Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, ice break-up is a highlight for people who live along the Mackenzie and Liard Rivers. It is a time of the year when there is a lot of excitement and anticipation in the air. Mr. Speaker, therefore, I would like to update Members of this House on the Liard and the Mackenzie Rivers break up around Fort Simpson.
Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, May 1st, at about 9:00 p.m., the ice broke in the Liard River and started the whole process of pushing the ice down towards Fort Simpson. On the evening of Thursday, at approximately 8:30, this ice broke out into the Mackenzie in front of Fort Simpson. The next day, on Friday, May 3rd, this ice jam broke and pushed out into the Mackenzie. At approximately 8:00 that evening, this tremendous pressure from the Liard River caused the Mackenzie to break up in a very spectacular fashion in front of the community of Fort Simpson.
There are huge piles of ice along the riverbank in front of Fort Simpson. In a lot of places, it is spilling onto the front road. So, as you can imagine, it is a very spectacular sight this time of the year.
Mr. Speaker, since then, the ice on the Liard River has cleared and I am told that the ferry in Fort Simpson is in the water. Hopefully, they will have operation of this ferry by noon tomorrow. This means there will probably be an exodus of people from Fort Simpson onto the highway. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.