Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Transportation with regard to the recent ongoing trials and tribulations of the mud areas of Highway No. 7. The road has closed again just recently, and I’d like to know the status of it.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The springtime has the highest risk to the vulnerability of our road systems in the North. And to update the Member, as of 11 o’clock this morning, the Liard Highway is open to light traffic and closed to commercial traffic.
Mr. Speaker, I am glad to hear it’s open again. The residents of Fort Liard are really, really quite frustrated with the highway system. To refresh the Minister’s memory, the word “goat” is part of the phrases they have been using.
We had spoken in the House last week about Highway No. 7 and had asked the Minister about the commitment level of getting those mud sections rebased and reconstructed this fiscal year. It has been like that for 20 years. Residents and our traveling public do not want to see it set aside as soon as it dries up. They want to see it rebuilt and reconstructed.
I appreciate the Member’s referring to the word “goat”; it’s a virtue. In our region we don’t have a highway.
However, Mr. Speaker, I would like to let the Minister know, let the people in Fort Liard and Fort Simpson know, that the department has taken a considerable amount of resources at this time of the season. We have indicated in our plans that this road desperately needs attention. Reconstruction is a high priority of our department, and we are concentrating on this section of the highway through our Main Estimates. When we get to our Main Estimates, I will show what type of investments we would like to make in this section of the road. I hope we can fix these problems, these soft spots in the highway, once and for all.
That is certainly something I will pay attention to when we get to the department and Committee of the Whole, line by line. Once again, I just wanted to reiterate to the Minister the importance of Highway No. 7, which is part of our national highway system, too, and shouldn’t be in this state of disrepair. I just wanted to say once again, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to get a commitment from the Minister’s office that they will look at some serious repairs to these sections.
The problem is in the silt down the Mackenzie Valley into the different roads and our airports. We have noticed through our assessments that the Liard Highway needs some serious work done. It has been known for years. We want to do a proper job. We are going to commit millions into the Liard Highway to fix the road, Mr. Speaker. Right across the Northwest Territories, in terms of value on our investments.... I look forward to when we can get up there to talk about our Main Estimates and let the people know in Fort Liard that this highway has been looked at very seriously by the department. I also want to thank the contractor on Highway No. 7, our staff and the people in Fort Liard for their patience on fixing this muddy road once and for all.
Applause.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
