Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to announce formally, on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories, the successful completion of an agreement with the federal government for the transfer of Arctic A airports.
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Thank you. The agreement transfers ownership of the remaining nine airports in the Northwest Territories in Fort Smith, Yellowknife, Hay River, Fort Simpson, Norman Wells, InuAk, Cambridge Bay, Resolute Bay and last, but not least, lqaluit. Along with the ownership, the agreement transfers staff of 122 employees, $24.5 million annually for operations and maintenance and rehabilitation of the airports. As capital assets, the airports are worth over $500 million and generate $3.9 million annually in revenues.
As the Members know, this agreement has been under negotiation for the past two years. When I have been asked about the negotiations, I have always said that if we could not get a good deal for the Northwest Territories, there would be no transfer. Mr. Speaker, this is a good deal. I can assure the Members of this House that the $24.5 million was well negotiated and will enable the Department of Transportation to maintain the airports at their current levels of service.
We are indeed fortunate to have opened the negotiations long before the federal government began seriously attacking the national debt with massive program cuts. The transfer agreement protects the airports in the Northwest Territories from budget reductions across Canada. For a jurisdiction as dependent on air services as the NWT, this is truly a significant accomplishment.
The other important aspect of the transfer I want to emphasize is the general enhancement the transfer gives to the whole territorial airport system. The Department of Transportation is now responsible for operating all 52 public airports in the Northwest Territories as a coordinated system. Through the transfer, we have acquired a great deal of human talent, skills and expertise that we can now make available across the system to improve the airport services at the smaller airports. The larger airport system also opens up many new training and employment opportunities for northerners interested in pursuing careers in the airport operations and aviation industry generally.
As the Minister of Transportation, I would like to congratulate all those who have worked on the agreement over the past two years for a job well done. While the negotiations were led primarily by the Department of Transportation, at one stage or another, literally every government department made a contribution in bringing the negotiations to a successful conclusion.
In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, with the transfer of the Arctic A airports, the Northwest Territories brings another big piece of our transportation system under northern control and in the service of northern interests. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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