Yeah. I note some government yards. Specifically, I could mention the highway yards. Many of them have old buildings that haven't been decommissioned, type of thing, but they are still hanging onto them, even though they have new garages built because they are not being disposed of. Many of them are not being used, but they are not being totally shut down. I'm just looking at cost-saving measures here, within the department, because we are looking at climate change initiatives, dealing with greenhouse gas emissions. What I notice in a lot of the yards in the small communities is that we don't have a central heating system for the three or four buildings on the lots, so that is eating up a lot of diesel. Has the department ever considered installing maybe a biomass system to feed the clusters in the highways yards? Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I am going to defer this to Mr. Moore.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Moore.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Actually, the Capital Assets Retrofit Fund Program is a tremendous opportunity for the GNWT to reduce our GHGs and, through that allocation of $3.8 million a year, we do take that opportunity. It has been a very successful program, Madam Chair. Looking at all opportunities in the GNWT for our facilities, we use that program. This may be an opportunity for that; we'd have to investigate it individually. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Moore. Member for Deh Cho.
I thank you for that, and I am going to be looking forward. I strongly encourage you, as we are always looking for savings, money for the department, and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Because I know, in my community, there is none. I look around, and I see there are three or four separate buildings. They are all burning fuel. A good example is: your department looks after schools and everything, and when we did the wood-pellet burner system to the school in Fort Providence, we went from 3,000 litres of diesel a month to close to 500. There are significant savings there if you can do that project, the Fort Providence one, and then hit all the small communities. I don't think the small communities are even given any consideration for any of these initiatives.
Also, I just wanted to touch upon: I know you have a listing here, but I don't see Highway No. 3 from kilometre 0 to 32. That's the junction of Highways No. 1 and No. 3 to the Deh Cho Bridge. That whole highway, I've ridden it for I don't know how many years. It's a total washboard, that whole stretch. You're just about bouncing off the highway. I don't know what happened there, at the beginning. It's a washboard, and everybody who is driving on it notices it. You're bouncing all over. I'm wondering if there is going to be any consideration to upgrade that highway, to resurface it. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The Highway No. 3 that the Member is referring to is the Yellowknife Highway. There is the section between Yellowknife and Behchoko that, again, has maintenance challenges for many reasons, due to thawing, disturbances with permafrost, and it again results in uneven surfaces. The department does continue to make investments on that highway that address the grade and surface rehab, with priority given to those areas where driver safety might be higher-risk. The Department of Infrastructure awarded $6.13 million to a multi-year contractor to improve approximately 10 kilometres of the highway, and the project was just completed this summer. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. You've got a couple of projects in here to do with bridges, and they will have in brackets ICIP or the NTCF, which is the funding source. I'm assuming that those are the contributions of the 25 percent for those fundings. My question would be: did we actually get money for Frank Channel, and has that ICIP funding come through? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The Frank Channel Bridge is close to its end of life of use, and as a result of that, we have transport vehicles that are having to slow down during that part of the bridge. The department is actively looking for new federal dollars, and just as recently as last week, we resubmitted to get this bridge started because it is at a risk right now. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Great Slave.
The amount of money that would be part of this total, then, for Frank Channel is the portion, the 25 percent funds, that you expect to have to spend if you get the successful 75-percent application? Or is this money that you are already allocating now to be spent on, say, maintenance? I can't see it being that. Is this money that you are thinking that you are going to have to spend if you get the funding, or is this actual money you are spending now?
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I am going to ask David Moore to come up with more details. I know we've got a portion of the money. The federal government is really good at giving us 75-cent quarter-dollars, but that's not enough. We recognize that we need to be actively looking. The Member spoke earlier about whether we are doing that. Yes, we are doing that. In terms of where we're at now, I know we've got this money set aside federally, but we do need to find the other 25-cent dollars for that project. Madam Chair, if Mr. Moore wants to add anything to that, I will pass it to him.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Moore.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The Minister is correct: $22.5 million is in our bilateral agreement with Canada to invest in Highway No. 3. With highways, the work is prioritized. Our teams assess the highway and review it for areas that are the most critical and priority, and those are where the funds are allocated to. Those federal dollars, Madam Chair, are allocated until 2024 for Highway No. 3. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Moore. Member for Great Slave.
