Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Transportation and it’s in regards to my Member’s statement. I received several calls at my office in Fort McPherson in regards to the closure of the Abraham Francis ferry on the Peel River this coming Saturday. People were raising the concern that there is no ice on the river, so why are we closing the ferry, there’s no visible threat to ferry operations. My assistant took some pictures, which I sent to the Minister’s office, showing him visually that you can actually see there is no…If anything, the river is wide open where the ferry is crossing. So I’d like to ask the Minister, is it possible to extend the season so that we can stick to a 72-hour notice or a 48-hour notice and move forward with the understanding that there’s no threat to operations? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.
Mr. Speaker, I’m just wondering if we’re looking at the same picture. The Member did send a picture to my office and there was some water, but there was lots of ice on both sides of the channel. So I guess that I have to ensure that we’re looking at the same image that he’s talking about.
Mr. Speaker, he’s correct; there was a date set for closure. Notice has been given for Saturday. But there has been some consideration, since the weather has warmed up, and we expect that we can squeeze a few more days out of the operations there and we will do our best to continue operations. Mr. Speaker, we have to ensure that there are a number of things that are considered. Of course, ice is one thing, but safety for all the people travelling on our ferries always has to be number one. Those decisions are based on the captain’s discretion, along with our marine manager and our regional superintendent. So we’re going to do the best we can to ensure that the ferry runs a few more days and see how things are at that time. It would have to run on a very short closure notice basis. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I believe the decision was made here in Yellowknife and not in the community operations. If anything, they agreed that they can still operate. I would like to ask the Minister if it is possible to extend the season as long as possible so people are still able to move goods and services and the people back and forth, people working on the highway, people out at 8 Mile, so they are able to get back and forth across the river. But, more importantly, with the mild weather that we are receiving here in Yellowknife that we are probably going to see a short winter season this year, because of the mild weather that is out there. I wonder if it is possible to extend it so we can take advantage of the crossing, more power to it. I would like to request the Minister if he can keep myself informed and maybe look at the possibility of a 72-hour notice and basically go forward. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, once again, we don’t tell our captains what to say when it comes to closure of the ferry services. It is the same as we can’t tell the captains of an airplane when they should fly. Mr. Speaker, that is against federal regulations. We will not interfere politically as to the operations. Weather permitting, ice conditions permitting and safety factors all considered, we will do our best.
Mr. Speaker, at the same time, this may be a very unusually warm winter with the climate change. That channel may stay open all winter. We don’t have the resources to operate all winter. We can confirm that we will do our best to operate, depending on all the factors that I mentioned, but I can’t confirm that we will do any more than that. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, again, if we put a bridge there, we wouldn’t have this problem. I think if the Minister put his emphasis on that, then we wouldn’t have to worry about the season, the rain. Again, this ferry operation is basically operated on the cable system. I believe the people that operate the ferry only have to have a Class 3 licence. You don’t need a Class 1. Again, it is a hydraulically operated ferry. There are no captains on this vessel. Again, it is a hydraulically operated system. I think that, if anything, we should do whatever we can to extend the season and make use of the operation. I know cost is a factor, but I think we are only talking a couple more weeks here. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that a bridge would solve all these issues, but that is a $70 million question that hasn’t been resolved yet. Actually this ferry has been operating longer now than it has in the last 10 years. So it is certainly an indicator that we are feeling the effects of climate change, but that could change overnight. Cold weather could set in. Again, we will look at all the conditions around operating this ferry and do our best to operate as long as we can and keep the Member informed of what we plan to do in terms of our actions. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
