Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we know that what happened last year in Hay River. There was flooding, major flooding. And we're looking at a cost of probably $175 plus million. And another issue that we seen happen last year was supplies not getting into northern communities and part of it, I think, was because of, you know, the harbour access to the harbour in Hay River, and the problems with the coast guard grounding and other boats as well. So even though I didn't get these questions in advance to the Minister of Infrastructure, she's answered them prior anyways, so. I would like to ask the Minister of Infrastructure if she can confirm if there was any funding for harbour remediation for Hay River in the federal budget. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I was in Hay River in the fall, we had a community meeting. We talked about harbour restoration, otherwise known as dredging, but I'm not going to say that today. I'm going to call harbour restoration just for sake of having our Minister here. We did send we did some work, Mr. Speaker. We had money. We had bathymetric studies done. We spent over $150,000 to get some of this work done, mostly because it helps us set a business case to put towards the ocean protection plan. So I'm going to just stop right there in case the Member has more questions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, I appreciate what the Minister and her department have done. They've done a lot more than we've seen in the past and I think we're on the right track. And I guess I'd have to ask what is the status of this business case submitted to the federal government, and where are we with it? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, everybody was tuned in on Tuesday to the federal budget. And I was very happy to see a number of things mentioned, more specifically the Taltson, which I was excited to see, but we did put in a funding proposal under the Ocean Protection Plan. You know, I met with Minister Alghabra when I was in Ottawa for FPT. We had oneonone discussions on, you know, the need to have the Hay River harbour restoration completed so that we can get our tugs all the way up the valley into Nunakput. You know, we had struggles this year. We were late. We had, you know, a number of issues trying to get our supplies of fuel, equipment, into the communities. That's important for us. We put this proposal together. Going back to the budget, I was really excited to see that Mackenzie River was on one of the one of the listed projects for the budget. So I'm hoping that's what that is. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'm hoping the dollars for the Mackenzie River included Hay River. And I'm just expecting that, you know, since the people doing the budget are from southern Canada, they may not know kind of where the Mackenzie River is and where the Hay River is. They may be mixing them up and I'm hoping that's what's happening.
I'd asked the Minister what is the status on the permitting which will allow work to happen on the channel where coast guard has repeatedly been grounded? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, we have the proposal in under the Ocean Protection Plan. We had a lot of community support up the valley, all the way from Aklavik. So I mean, this is a priority. Once we get a response on the funding, then we will start some of the work that's much needed to complete the harbour restoration as well as, you know, in our funding proposal, we asked for some money for double haul barges. We asked for four years of funding for the Hay River restoration. So, I mean, once we get that approval, that sets the stages on how we proceed with this project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think it's important to note that how important that harbour is to Hay River, how important MTS is to Hay River, how important coast guard is to Hay River. You know, if we happen to lose those, basically Hay River's going to slowly disappear. And I think, you know and also the service that it offers to northern communities for supply, to northern businesses, to mining companies, it's very important. So we have to ensure that that harbour is in good shape. And I know that in the past there when the dredging ceased, I think it was because they went to a, you know, a user pay system. But we can't afford to pay that in the Northwest Territories.
So I guess what I'm looking for is what's the realistic timeline for start of remediation for the channel coming into the Hay River? And if we don't get federal dollars, we have to get this done. It has to get done this year. And if it's not this summer, which I hope it is, and then it's going to have to be off the ice in the winter. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is my hope too, and that is why I continue to have this conversation with the federal minister to perhaps give us a response. Once we get the response, then we're able to set timelines. I know we talked about perhaps starting this summer to be able to get some of the work done.
I do want to highlight, Mr. Speaker, that we've been working we did this bathymetric study. We're currently looking at some of the data, the water elevation information indicate we have 200,000 cubic metres of sediment that has to be removed to be able to have normal navigation of that harbour. It's extreme, Mr. Speaker. You know, we recognize that once we get the funding, we will be able to start some of the work, get the regulatory permits in place, get federal our licenses. There are a number of things that we have to do. But I understand the Member's concern about how immediate this is for not only the community in Hay River, but for the communities up the valley. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
