Debates of March 2, 2005 (day 47)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week the honourable Premier, Joe Handley, and Mr. McLeod drove up our winter road into the Sahtu. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Transportation. In terms of the winter road complaints from the Sahtu people and the increased volume of traffic into the Sahtu due to the oil and gas exploration, I would ask the Minister if he would inform this House and the people in the Sahtu what the plans are of the department to improve the road conditions in our region for next year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. McLeod.

Return To Question 519-15(3): Road Conditions In The Sahtu Region

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the trip into the Sahtu and Nahendeh was a real good opportunity for us, as Cabinet Ministers and the Premier, to have some discussions with a number of communities along the way. I think we had, over the weekend, probably around six meetings with different organizations in different communities and we had a lot of discussions. The winter road was always on the agenda and we certainly had an opportunity to take a firsthand look at the road. We thought it was a very scenic drive. There are some stretches that probably could use some improvement. This upcoming fiscal year, our contracts that we have in place for maintenance are coming to an end. They were five-year contracts. We will be reviewing those. We’ll be taking a step back to look at our budgets that are allocated for this stretch of road. We also wanted to do some review in terms of talking to the contractors to see what suggestions they may have, what issues they bring forward. We also wanted to take the opportunity to meet with all the players in the industry who are utilizing our road and see if we can come together in a more coordinated fashion for the upcoming winter seasons. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 519-15(3): Road Conditions In The Sahtu Region

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the people in the Sahtu region’s favourite song is “On the Road Again.” They just can’t wait to get back on that road again. Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the Minister if his department would consider, because of the increased volume of traffic in the Sahtu region and the oil and gas exploration, moving one of the offices to have some presence in the Sahtu. Because right now our offices are outside of the Sahtu, for example, in Fort Simpson and other regions. I want to ask the Minister if he would consider having his office presence in the Sahtu region. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 519-15(3): Road Conditions In The Sahtu Region

Mr. Speaker, the issue of having a permanent presence in the region was something that did come up. We recognize there is a lot more resource development activity in the Sahtu and we also realize there is a lot more traffic. There are people in the communities that now have vehicles and there is a lot more community traffic travelling south during the time that this winter road is open. I will certainly commit to consider having a position in that region. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 519-15(3): Road Conditions In The Sahtu Region

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the volume has increased and I would ask the Minister if he would consider advising us on this side of the House in terms of finishing up the winter bridges program. I know some people were looking at an all-weather road into the Sahtu. Would the Minister consider having that discussion with the people in the Sahtu in terms of having an all-weather road into the Sahtu region? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 519-15(3): Road Conditions In The Sahtu Region

Mr. Speaker, all-weather roads in a number of different areas in the Northwest Territories are always at the top of our list. If we can find some federal investment to create all-weather roads into different areas, we certainly will pursue it. At this time, it’s still the jurisdiction of the federal government. We are doing what we can to increase the season. We’re putting in bridges. This year we have started a sign campaign; we’re putting 650 signs over this year and next year onto the road. We realize that it’s probably only half as much as what we really need, but it’s going to really improve the safety of the road. We’ve also set a speed limit for the road that will also contribute towards the safety. We have increased enforcement. I’m not in a position at this point to point to any new dollars that we have to commit to an all-weather road, but I certainly will commit to the Member that I will continue to pursue it whenever I can at every opportunity that I have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 519-15(3): Road Conditions In The Sahtu Region

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to again commend the two Ministers and commend the Minister of Transportation for coming to the Sahtu. It’s a good sign to come to the people in the smaller communities. I’d ask the Minister if he would commit to looking at the all-weather road project. Would he consider doing it from the discussions from the community base where they would connect from the different regions and communities before they push down south? Would they look at, having been with the Sahtu people, community approaches in terms of an all-weather road? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 519-15(3): Road Conditions In The Sahtu Region

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During our presentation of our budget, we had indicated that we’re doing a number of things across the board. We want to update our Highway Strategy. We have received an agreement for our SIF money and we want to put a proposal together, a strategy together to approach the federal government. As part of this strategy, we’re going to change our focus somewhat. Our last Corridors for Canada proposal that went forward was focused on resource development and reconstruction of roads that were in areas impacted by resource development. This time around we still want to be able to invest money into resource areas that are impacted by resource development, but we also want to be able to focus on connecting communities. We realize there’s a high cost of living in the Northwest Territories and a way to lower the cost of living would be to have good transportation links. That would be our focus. We are working on that document now and we’ll have that over the next while for a review by committee. We’ll present it to committee and get their comments on it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.