Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the need to maintain safe passage for marine vessels is not limited to Hay River but along the Mackenzie River as well, and it's all the more need to address this issue as soon as possible.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Infrastructure confirm the status of the bathymetrics survey completed last fall on the channel and harbour in Hay River? And I do appreciate the fact that she actually had her department do that which is a lot more, I think, than past Ministers have done. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I'll take that compliment when and where I can. We didn't forget. You know, we have bathymetric survey data from the coast guard in the fall for the navigable water of the channel. We also implemented this with our own data, as the Member is aware that we had some work done in Hay River. As well, Infrastructure has worked with many departments such as ENR, Coast Guard, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, MTS, and other people. So we are doing this engagement so that we can better understand the potential implications to the navigation.
I want to say that as a result of this, we have established volumes and locations of the sediment that is required removal. So there is approximately 200,000 cubic metres in total that needs to be looked at. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate that answer. Can the Minister tell me what the status is on the development of a business case to access federal dollars for harbour remediation? Has that business case been completed and submitted to the federal government and, if not, why not? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Lots of questions in there but I'm happy to say that we have developed an application for multiyear federal funding to restore the harbour under the Federal Oceans Protection Plan. Harbour restoration will cost millions of dollars, Mr. Speaker, to implement and then ongoing funding to be able that is required to maintain the channel and the harbour into the future. This application to Transport Canada is at the end of this we're submitting by the end of this week. Meanwhile, there is work done to continue some of the regulatory and permitting requirements.
And I do want to note, Mr. Speaker, we had good uptake from a variety of communities up the valley, those that are impacted, to be able to support our application. I want to say thank you very much for those that were able to support this very important application funding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'm pleased to hear that there is support from, you know, people along the Mackenzie River. And, you know, when we see oil and gas return, it'll be great.
Can the Minister tell me who in Ottawa she met with to discuss harbour remediation for Hay River and what was the outcome? Were any commitments received from the federal government? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I most recently met with the Honourable Omar Alghabra who is the Minister of Transport Canada while I was in Ottawa early December. I also plan to have further discussions with him while I'm in Ottawa next week for a federal-provincial-territorial Ministers of transportation meeting. These discussions will not stop. My department's analysis is being used to inform ongoing discussions with federal counterparts as well as funding proposals. We continue, and we will continue, to lobby the federal government to stress the importance, Mr. Speaker, of this marine supply chain hub, including the need to avoid any interruption of essential resupply and to maintain safe, secure, commercial marine shipping operations here in the Northwest Territories. While, Mr. Speaker, I am hopeful that our federal partners will recognize this as a critical need for the work and to be able to help us address this issue here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we're closing in on spring. We're closing in on flood season. So let us hope that if no dredging takes place this year, let us hope that the ice, as it moves through the channel, scours the bottom of the river, gives it the six feet that we need to get the marine vessels safely through that channel. So that's what I'm hoping for. But failing that, can the Minister provide me with a realistic timeline as to when harbour remediation will take place on the Hay River? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Minister's statement today I talked about how there's a lot of regulatory process that needs to take place, permitting requirements to be able to remove large amounts of sediment. These approvals cannot be avoided and will take months, Mr. Speaker. If we can obtain the required permits anticipated, we can get on that water and dredge as early as July 15th, which would result in a small channel by September.
Mr. Speaker, we do not control the federal and territorial regulatory processes, and this also assumes we secure funding as the cost to dredge this harbour is in the millions. This is a significant project, Mr. Speaker. Once we have a response from the federal government on our oceans protection plan application for funding, we can better determine next steps. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
