is reviewed every two years and if adjustments need to be made, then they’ll be made then.
We continue to work with the federal government and bring our case for the need for more operation and maintenance along with some of the infrastructure dollars we’re receiving from them. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Environment in regards to my statement and realizing that the implications we’re seeing with climate change, and especially that records have clearly stated that the Mackenzie Delta is the most impacted with global warming, with high rising temperatures, but, more importantly, the effects we’re seeing in regards to melting permafrost and the erosion on the riverbanks on the Mackenzie Delta, and also the effects we’re seeing on communities that I mentioned, Tuktoyaktuk and Aklavik.
Mr. Speaker, we, as government, have to ensure that we’re proactive in regards to climate change, and not reactive and wait for something to happen. I’d like to ask the Minister of Environment exactly what is this government doing to mitigate the challenges of climate change and, more importantly, the effects we’re seeing in our communities today such as shoreline erosion and the possibility of having to move our communities.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Honourable Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regard to the issue of what are we doing to mitigate the impact of global warming, climate change, we, as a Legislature, have committed to put $60 million into alternative energy to be able to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, to look at expanding wind, biomass, hydro, possibly geothermal, all with an aim towards reducing our greenhouse gasses and doing our share as global citizens and being responsible. When it comes to actual on-the-ground issues, we are spending millions of dollars in communities to deal with things related to permafrost, related to shore erosion in Tuk, communities up in the north that have pilings that have gone rotten that have had to be replaced. We’ve spent extensive amounts of money doing that. We’re looking at converting to more efficient forms of fossil fuels like natural gas. It was done in Inuvik. If there’s a pipeline that goes ahead, there are studies to be able to look at converting communities that are close enough. We are looking at a hydro expansion out at the Taltson to get a line up into the North Slave Geologic Province, and if we do that, we’ll cut our current greenhouse gasses in half. So we at work across the board, trying to do our share and be responsible citizens of this world. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I have to chuckle to myself talking about greenhouse gasses here. Mr. Speaker, it is warming up to a point where we’re actually seeing the communities eroding to a point where they may have to relocate. So I’d like to ask the Minister, does this government have a program to deal with shoreline erosion which is a definite threat from climate change? Do we have a program such as that to shore up our communities so that we can ensure that those communities will be there so we can implement some of the programs the Minister is talking about, instead of having to possibly move our communities.
Mr. Speaker, we are of the opinion, as well, that climate change and the effect of global warming is no laughing matter and that it’s affecting us that live in the North the fastest and the most intensely. But we must also recognize that there are some nature forces that have been going on since the world began: the river valley erosion, the shore erosion. It’s being speeded up and accelerated by global warming. We recognize that. We’re spending millions of dollars to work with communities to deal with the issues across the North. We’ve taken out some broad government-wide strategies that I think are very responsible to help us deal with that.
So we recognize that issue. Mother Nature is on the move. Some things we can deal with; some things we will have to adapt to. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, someone that drives along the Mackenzie River in the Mackenzie Delta between Aklavik and Fort McPherson can visually see how cabins are falling into the river. The riverbanks are eroding at such a fast rate that the communities are in the same situation.
I don’t think the Minister gets it. This is a serious problem. We have to do something to ensure that we shore up the infrastructure of communities such as Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk. We’ve heard from communities such as Sachs Harbour where they’re seeing the banks on Banks Island. This is a real problem and I don’t think we can slough it off by basically saying, well, we’re going to reduce our greenhouse emissions, because there may not be the infrastructure to emit those greenhouse gases so we don’t do anything about it.
So I’d like to ask the Minister again, what are you doing for communities like Aklavik to ensure that they basically have the security by way of finding ways of shoring up the banks along the river? It is in the centre of the Delta, it is along the shoreline, which basically their shoreline is eroding and it could possibly affect the community to the point where we may have to move that community.
Mr. Speaker, I believe every Member in this House gets it. I think every Northerner gets it when it comes to climate change. We’re not sloughing off anything. We’re spending tens of millions of dollars with communities to deal with their infrastructure issues, the issues and challenges they’re facing from nature. Some things we’ll be able to mitigate, some things we’re going to have to adapt to. In some cases Mother Nature will have the final say. We have to be prepared for that. But we are on this with communities and we all get it. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Your final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Maybe if the Minister really wants to get it, maybe they can have a program for communities like Aklavik, to ensure that we have a shoreline erosion program that’s there for communities that are along the shoreline of the river systems and in regards to lakes and whatnot. So when we see this erosion taking place, we actually have a program out there that people can access public funds to shore up their communities so that they are in the future. Can the Minister commit to that?
Mr. Speaker, there has been, and continues to be, work done with our government through MACA, through Public Works, on the issue of shoreline erosion as it affects the community of Aklavik, as it affects the community of Tuk, the federal government is aware of the issue, and we’re going to continue to work with the communities to deal with this issue. As it accelerates, it may require different types of action, but this has been an issue that has been there for hundreds of years. The sad reality is it seems to be intensifying as the climate warms, and the ice melts and the water levels rise. But we are going to continue to be there working with the communities to deal with these issues. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve been here a couple of years and I hear about highways, highways and highways, even chipsealing highways and investment to the highways. Mr. Speaker, sometimes it’s really good to dream, if only we had a highway in the Sahtu.
I want to ask the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Speaker, if he could let me know when he’s going to table the economic analysis of the Mackenzie Valley Highway.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.
Mr. Speaker, the economic analysis has gone through its first draft. We’ve had opportunity to peruse it and there is still some review that’s going to have to take place. I don’t believe that it will be ready for this session, so I’m sure we’ll be able to table it at the winter session. Thank you
Mr. Speaker, I was hoping the Minister would give us the green light to table the economic analysis. In light of his kind response to the tabling, I would ask the Minister if he would give me some of the brief highlights as to what the economic analysis is saying about the Mackenzie Valley Highway.
Mr. Speaker, the Member is asking if I’m going to table it and I’ve responded by stating that I would not be able to do that until the next session. I may be able to share the document with him in advance of that and make it public.
Mr. Speaker, in a nutshell, the review has come back and shows that investment into the Mackenzie Valley Highway, the $1.8 billion or $2 billion required will have a positive return and there are some really good opportunities as a result of having a highway built down the Mackenzie Valley and that’s reflected in the document. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to sitting with the Minister and sharing the document, hopefully on the winter road somewhere, that we can have a discussion on the dreams here.
I want to ask the Minister in terms of his comments on the good opportunity and positive returns, how this type of message gets to Ottawa in terms of would we have this information here. How can we further impress upon the federal government that this is a good investment in the Northwest Territories, a good investment for Canada and how do we get Ottawa to move on this? What else can the Minister provide this House as to get the attention of Ottawa?
