Thank you, Mr. Speaker, that’s a hard act to follow. The Hamlet of Enterprise has an idea to bring back its visitor information centre at the site of the old weigh scale along the Mackenzie Highway. Enterprise is one of the main transportation corridors. Anyone driving north from Alberta, whether they’re heading to Hay River, Fort Simpson, Behchoko or Yellowknife, has to go through Enterprise. The old weigh scale would be an ideal location for a visitors centre and would offer something unique.
The visitors centre would generate economic activity, create local jobs and tap into the region’s tourism potential. It would showcase the region’s history and connect tourists to nearby attractions like the Twin Falls, the Deh Cho Bridge and, of course, Hay River as well. It would serve as a natural gathering point for groups or motorists.
The visitors centre in Enterprise could serve other purposes too. For many years there was a restaurant and a gift shop at the gas station in Enterprise, and these could reopen. With cooperation from Fort Providence, the centre could be used as a bison interpretive centre and the space would make an ideal venue for local and regional events, just like the Northern Frontier Visitors Centre in Yellowknife and other visitors centres across the NWT do now.
In any case, there’s a wrinkle in the proposed plan. To put the old weigh scale to the proposed use, the land would have to be transferred to the hamlet, but the Hamlet of Enterprise has an application out on these lands, including the land in which the old weigh scale is situated. The application has been stalled for a couple of years. Basically this means all new development is in limbo.
Of course, no final decisions have been made and the local hamlet council has agreed to hold a community meeting to discuss the future use of the building. If the hamlet council develops a visitors information centre, it would need mutual cooperation from local, regional and territorial governments.
Opportunities for road tourism abound and I’m requesting assistance from the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment to help Enterprise showcase the attractions of the Deh Cho region. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
