Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated in my speech, Hay River and the Hay River area are seeing an extreme storm right now. My question today will be for the Minister of Transportation.
Can the Minister give me an update on the Hay River area and how they’re keeping up with the storms to date?
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The last report that I’ve got from the South Slave and Hay River was that the airport was open today, flights were operating out of the Hay River Airport today, and that’s a real testament to the staff – Kelly O’Connor, the airport manager, and the staff at the Hay River Airport – that have worked long, hard hours dealing with the snow.
On the highway front, we’ve had every piece of equipment in the area. We’ve called in the Buffalo River camp to assist as well. We’ve had off-hour crews called in. So we’ve had every piece of equipment out on the roads, working the best that we can to keep the roads safe and clear of the snow that Hay River has experienced; Enterprise, as well, and other areas in the South Slave. So we’ve done a lot of hard work, and I think the crews in the area are to be commended for the hard work and the effort they’ve put into clearing the roads and keeping the airport open in Hay River as well. Thank you.
Thank you. I, too, appreciate the hard work by the department and all the organizations that are trying to clean up the area.
My next question is: Does the department expect bringing in any additional equipment from other regions to aid the Hay River and Enterprise area? Thank you.
We’ve brought in an extra I believe it was a plough truck from the Buffalo River camp. So far today it looks like the snow has abated. But as needed, I believe if we are hit with another episode of snow and heavy snowfall in the area, we do have equipment in other places in the South Slave and, if need be, that would be called into action. Thank you.
Thank you. My final question to the Minister will be about the department’s added hours. Does the department continue to have additional hours on a regular basis in the wintertime as opposed to the demands where they would be less in the summertime? Does the department have longer hours for operation for the highway equipment operations in the wintertime? Thank you.
I thank the Member for the question. Yes, we do and we’ve advanced with the winter schedule for the Enterprise camp already. The other camps I’d have to check on, but I do know that we’ve gone to a winter schedule for maintenance with the Enterprise camp. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
