Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Yellowknife Airport runway is a consideration that we have in the long-term Yellowknife Airport plan. Right now we don't feel there is a real need for it. Down the road there may be a need for larger aircraft to use the airport in terms of bringing in more tourism trade or tourism traffic through this airport. There is some concern over the

safety factor. We still have been nominated as an emergency airport. We've seen a number of aircraft land, but we've had the discussion with the federal government and we will continue to do so. At this point, we don't have any immediate plans to lengthen the runway except for requesting or applying for land to reserve that area as part of our application for future consideration. For extension, we are not planning to do anything in that specific area.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, again from the safety perspective before I proceed on to another direction of the airport, would the Minister be able to quote on how many in the last 10 years oversized airplanes have landed at this airport? Would the Minister be able to acknowledge and quote that? I know that we've had some that have arrived with very interesting circumstances, yet they needed to land in the emergency context at the Yellowknife Airport. So if he could quote that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman, we would have to commit to providing that information for a 10-year period. We do know that over the last year, we've had three polar flights land at the Yellowknife Airport and we're probably going to see more over the next while. We are talking to Transport Canada and we have been, for some time, raising concern that these planes are landing at our airports that are not designed to accommodate these huge aircraft and the federal Minister has also heard from other jurisdictions, Nunavut and the Yukon that have the same problems. We have requested that we look at a mechanism to help us cover the costs of our staff, our crews that have to be called out if it is off hours. We have to pay for those costs. I mean, we can bill them back, but we should be able to deal with it better. We also want to have the federal Transportation department talk about ways that we can increase the size of our runways if we have to accommodate these large planes. So we have had those discussions. But as to the actual number, I'd have to commit to get that for the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Minister. You led very nicely into my next line of questioning regarding the airport, which is with regard to the polar flights. Mr. Chairman, I believe it was last week our federal Transportation Minister, as well as the U.S. Secretariat have agreed to engage in opening up the skies in North America, which will slowly proceed to again reaffirm the importance of the polar flight route. Again, emphasizing the importance of the Yellowknife Airport, in which we only had three emergency calls last year; safety goes beyond actuals. It's the reality that we have to be there and recognize some of those points raised just a moment ago; how we are engaging on our federal counterparts about again reaffirming that we are an emergency airport on the polar flight routes, because these are opening up every day and we'd be foolish to think they're going to get slower. If anything, people are going to be flying here on a regular basis over our skies. As well, maybe the Minister could emphasize the area of whether the territorial government has any dialogue at all with their air transportation folks with, say, understanding or at least some acknowledgement of who flies over the territorial skies. Do they have to engage the Northwest Territories government Transportation section in any way if the polar flights cross our airspace? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, we indicated that there were three large aircraft that landed and used our runway in Yellowknife this past year, but it should be noted that there were a lot more calls that came in where there was potential that they wanted to use the airport and didn't actually use it.

The question regarding whether there is a need for these planes to contact the Yellowknife Airport when they are crossing airspace or our area is a good point. It's also a real sore point with us, because there is no requirement for the air carriers or the companies to contact us. There's not even a requirement, at this point, for the companies to inform us that we have been nominated or selected as an emergency landing facility. So there are really no early indicators, until we get a call that there is a need to use the airport and land. We have met with the federal Minister, Mr. Lapierre, on a number of occasions now. We have also met with our counterparts from the other territories. They have the same concerns and we've raised it with the federal government on many occasions. Transport Canada has recently indicated to us that they are undertaking to do their own assessment of the airport requirements in the northern part of Canada on what the requirements are to support international, polar and high altitude traffic and we're still waiting for that report. I'll stand corrected on that issue, Mr. Chairman. The deputy minister indicates that the report has just come in. So we have it now and we will be reviewing it.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, by no way am I implying we need to discourage northern travel and the Minister didn't allude to that, but I want to make that quite clear that this is a reality of our future and we need to embrace this opportunity, as well as enhance it. That being said, I appreciate his acknowledgement of the flying over and the sense I get was they call us five minutes in advance. I mean, this is more of a metaphor, but they call us and say be ready because we may be coming to your airport. So whether it's a 15-minute radio-in or it's an hour radio-in isn't so much the point. The fact is we know when they're coming, but we don't know when they're going over us.

