Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions will be to the Minister of Transportation on trucking issues. As he discussed an on-line service, has the department looked into putting truck permitting on-line?
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Beaulieu.
Yes, Mr. Speaker. The intention is to have on-line services for commercial vehicles within the next two to three years.
Also, another on-line service I’m wondering if we could implement is the bridge tolls. I know the bridge tolls are under review, but I am wondering if we will be putting that on-line as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I think the bridge tolls currently are provided out of a company we have a contract with in the South. I’m not sure if we are putting bridge tolls on-line, but I think we will definitely look at that possibility. There may be some issues with the configuration of the vehicles that may be close to the border where some Members have indicated that they may or may not need a toll permit to go across. It is a possibility, but I’m not 100 percent sure if that is in our plans right now. Thank you.
The other trucking issues that I have discussed in this House are the commercial vehicles and the requirements for a regular pick-up towing a trailer to have a Class 3 licence.
Has the department looked into this difficulty? Many of the businesses in my riding are having difficulties with this. Has the department looked into a solution for that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Our transportation system is harmonized with all the other jurisdictions that have interconnected highways into the Northwest Territories. When we consider removing the requirement for somebody to have a Class 3 and certain size vehicle, we do have to consult with other jurisdictions. So, currently there is a regulation that certain size vehicles need a certain class of licence. At this time, we’re pleased with the way that’s going and it fits in well with the other jurisdictions.
We can look at it to see if there is something we can harmonize with the other jurisdictions, but we can’t make a change and not advise the other jurisdictions that we’re making changes and so on. We can look at it but it would probably be more of a national discussion than just us making changes to the regulations here in the Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m having difficulty with the harmonization concept. The Minister is telling me there’s harmonization when I know, in fact, in Alberta a pick-up is a pick-up. It doesn’t matter if you’re towing a trailer or not, it’s still not required to have a Class 3 licence. As well as the issue of licence plates, in Alberta they need a licence plate on the front. When you cross the border now, you have to put a licence plate on the front. So I don’t know how the harmonization is working.
Can the Minister commit to look at these regulations and the fact that they aren’t harmonized and try to harmonize them with Alberta, which is the main transportation province we deal with? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
This is a national issue. Alberta does have its own regulations. We aren’t exactly similar. We are trying to become part of the transportation system. We do harmonize with the other provinces. Harmonization is the ability for vehicles to move across the country and into the Territories without switching loads or being ineligible or eligible of driving a vehicle of that size. So we would look at everything, not just one province and just harmonize with a province where the most commercial vehicles are coming from. We’d look at everything. Like I said, if that was the best possible solution, was to do the same thing Alberta was doing, we’d probably look at that, but at this time we have our own regulations and we’re following what we think is best for the Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