[Microphone turned off] ...about the Frank Channel Bridge, so I am still confused. Is this money here, the 25-cent dollar, to get the 75 if you are accepted for that funding? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. My next question, I'm going to stay with bridges, is about the Great Bear River Bridge. I know that we've had the funding for that for a while, and it is sort of slated to go forward as is. However, I know there have been significant delays on that project, and I actually have a lot of inquiries from constituents and residents as to where it's at. Maybe the Minister could provide me with some understanding around the funding in this year, what it is being used for, and are we on track with where we were at, say, a couple of years ago? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The Mackenzie Valley Highway funding includes the construction of the Great Bear River Bridge, which will be processed, again, through a competitive process, but that's not what the Member is asking. The Member is asking where we're at in terms of timelines. As I was going through some of my briefings, there is quite a lengthy process in order to get projects going. Right now, we are still in the environmental assessment stage. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. There are time delays on this project. I know that. With those time delays, will that cause us to have to carry over funding that won't get spent as a result of delays to the project? There was a change to the project timelines at one point. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The Department of Infrastructure plans to finalize the project description report and start to apply for some of the permits in the fall of 2020. It could be in place by possibly the summer of 2021. We will start to go through the tendering, the awarding, and the construction to take place the beginning of this summer, hopefully, of 2021. The Member will be excited to know that it might be opened by February 2024 to meet the timelines of the federal process. That's where we're at in terms of the timelines. We have to be mindful that things change and delays may take longer, but that's where we're aiming for right now. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I hope that I get to be one of the people that goes and drives that bridge the first time. Definitely invested in it. My last question is around the Prohibition Creek Access Road. I know at some point that that had not actually gone out to tender yet. I'm just wondering if you could provide an update if that is going out for public tender soon or has gone out? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The Prohibition Creek Access Road is a 13-kilometre segment of the all-season road along the Mackenzie Valley Highway. The department is undertaking some planning work towards that construction and from Canyon Creek to Prohibition Creek, and this project is independent, a standalone, regulatory process. We are still in the process of waiting for the regulatory process.
In June 2020, $20 million in funding was announced for the construction of this access road, with the federal government providing $15 million under Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program and then the GNWT picking up the difference in the tab. The work is still under way. The Member from the Sahtu and I have had some discussions with some of the stakeholders in the community as they are anxiously waiting for this project to take place, as well. We are having those discussions. We are looking at getting things started as soon as we can and when we can. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate that, and I hope that there will be a way to maximize all of the benefits to Northerners and get as many of the businesses in that region working. I'm not sure if this is the right location for it, but I don't see the Tulita Health Centre in this list. Could you provide an update on whether or not it should be on this list, or if there's a reason it's not, or if I'm just in the wrong spot? Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'm thinking Tulita Health Centre would be under Health and Social Services. Yes. That's it? Thank you. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Madam Chair. Obviously, I will be talking about Frank Channel Bridge, as well. On the location, it says, "Various." There's only one location. That's in Frank Channel within Behchoko. I'm just curious why it's "various"? Maybe it's a simple answer?
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I will find it here in one second, and I will tell the Member why, hopefully. The replacement, I note it's crucial. Actually, I'm going to defer this, Madam Chair, over to Mr. Loutitt. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Deputy minister Loutitt.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The reason it is listed as "various" is because it's part of a bigger package of various bridges throughout the Northwest Territories. The Member is correct. It is in the Frank Channel. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Loutitt. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Madam Chair. One would assume that once a proposal is submitted, approved by feds, then this area would be targeted as Frank Channel Bridge in Behchoko. I'm not sure if I'm correct on that, but if I can be corrected? Madam Chair, the next one I have is: the proposal has been submitted the previous year, as well. Unfortunately, it was denied by the feds because of various competing proposals from across Canada. The proposal has been submitted according to the Minister's response. When do we expect a decision to be made? We should have a good idea because we've experienced that last year, as well. Masi, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. From my understanding, the department submitted the original proposal. We've got the majority of the dollars, but we were denied in the last round for the 25-cent dollars. Just recently, in the last week or so, I've instructed staff to resend out the proposal. If we don't hear from them in the next week, we need to get in contact. That's where we're at right now with that. I wish I could say it's going to be next week or we're going to know an answer for sure in a month. I don't know. We're still in the engagement phase. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Madam Chair. I'm glad the Minister's on top of this. As you know, the bridge is over 50 years old. It has very much deteriorated, and lots of commercial trucks go through there. It's a safety hazard. Obviously, I'd like to see that replacement and soon enough. Once we're in that position, I just want to remind the department that we go through the procurement process and local business. NWT business should be the first consideration. We have a talented business arm with experience that can easily take this on. Madam Chair, that's just a comment on this particular area.
If I may, move onto the next subject area, and that is Tlicho All-Season Road. Madam Chair, we've been talking about this for a number of years now. Now, it's in the final phase to be completed in November of next year, 2021. Tlicho All-Season Road to Whati, that's what the title is TASR. Madam Chair, I just found out the last couple of weeks, the road being built is not connecting all the way to Whati community. A lot of elders in the past have always talked about connecting from Whati to Yellowknife, so they can have access to get out whenever they need to. That's my understanding, and I'd just like to know where it's at because it is expected that the road will be linked to the community of Whati. Is that the case, Madam Chair?
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister.
