Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to talk about the Department of Transportation and its Minister.
Mr. Speaker, in the South Slave we are happy to have roads. We have a good road network system. I empathize with those who are from areas where that is still an aspiration to be realized. But, Mr. Speaker, I want to talk a bit about the Department of Transportation and their responsiveness to the issues that I have raised with the Minister and in this House, and I hope my colleagues don’t feel bad, because I realize that not everybody loves the Department of Transportation.
Mr. Speaker, when I went to the ferry crossing one year and the ferry was out, and I got all the way to Fort Providence before I realized that, I suggested they get a solar powered sign outside of Yellowknife that tells what the status of the ferry is, and they did that right away and it worked out very, very well. I asked for a roadside turnout between Enterprise and the border, and right, just like magic, there went up the sign and there was the roadside turnout.
Wow! Wow!
Mr. Speaker, just recently I asked the Minister, I said, why has the road been chipsealed between Enterprise and Hay River for three months and the lines haven’t been painted on. And, like, 24 hours later I was on the road and there were all the lines on the road.
Whooo.
I went to the Minister about a steel supply contact that we didn’t feel had been resolved fairly, and it was resolved to the satisfaction of my constituent. We had a gravel crushing contract that was not being resolved to the satisfaction of a constituent and it went our way.
Mr. Speaker, I raised the issue of the graffiti on the sign at the border, and I know that the Minister’s not responsible for Justice, but the next day the corrections inmates were out there and repainted the sign at the border. Mr. Speaker, I told the Minister we didn’t need a bridge at the Deh Cho, we didn’t need the Deh Cho Bridge, but he didn’t listen to me. But I guess you can’t win them all.
Mr. Speaker, today I have another great idea. Mr. Speaker, the issue of black ice on the roads that are paved and chipsealed has become a real problem. It is a problem this time of year, and just last night my husband and I stopped just north of the border to check a vehicle that was rolled in the ditch. We did not know we were on black ice until we touched the brakes to stop and try and help someone while we were going by.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of Transportation today if it would be possible to get another solar powered sign, perhaps at the border, so people can phone in and let people know that are coming behind them that there are hazardous road conditions. Those could be posted remotely to make the road safer for the travelling public. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
