Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the other day the Infrastructure Minister was unable to answer a couple of my questions. So I'm going to try asking them again today.
Can the Minister tell us which other NWT airports, by name, were affected by similar actions experienced at the Fort Smith airport runway? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During the recent lighting projects involving James Gruben airport in Tuktoyaktuk and YZF in Yellowknife, the Aerodrome Standards and Guidelines were considered. The Tuktoyaktuk project saw changes to the physical characteristics and the lighting infrastructure. And the Yellowknife project saw changes to the lighting infrastructure to meet the current standards as well as aircraft currently serving the airport. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, in the Infrastructure budget that we looked at the other day, Fort Simpson is replacing the lighting on their airport runway just like what happened to Fort Smith's runway changes. Can the Minister tell us if the width or length of the Fort Simpson airport's runway was altered in any way? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Fort Simpson airport will see changes to the lighting infrastructure as a result of the new lighting project so it can meet the Aerodrome Standards and Guidelines, but there will be no changes to the physical characteristics because the aircraft because of the aircraft serving this airport.
The aircraft serving Fort Simpson, to meet the current and future needs, is the ATR turbo prop. This aircraft is part of a larger aircraft group number, than the aircraft serving Fort Smith. As with the Fort Smith airport, the level of service will not change at this airport and will still continue to meet federal regulations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us if there are any plans to reduce the width of any other NWT airport runways? If so, can the Minister specify which airports those are. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That was two questions, and I'll answer them both. No, there are no plans at this time as there are no projects in the planning and design stage. During the plan and design process for all airport projects, the Aerodrome Standards and Guidelines are taken into consideration, along with the aircraft serving the community and the physical characteristics of that airport. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for the government to continue to defend a poor decision to shorten the width of a major regional airport is not okay. I don't want Fort Smith's decision to set a bad precedent for other communities to lose or lessen vital infrastructure. Would the Minister seriously reconsider correcting this direction by the Government of the Northwest Territories and reinstate the wishes of 550 people along with the entire Fort Smith leadership who signed the runway petition? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To be clear, narrowing the width of the runway has not changed the level of service of the airport. The runway meets current federal regulations and future needs.
When the Fort Smith airport was built in 1957, 60 meters was a common width for a paved runway across Canada. At the time, it was predicted that future aircraft would be bigger and would require larger runways. The evolution of aircraft technology disproved this prediction. Newer and more modern aircraft have improved performance when compared to aircraft from the 1950s and 1960s and wider runways are not necessary.
Mr. Speaker, in addition, I would also note that the federal regulations have recently changed and a 60meter wide runway is no longer required, even for the largest aircraft in the world.
Finally, I want to make it clear that Department of Infrastructure did consult with the airport users and the town prior to commencing the work on the new runway lighting and reduce the runway width in 2018, and no objections were noted or brought forward at that time. Ongoing engagement with aircraft operators during construction led to the addition of turn pads at both ends of the runway to be able to allow for safe operations of 737s and A320 aircrafts.
The expenditure of over 11 million in public funds to revisit the work completed in 2019 and return the runway to its former width is unnecessary, and the Department of Infrastructure doesn't have the necessary funding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
