This is page numbers 123 - 156 of the Hansard for the 14th Assembly, 6th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was going.

Topics

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the FMB, Mr. Handley.

Return To Question 37-14(6): Medical Travel For Periodontal Treatment
Question 37-14(6): Medical Travel For Periodontal Treatment
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if the report has been completed. I have not received a copy of it yet, but I will follow up with the Management Board Secretariat and get back to the Member. Thank you.

Return To Question 37-14(6): Medical Travel For Periodontal Treatment
Question 37-14(6): Medical Travel For Periodontal Treatment
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Supplementary To Question 37-14(6): Medical Travel For Periodontal Treatment
Question 37-14(6): Medical Travel For Periodontal Treatment
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Brendan Bell

Brendan Bell Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just in the way of some background, Mr. Speaker, medical travel assistance used to be provided for this treatment until the mid-90s and then it was deemed at that time that, not because it was not a medical procedure but because we simply had to undertake some restraint initiatives, we were going to cancel the MTA for this procedure. Is that, in fact, the case? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 37-14(6): Medical Travel For Periodontal Treatment
Question 37-14(6): Medical Travel For Periodontal Treatment
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the FMBS, Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 37-14(6): Medical Travel For Periodontal Treatment
Question 37-14(6): Medical Travel For Periodontal Treatment
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, generally that may be the case. I look forward to receiving the report though, and I assume it will provide us with more detail on why this coverage was taken away in the mid-90s, but we will have to wait for the report. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 37-14(6): Medical Travel For Periodontal Treatment
Question 37-14(6): Medical Travel For Periodontal Treatment
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Leon Lafferty North Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Honourable Joe Handley, Minister of Transportation. Mr. Speaker, because I am so concerned about the safety of motorists travelling on Highway No. 3 on a gravel surface, and the lack of results that we are getting, I am seriously wondering what happened to the correspondence, the questions and concerns I have been forwarding to the Minister about this road? I would like to ask the Minister if he can give me details? What happened with my correspondence or anything that was said in the House? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Handley.

Return To Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can assure you that any correspondence I receive from MLAs receives serious consideration. Most often it is passed on to the department and they take a look at the issues and get back to me as quickly as they can. I don't believe there is any outstanding correspondence with Mr. Lafferty. I believe I have responded to all of his letters and in fact any verbal advice he gives me I take seriously and relay onto the department. Thank you.

Return To Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Leon Lafferty North Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my understanding that the amount of maintenance the road gets is based on a formula related to the amount of traffic on it. Although Highway No. 3 is a priority one, meaning it should get a lot of maintenance, the road is still unsafe. Can the Minister tell me why the correspondence given to the department, why is there nothing being done about the safety of this road? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 38-14(6): Addressing No. 3 Concerns
Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

If the road was unsafe, we would close it. We consider it safe. It is safe given the winter driving conditions people have to take into consideration when they use the road. That road or any other road in the Territories. We will put up notices if we feel that it is getting to the point where people have to take special precautions. The road receives daily patrols from the department. We continue to check out any spots where we feel there may be trouble. We listen to advice from the public. We have a toll-free line if people want to phone in with reports. Whatever work is necessary, we carry it on. In response to the Member's preamble, traffic count is only one factor. Certainly road condition and weather conditions play a very big role in terms of the maintenance that is done on the roads. None of the roads can be perfect. People have to use them with due caution and take into consideration the road and weather conditions. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 38-14(6): Addressing No. 3 Concerns
Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Leon Lafferty North Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister for his answer, but the definition of safe depends on whose definition it is. Maybe their definition of safe is, when you get to the other end safely, it's safe, but from my definition that isn't what you would call safe. I would like to ask the Minister because of the condition of the road, could there be more signage installed on this road, especially where the gravel and the chipseal join? The warning signs are right at the corners and it's unsafe. I would like to ask the Minister if he could get his department to make sure the road is safe.

Supplementary To Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, the department does everything they can to make sure the road is as safe as possible. They can never make it absolutely safe for all people, including those who drive recklessly beyond the posted speed limits and so on. We can't ever have it absolutely, totally safe. In terms of signage, we will continue to monitor. I will take the Member's concern to the department and ask the people responsible to take a look at it. If we need more signage, then definitely we want to put that up to ensure that there aren't any accidents caused by the road conditions. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Leon Lafferty North Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I travel that road a lot during the time that I do my work in Yellowknife and I fail to see anybody patrolling that road because I travel that road pretty early in the morning. That would be the best time for patrolling. I would like to ask the Minister if he can give me details on their daily patrols, on the maintenance manual that they are using, if he can share it with the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. This is going to require a long answer again. Make it short. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, if the Member wants, I can give him my information on the road conditions. I don't mind doing that. I can give him some advice on the way we are maintaining the roads. I am not an expert at driving a grader and I am not going to tell those people who are professionals how to do it anymore than Mr. Miltenberger will tell the doctors how to do appendix operations. That's not our job. I will give him whatever information we have. I don't know if there is one maintenance manual we follow. I think our professionals out there take a look at the road conditions and do the maintenance that they feel is within their ability to do. So, Mr. Speaker, I will provide as much information to the Member as possible, but I can't say that we could ever give 100 percent safe conditions for people driving in any kind of condition. Mr. Speaker, I went on the road last on February 3rd. I drove to Fort Providence and back. The road was in great condition for people who drive within the speed limit, but if they are going to drive at 130 kilometres an hour, it is a dangerous road. They should not be driving that speed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Interjection

---Laughter

Further Return To Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Question 38-14(6): Addressing Highway No. 3 Concerns
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Bill Braden

Bill Braden Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my statement earlier today, the 237,000 tons of arsenic trioxide dust stored underground at Giant Mine is probably the greatest environmental situation we have to deal with here in the NWT, but a lot of good science has been done on it. Mr. Speaker, the community is looking at two options that are recommended. One is to freeze and keep this poisonous material in the ground perpetually or take it out and treat it and dispose of it that way. I wanted to ask the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development whether this government has taken a position on whether any of these options or anything else is the way we should go. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister of RWED, Mr. Antoine.