Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Schumann.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, we can do that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, and I appreciate the Minister and the department being able to provide that information. When we talk about Highway No. 7, could the Minister advise what section of the road this is going to be scheduled for? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Schumann.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Embankment and drainage improvements on kilometre 20 to 23. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you. I think that is from the border in? It's not from the Simpson junction moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Schumann.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is from the border in. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank you for the clarification on that.
When we talk about community access roads improvements, I know there are a couple of projects being looked at. I am hoping that the department is able to look at Sambaa K'e, the winter road. I know that they have broached the idea to the department and the Minister and myself numerous times. I shouldn't say to the Minister numerous times. They have broached it to me numerous times.
What we are trying to do and what I am hoping to see is that they are trying to remove a hill, two hills, as a safety factor. We are trying to make sure the certified winter road is in solid shape. Will the Minister commit to looking at this feasibility? I know that right now we don't have any money earmarked for this project, but is he willing to commit to look at it if they find money? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Schumann.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am going to do better than that. We had a discussion with the community last year and encouraged them, if they did an application through cap funding, that this would be addressed and encouraged them to submit that to have more local employment and local work for the community and that we would probably do it, but they never did their application. That is where that stands. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, and I appreciate the Minister's commitment to capital work. Caps are talking $50,000, and I think it is going to be a little bit more work than just $50,000 for the two of the hills. We are also talking about trying to make these hills a little bit more safer.
I will, again, work with the community to talk about the cap project, but will the Minister commit to looking at that, and if that is not feasible, if he can get his regional staff to work with the community to help them fill out the application? Specifically, the demands on the band manager are huge. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Schumann.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As I said, we reached out to the community last year, and we can do that again. I will commit to reaching out to the community again to access the cap program to get the most benefits that they can locally for employment and work.
At the same time, we can commit to scoping out and seeing what type of larger project it would be, but I would be glad to work with the Member and his community to try to at least access the cap program this year to get something going, then we can have a look at what the larger project would entail. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you. I greatly appreciate the Minister coming forth with that commitment. I mean, it is very important, and the Minister has been in the community. Like I say, I thank the department for being willing to work with the community. I will work with the community to connect with the regional staff and the Minister to try to move forward with this.
My next project we are talking about, again, is the Jean Marie Access Road. The department spent some good quality money on the section coming in from the highway, but the other section of the road seems to be a big concern for the community, and they have been asking previous governments to have a commitment in there. This is what I have been advised. Will the Minister look at the feasibility of doing some work with the community to fix that first section of that access road? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Schumann.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We have just recently finished some embankment and drainage work there, but we are looking at what we can do with some granular overlay this coming summer year with the community, what we can do close to the community for gravel. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the department. I greatly appreciate the work they are doing there, and it is great to hear some positive steps towards that. Every time I go in there, there is that one soft spot that I have to slow down and go less than 20 kilometres an hour sometimes, and I do follow the speed limits that are posted there by the Minister.
My other question is just in regards to the Nahanni Butte, their certified winter road. They use it year-round, except for breakup and freeze-up. Can the Minister advise if the department is able to work with them to put some money to it? It is more about the site, like clearing the brush, getting it out, getting it away from the road, because buffalos don't seem to care about where it is. They just seem to care what direction they are going. Can the Minister confirm that? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Schumann.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Through our O and M with brushing, I can commit that we will have a look and see what the situation is there and, if there is something that can be done, work with the Member and the community. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. Thompson, your time is up. Are there any further questions from committee? Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I have had the occasion to use the crosswalk myself out in front of the Assembly here. It crosses the highway. One half is in my riding; the other is in the riding for my colleague from Yellowknife North. I know I have been on the record as urging the Minister to put in the crosswalk. It's good; it's there. I also heard a commitment today that the path on the Explorer side is going to be paved. That's great.
I know that, in using the crosswalk, I have pressed the button, and I felt a little bit leery about crossing the road, because you don't know if those cars are actually going to stop or not. You don't know if the lights are flashing. There is no indicator on the part of the crosswalk, once you press the button, that anything is happening when you are a pedestrian. I am wondering if there is some way that that can be adjusted so that there is either a blinking sound or some sort of light so that the pedestrian knows that the system is actually working or not. I really ventured out there kind of gingerly, wondering whether the cars are going to stop or not, and whether the thing is actually working.
That is my first question for the Minister, if he could work with his staff to make that work just a little bit better. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. Mcleod.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. There is a risk with crosswalks. Pressing the button is only one part of it, and then making eye contact with the drivers to make sure that they see you, especially as we get into the darkness.
We are committed to working with the Transportation Association of Canada and the guidelines for crosswalks, and we will look at other options to improve that site as much as possible and the suggestion of a blinking light to tell the pedestrian the lights are working.
Again, we would like to see the pedestrians make eye contact with those vehicles to make sure that they do stop and stop safely. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks. I appreciate the comments, and in fact, I try to do that, but given that the traffic there is, like, actually five lanes wide when you consider the turning lane into the hotel, it is hard to see that far, and if another vehicle is sort of in behind, you don't know whether they are stopping or not. I get it; you guys are going to check into that and try to improve it.
That is from the pedestrian perspective, but also, I think, for the drivers, because I have driven that part as well. All of a sudden, somebody's pressing a light. You don't know whether the guy in front of you is actually going to stop or not. If there is a way to make the lighting system a little more noticeable for drivers, as well, that would be appreciated. Is that something the department could look at as well? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. Guy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, as Mr. McLeod said, we are looking at it from a pedestrian perspective, but we will also look at it from that perspective as well.
As Mr. McLeod said, the new standard, the standards that we follow, come from the national standards of the Transportation Association of Canada, so we also have to work with them to see if there is another standard we can use or more enhanced equipment, but we do recognize that problem that the drivers are having, too, noticing those lights there aren't as bright as they could be at certain times of the day. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Guy. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the commitment made by the department to look at those two issues. I will check out the crosswalk again myself in probably a few weeks, after it gets a bit darker, and see how it is working, but I look forward to the department looking at that and improving it. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Any more comments? Next on the list, we have Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have just got three more questions, I think.
In regard to Mount Gaudet Access Road, it is great to see this is on there. Can the Minister advise us what is exactly happening this fiscal year in regard to that? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Schumann.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. This year we are doing community consultation. We will be working with the community on this closely. We have got an environmental assessment work that needs to be done and planning. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can the Minister advise, is it 2018-2019 or is it 2019-2020 that they are talking about for the process? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Schumann.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That will be 2019-2020.
Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, and I appreciate that clarification from the Minister. I know previously when we have gone into the community, there was a commitment from the department to go in and consult with the community on beginning the stages of alignment and that. Has that been done? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Schumann.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We were just in there last week to meet with the community and kick off that process. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is great to hear. I greatly appreciate the department following up on their commitment to the community, and I am looking forward to working with the Minister and the community on this project.
In regard to the bulldozer going into Fort Simpson, is there a reason for us buying a D6 dozer and not utilizing local contractors? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
