Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I discussed in my Member’s statement about dredging, my question today would be to the Minister of Transportation. Does the territorial government have any dredging plans in the Northwest Territories currently?
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Minister, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member for the question. Currently the responsibility of dredging in Hay River would fall with the federal government. That was discontinued in 1994. Certainly the Government of the Northwest Territories understands and appreciates the need for those channels to be cleared. There have been some concerns brought forward by commercial fishers, the Canadian Coast Guard, of the silting and the reduced availability of water within those navigation channels in the port of Hay River. It’s an issue that I think we need to keep pressing on the federal government to come up with a new program to address the concerns with dredging in the port of Hay River.
My next question is: Has the department assessed the dredging needs throughout the Northwest Territories?
I know there’s been some work done in Hay River, some analysis done on the need to dredge in Hay River. I’m not aware of any other studies that have been conducted in other ports across the Northwest Territories, but that information I’d be more than happy to get for the Member.
Can the Minister of Transportation inform me of any discussions the department has had recently with the federal government on dredging?
My tenure as Minister of Transportation hasn’t been a long one and I wouldn’t be able to speak to my predecessor’s discussions with the federal government specific to the dredging in Hay River.
Going forward, when I do have the opportunity to sit down with my federal colleague Minister Lebel, it’s an issue that I certainly would like to raise with him.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
