Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have heard the barge scheduled to go to the Kitikmeot last year was cancelled in May. Can the Minister explain the rationale for the barge being cancelled? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thought he was going to ask me about May of this year, but nothing has been cancelled, of course. I have explained the cancellation last year of the barge delivery to the Kitikmeot a number of times in this House. I have done a briefing on it. The public information is out there. It is clearly laid out, and it was due to environmental weather conditions that were out of our control. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As part of the MTS business plan 2008, did MTS take on more private contractors than they did in 2017?
MTS's objective right from day one was to grow this business, and we continue to do that. We will continue to satisfy all customers that we have in the system.
With the challenges that we saw last year, can the Minister advise us what MTS is doing to ensure that this doesn't happen in the future and whether MTS has a risk management plan in place?
As I have updated the House here recently on what was going on around the fuel haul, we are managing our risk accordingly. We are working with the fuel supplier, particularly for this particular season because of the fires in Alberta. We are working with our partners, as I have said before, with Transport Canada and the Coast Guard, and particularly to have icebreaker access up in the Beaufort when we are ready to go. We are currently loading our first sets of barges. As I said the other day, even with the rail line out, we are trucking fuel to Hay River, and we will continue to monitor the water and ice conditions throughout this season and adjust our plans as we see accordingly.
Thank you. Final oral question. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for his clarification, and I agree that this has been asked a lot, but these are questions that people keep on asking, so we need to get this information out better, or more, I guess.
With the MTS having to store materials last year that did not make it to the Kitikmeot, will MTS be taking responsibility for any damaged material that occurred over these winter months? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Customers ship goods at their own expense and their own risk. MTS offers and encourages customers to take out insurance on their shipments, and we encourage that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