I would certainly like a debate on policy in the context of putting forward a unanimous position, which is we want to be kept in the loop. From the sound of what I think the Minister was alluding to, other territories are having the same problem. We're left out of the loop and whether it means that they're flying over, they should at least acknowledge they're in our airspace. I don't believe in being silent on northern sovereignty. I think that's an issue that this House leaves by the wayside a lot of times. I would like to hear it screamed and trumpeted much more and with that sort of little rant, I say on the side I tip my hat at Mr. Danny Williams showing sovereignty in the Newfoundland perspective. Although, I have to admit I

was a little concerned on the flag lowering side, but very happy to see them raising it again.

I think our government needs to emphasize our position in Canada. I think it always has to be kept in a respectful context. It almost appears as if it's on a need-to-know basis at this regard and I'm very concerned about that. I would like to hear today that the Minister is working towards that so we can break down that wall, again to reaffirm and assert continually our northern sovereignty and our northern position, because I feel that we should be part of this equation. Again, to encourage them not to discourage these flights, but also I go back to what I was saying earlier, which is I'm taking the point of view of a safety perspective that if the Northwest Territories or Yellowknife is being nominated as a potential landing zone for these types of flights, I have serious concern that we're not dealing with something over the long run.

I will acknowledge and I would emphasize my appreciation that the Minister has made clear that he quoted three last year. That probably means wheels on the ground, but I hope you also include the potential call-ins that we may have. Again, I think this builds a case just on the emergency side. I haven't even begun to talk about the tourism side or just the national side of what this would bring, the international side which would bring maybe more Americans here, or the international side which bring the Japanese here. I mentioned last week or the week before about my enthusiasm about bringing them here to the Northwest Territories.

That being said, my long little-winded rant, I would like to hear that the Minister will engage clearly on the federal level that we have a sovereignty issue here. We would like to be in the loop. I would like to hear the Minister emphasize today that if the word priority isn't a word, I would like to hear him emphasize that this is a priority, that we want to do something with this. I know it's not a budget item, but I certainly would like to hear that we are going to address this as a priority because, from an emergency point of view, I think it's quite a solid anchor that could have massive economic spin-offs that benefit the whole Northwest Territories. Lastly, I would like to hear some encouragement from the Minister about his consultation with Regular Members. I know this is a good Minister and he does engage Members from time to time and I would like to hear that as well.

So those three major points and he can slide in a few extra good comments, I'm sure. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, this issue only became a problem a very short time ago. The issue of polar flights and us being nominated as an emergency landing airport probably came about three years ago and it has been a problem and it has been growing ever since. I want to assure the Member that we have had good discussions with the federal Minister. We've been very clear that it's a concern that we have to deal with. We no longer can tolerate short notice on some of these emergency landings and the costs incorporated with it and we want to see that resolved. Having said that, it's not our position to say no to any of the aircraft that have an emergency. I mean, we'd never even go there, but we want to ensure if the aircraft are going to land, then they should cover our costs and we should be in a position where our facility is safe. If it takes expanding the runway in order for our facility to be safe, then that should be something we have a way to pay for. We certainly don't want to be in a position where we'd have to incorporate a new fee or something of that nature to cover an expansion that aircrafts from other areas or other parts of the world are going to be utilizing in emergency situations. So we'd like to see a way for the federal government to do that. We have raised it with the Transportation Ministers. They know our situation, I spoke to it personally. Other Ministers from the northern regions have also spoken to it. So the federal Transportation department is very engaged on this issue. They know our situation and they have assured us that it's something they want to deal with now; have a report on it and we will be looking at that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. I've got Mrs. Groenewegen next, then Mr. Zoe and then Ms. Lee. Mrs. Groenewegen

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am from Fort Providence and I certainly can share a lot of the issues around the closing of the ferry. It's actually something we have all grown to expect and we've seen and we all have our share of stories about how people have been stranded. We are hoping when the bridge is done, we will alleviate that whole issue. In the interim, we certainly welcome the recommendation made by the Member to post a sign so that people are not caught or don't have their radio on or don't phone the 1-800 number or don't check on the Internet. We don't want to see people travelling all the way to the Mackenzie River Crossing, to find out the ferry is not running.

