Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Disability Awareness Week is from June 1 to 7, 2008. This year’s theme is Disability Is Not a Choice…Your Attitude Is.
One of the priorities for the 16th Legislative Assembly is to improve support for children and adults with special needs and disabilities. The week is an opportunity for us all to recognize the contributions that persons with disabilities make in our communities and to consider how persons with disabilities can contribute or participate in the social, recreational and educational lives of communities across the Northwest Territories.
The July 2000 report Living with Disability… Living with Dignity told us that approximately 13 per cent of the population of the NWT has a disability and that many of these individuals have multiple disabilities. For many years the Government of the Northwest Territories has worked closely with the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities, the Yellowknife Association for Community Living and the YWCA through the Disability Steering Committee Partnership to consider how we can best meet the needs of persons with disabilities in the NWT. This collaborative work has led to the completion of many of the actions in the 2004 NWT Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities and has been invaluable.
One of the greatest needs for persons with disabilities is the need for supported living options. For many years the GNWT has had to send many persons with disabilities to live in the south due to the limited housing options in the North. The Hay River Territorial Supported Living Initiative as a part of the Strategic Initiative Committee on Building Our Futures will enable us to offer additional supported living services to residents of the NWT. The cost of the facility operation will be offset by repatriating clients currently in the south. This initiative fulfills one of the action items in the NWT Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities, in which the GNWT committed to develop additional supported living options for persons with disabilities.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to highlight the work of the staff of the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities and their local committees across the NWT. The council has been an active and consistent advocacy group working on behalf of persons with disabilities for many years.
With support from the Department of Health and Social Services the council has been able to initiate such programs as the Disability Information Line, the successful Parking Placard Program and community outreach programs. With the support of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority the council operates the successful Early Childhood Intervention Program.
The executive director for the council, Ms. Cecily Hewitt, will soon be leaving her position with the council. Ms. Hewitt has been very dedicated to the work of the council and of bettering the lives of those with disabilities. I would like to personally thank her and wish her luck with her future endeavours.
There are many other vital organizations dedicated to working on behalf of persons with disabilities in the NWT. I would like to acknowledge the work of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association, the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Yellowknife Association for Community Living, the YWCA, the Autism Society, People First, the NWT Literacy Council and the Learning Disabilities Association. These organizations make a difference in the everyday lives of persons with disabilities and have a long-term commitment to enhancing the future quality of life of all persons with disabilities.
I encourage everyone to watch for activities that highlight Disability Awareness Week in their communities. We honour and thank persons with disabilities throughout the NWT for their contributions and strength that they provide to our friends, families and communities.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Yakeleya.
Minister’s Statement 47-16(2)
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]
Mr. Speaker, I am encouraged by the interest in the Arctic gateway that I've recently heard about from various leaders and my counterparts in other jurisdictions.
I am pleased to report that on April 8, 2008, at the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety meeting in Gatineau, Quebec, the federal Transportation Minister committed his department to undertake a feasibility study on the Arctic gateway and trade corridor. This study is expected to commence later this year.
I am also pleased with the support we received from the Arctic gateway at the recent Western Canada Transportation Ministers meeting in Victoria, B.C. The federal government recently released the National Policy Framework for Strategic Gateways and Corridors. This framework defines the elements of a national strategic gateway and guides federal investment. Factors such as economic efficiency and competitiveness, sovereignty and security and environmental sustainability are considered within this framework.
I would like to provide Members with an update on the proposed NWT Arctic gateway and trade corridor through the Mackenzie Valley. This NWT gateway has the potential to re-arrange logistics for major resource developments in western Canada and in the North. The centrepiece of this gateway is the Over the Top marine shipping route.
An Arctic gateway and trade corridor through the Mackenzie Valley will provide efficiencies and savings. The shortened distance from Asia and Europe would reduce current weight and dimension restrictions now experienced on delivery routes from either Atlantic or Pacific gateways. An Arctic gateway also provides the advantage of relieving congestion for the southern ports, highways and rail links.
The importance of developing an Arctic gateway will continue to expand due to the rise in the demand for imported goods and exports from Canadian commodities, climate change and technology advancement.
Over the past year the Department of Transportation completed an initial assessment study of the route, held meetings and information sessions on the route with proponents, oil sands stakeholders, various regulators, interested territorial, provincial and federal departments, including Transport Canada, and Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation. This work has helped generate national interest in the concept of an NWT Arctic gateway and trade corridor.
Industry has also been busy promoting the NWT Arctic gateway concept. Recently Arctic Module Inland Transportation Ltd., or AMIT, was established, a new joint venture between the Inuvialuit corporation, NTCL and Mammoet Canada, to focus on planning, testing and promoting the Over the Top marine shipping route. In March of this year AMIT started an engineering study for a major resource developer. This study will look into logistical aspects of this long-used historical route, as well as technology, vessel and regulatory requirements. AMIT will also be investigating an option that involves shipping modules up the Mackenzie River through the port of Hay River and via surface transportation to sites in Alberta and Saskatchewan. It should also be noted that NTCL completed a successful run of the Over the Top route in 2006 and is also proposing to test a barge delivery via Lake Athabasca to a site in Saskatchewan later this summer. These activities speak to the high level of interest and support for this transportation route.
The Department of Transportation view an Over the Top marine shipping route as an opportunity to promote additional economic opportunity in the Northwest Territories and to further assert Canada's sovereignty over the North. An Over the Top marine shipping route could improve the sustainability of our current marine transportation industry and further develop the communities of Tuktoyaktuk, Hay River and Fort Smith as significant marine service centres.
As the Over the Top route gains momentum, opportunities for development of the Mackenzie Valley all-weather highway also increases. Together, the Mackenzie Valley Highway and the Over the Top marine shipping route have the potential to become a major national strategic gateway.
In conclusion, I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues, AMIT and other proponents of an Arctic gateway and Over the Top marine shipping route. This work is a good example of how industry and government can partner to improve our transportation system.
Advancing the NWT Arctic gateway and trade corridor is both in the national and Northwest Territories' interest. An Arctic gateway and trade corridor should provide long-lasting benefits to the residents and businesses and communities of the Northwest Territories.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Before we go on, colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to the presence in the visitors’ gallery of His Excellency Jose Brilliante, Philippine Ambassador to Canada. Accompanying him are Joseph Angeles, Minister and Consul General, and Miss Rhenita Rodriguez, Consul. Welcome to Yellowknife. Welcome to the Legislative Assembly.
