Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On Wednesday my colleague Mr. Bromley raised a number of questions on the Giant Mine remediation project. He stressed the need for independent oversight, ongoing research and reporting arising out of the concerns about the flooding last spring, and the sinkholes that have appeared on the property over this past summer.
One area that he did not mention is the requirement to realign the Ingraham Trail through the mine site to ensure the traffic does not pass directly over the different arsenic chambers.
Over two years ago the Giant Mine realignment was announced as a necessity for safety reasons. Three options were identified at the time.
Option one, which is the least technical and completely bypasses all the arsenic pits, starts near Fred Henne Park and rejoins the Ingraham just past the mine site just before the Yellowknife River.
Option two is the option that closely mirrors the existing highway through the Giant Mine site but is altered to avoid the different arsenic chambers. It would create a very erratic and winding road through the existing site.
Option three, which has already been rejected as unsuitable, was along the lakefront in front of the Giant town property, the old Giant town site, and rejoins the Ingraham Trail past the ‘A’ headframe. I understand that this route would actually go over one of the arsenic chambers, so its construction would have made the purpose of the realignment completely moot.
Since these options have been identified, there has been little information made public. I have had a number of constituents ask me what are the plans for the realignment and when will they see something done.
Mr. Speaker, last session some of my colleagues asked these types of questions, but the answers seemed to have confused many in the public. So today, at the appropriate time, I will once again be asking questions related to this topic of the Minister of Transportation. Specifically I want to know if a route has actually been selected, and if so, which route will be developed. Will northern contractors employing northern workers be involved in the construction? What is the timeline? What is the cost, and who will be responsible for paying it?
Mr. Speaker, every winter a large number of heavy loads pass over these arsenic chambers, hauling critical supplies to the diamond mines. The Giant Mine site is undergoing odd transformation with the appearance of these new sinkholes. Overflow from Baker Creek is a reality. It may be again.
On top of this, the original notification of this project stressed that the realignment was a safety issue, so why the delays? When will this project get done? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