We have had a sign for some time on the south side, at the Enterprise turnoff. We were able, after reports came forward, to access a lit sign and we have located that just on this side of the airport leaving the city of Yellowknife. We will again take the Member's recommendation. It's a solar-powered sign, so we can move it. There is a good point that there is potential for some traffic to be leaving the airport and not see the sign. We don't want that to happen.

On the issue of the airport operation and maintenance, I am not sure of the hours the Member is looking at. There was some discussion and we had planned to change our hours of operation. In the last while, we have had discussions with all the airports, all the operators and some of the carriers, and we've decided to set up our hours of service as published to accommodate all the scheduled flights. So I am not sure of the document the Member is looking at, at this point. We adjusted our hours so we can accommodate all the airports in the South Slave, as to the flight schedules.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you. That's good to know. I believe, in terms of general comments, that's all I have, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. I have Mr. Zoe and then Ms. Lee. Mr. Zoe.

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I thank the Member for his comments. On the first issue regarding the Deh Cho Bridge cost overruns, I want to point out, first of all, we are not at a point where we have any final estimates. The true cost will come about in the form of a construction tender. That's when we will know where we actually are. There has been a lot of discussion over this issue. I should point out that we have an MOI, or memorandum of intent, that spells out that the cost be restricted to a point that can be accommodated to a $5 to $6 per ton charge. So we already have guidelines in place. Prior to us or this government signing a concession agreement, there would be a requirement to know the actual cost. We would have to see the actual tender before we could sign the deal for a concession agreement. We would not do that without firm prices. So I want to reassure the Member that there are some safeguards in place.

Regarding relocating the camp with the combined services building, that is something that we already agreed to. At the time the highways camps reach the end of their life, we could certainly consider relocating them to a more suitable location. If that location is the combined services area, we would do that. There are other facilities that probably could be accommodated in that area.

With CARS contracts with NAV Canada, that transition has been working out very well. The contract has been allocated by NAV Canada to a company called ATS Services. I believe they have a base here in Yellowknife and also in Fort Smith and they have an office also in Ottawa. So the transition there has been going good.

With the issue about the Edzo airport, we have not had any discussion with the community regarding that issue. We have not talked with the leadership from that community. We should also point out we have not had any requests to embark on a discussion regarding the airport itself.

The contracts for providing the winter roads in the North Slave area are expiring this year. We will be looking at the winter roads and doing an assessment and reviewing that whole contract again and going out to select a new contractor as our requirements have it.

The Wekweti road has always been a concern. We are very dependent on what happens at Colomac Mine in terms of cleanup in that area. As to having the resources to provide the road into Wekweti. There are very low traffic volumes coming to this community; I think they average about 18 vehicles a year. It's always the cost of providing that last stretch of road from the Colomac Mine to the community that has been distributed amongst the people who are bringing in resupply to that area. It's basically a

cat train road. We have had some contact with the community leaders. In fact, we have a meeting set up for this Thursday, with the chief and some of his representatives, to discuss the future of this road and the situation we are in with this road.

The Rae-Edzo highways camp, I would need more information as to the Member's comments on reductions at this camp. We have not made any reductions in that camp. We just tried to do a quick analysis from our staff here on when the last time there was a reduction at this camp. It's got to be at least six or seven years ago, or further. We have no plans to reduce any staff at that camp. We do not have a mechanic at that camp. The mechanic work is done here in Yellowknife. Maybe we could sit down with the Member and try to deal with some of the concerns he has with the Rae-Edzo camp. Thank you, Madam Chair.