Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today in my Member’s statement I spoke about the all-weather road from Tuk to Inuvik and how badly it’s needed to get employment into the riding of Inuvik, and Tuk, and Aklavik, and Sachs Harbour and Paulatuk. We need this project to go. Does the Minister have a plan on when he’ll be meeting with his federal counterpart in Ottawa?
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is not wasting any time getting on top of the subject. The Minister was just announced, I think four hours ago.
We already, as I’ve indicated, have been working on a draft for some correspondence to go to the Minister. We are trying to encourage them to look to the North as a place for investment. There has been a lot of tension and there has been some good promises made during the last term of our government. We are inviting him to come to the Northwest Territories to meet with us. We’ve also asked for some time to sit down and talk to him about some of our priorities. We’re hoping that correspondence will go out ASAP.
Just to remind the federal government that they did promise this road in that first budget and they should stand by their word. What’s the status on the environmental review process on the Tuk-Inuvik highway?
The project, in terms of where it’s at with the environmental review process, we expect that the draft environmental impact statement will be delivered to the review board by the end of the month. We also have information on that statement that provides details on engineering and environmental impacts. It’s a fairly large document, I think about a thousand pages, and very comprehensive. The statement also lays out the next steps. That includes initiatives such as public hearings.
Is the department planning any additional work this coming summer?
The answer is yes, there is a lot of work that still has to be done. We are planning a comprehensive summer program. The work that needs to be done includes fisheries studies, wildlife surveys, things of that nature. This information will supplement the work that’s already been done. We still need to provide that type of information to get our authorities and permits, and the things that we will require to move forward.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once that process is done -- hopefully we could end that by the end of July or August -- then can we start working this winter?
There’s a lot of ifs in that question that we need to resolve. First of all we need to see what is in the new federal budget. Does it include dollars for this section of highway that the Member is referring to. We also would need to see the results from the review board. We’d also require all necessary authorities, authorizations, permits. There’s lots of work to do. If there’s any work that would be done on the section of highway, it would probably be the final portions that need to be completed on the Tuk gravel access road that we’ve been working on for several years.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
