Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of ITI. In my Member’s statement I made a brief comment on the Canol Heritage Trail. The Canol Trail follows the traditional Shotagotine Dene trails through the Mackenzie Mountains and was used over thousands of years by the Sahtu Dene and Metis. Over the last eight years, 87 hikers have had a very intimate experience with the Canol Trial. Over the eight years these hikers have experienced the value of these traditional trails.
In order to help tourism and other people who are going to take part in hiking on the Canol Trail and hiking by themselves, is there any type of discussion about a handbook that will guide them through the trail, knowing which areas they should be careful in, what areas, as they are passing through, are very sacred and spiritual to the Sahtu people?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Canol Trail remains within the authority of the federal government. It does have a number of sites along the trail that would, or could, cause issues for health and safety of persons travelling on that trail. That’s not to say we’re not continuing to move forward with discussions with the federal government on how we are going to make improvements. We have some capital dollars earmarked for improvements in the park, including cable crossing at Twitya River next year.
The Member has a very valid point about the guidebook for hikers on the Canol. It hasn’t been updated in a number of years and it’s something that for people who are interested in hiking the Canol Trail, we should have an up-to-date guidebook for those persons that are going on that trail. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, certainly the Minister has been very clear to use in the House that it’s still the authority of the federal government until other issues are resolved with the Sahtu Land Claim corporations and the territorial government. Once the authority comes to the territorial government, this park will be the largest territorial park in the Northwest Territories, and I continue to support the discussions. The territorial government can then work with the Sahtu Land Claim organizations on the operations, development and management of the Canol Heritage Park and Canol Heritage Trail.
I want to ask the Minister, given the importance of this trail here, what is being done in the interim to improve some of the key areas that will need infrastructure support?
He did talk about Twitya River, and we would certainly like to see a bridge crossing the river there.
Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct; we are looking at putting a cable crossing across the Twitya River. The good news is the remediation work will start next summer. The federal government has made a commitment to look at the remediation beginning next summer. That’s a period of approximately five years that they feel that they need to spend remediating the area. There are a number of waste sites, four in particular that were classified as Class 1 waste sites that would be targeted immediately for cleanup and remediation.
The beauty of that Canol Trail would certainly rival anything that Banff National Park has in Alberta, and it’s certainly a real jewel that we have here in the Northwest Territories. We have a very bright future ahead with the development of that park and we’re very optimistic about that park, that’s why we are… Even though we’re working with the federal government on the remediation and waiting for them to get started, we are continuing to move forward with plans, working with leadership in the Sahtu on how to put emergency shelters and a cable crossing in. So we are moving forward with some initiatives and we will continue to do that. As I said, it could be a real jewel for us going forward in our tourism efforts. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I certainly agree 110 percent with Minister Ramsay’s observation on the Canol Heritage Trail and Doi T’oh Park.
Given that we now have 87 hikers that hike on the Canol Trail, some of the hikers have hiked over 300 to 400 miles on that trail and they’ve been coming consistently. The average hiker walks about 25 miles and it’s said they become very intimate with the trail.
I want to ask the Minister, through his discussions, through what’s happening now with the Canol and the future infrastructure projects, is the Minister willing to look at setting up a management-type of community that we could look at projects that are going to happen on the Sahtu trail? We certainly want to make sure that our hikers are well informed.
I now understand that the Minister of Health and Social Services is going to be joining us on the hike this summer.
Mr. Speaker, the Member has a lifetime of experience in that area and I know the last eight years he’s spent on the leadership hike with…(inaudible)… The Member and I have had a number of discussions of how best the department and the government can use the information that people who have actually been out, walked the trail, hiked the trail and have lived that experience can provide to the government in terms of what infrastructure is needed and where it’s needed. We talked earlier about the update guidebook for hikers. These are things that are tangible and things that… We need to look to the experts and people that have spent a lot of time out there who are certainly more knowledgeable in how best to put infrastructure in place in that park.
Again, I know our regional staff have met with folks in the past, and we will continue to work with the Member and people who have spent a lot of time out on that trail, so that we can get an update guidebook, so that we can get infrastructure put in place where it needs to be put. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister, given all that we know about the Canol Heritage Trail, the federal government is working with the work committee, the land corporation authority under our land claim, specifically Chapter 17, Protected Areas. That’s where we speak to some co-management decision-making development of the park and the territorial government’s mandate under the territorial parks with ITI.
Given all of this, I want to ask the Minister, can a type of co-management committee be started up and look at what needs to be happening to get this park in its proper place and get ready for the development of this heritage trail?
I look forward to the hikers this year. On July 2nd we will be hiking 25 miles, and I certainly look forward to Mr. Abernethy’s participation. I understand he’s getting in great shape.
Again, I thank the Member for raising the concerns today. It is important to note, as I mentioned earlier, that the federal government is looking at a five-year time frame for the remediation. They’re also looking at an additional five years for monitoring, after the end of that initial five-year remediation period. But we have to continue to move forward and seek the means to have that land transferred to the Government of the Northwest Territories. Once we do that, the Member is right; I mean, it has to be co-managed. That’s certainly a recipe for success that the Government of the Northwest Territories has acted on in the past and certainly something that we’re looking forward to achieving in the future. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Time for oral questions has expired.
Colleagues, I would like to welcome to the House today Mr. and Mrs. Nick and Betty Ball from Deer Lake, Newfoundland. Those are the parents of our Clerk, Mr. Ball. Welcome to the House.
