Mr. Speaker, I have a return to a written question asked by Mr. Yakeleya on Tuesday, October 29, 2004, regarding winter roads in the Sahtu.
1. Given the period the winter roads are in operation and the increase in oil and gas activities, what types of tracking methods are used by the department to keep track of numbers of vehicles?
Since the increased demand and higher prices for natural gas in the early 1990s stimulated the exploration for natural gas in the Sahtu, the Department of Transportation has attempted to record the seasonal traffic volumes on the Sahtu winter roads.
In the 2005 season, the department has adopted a different configuration of electronic traffic counting equipment with the expectation of determining more accurate results. In addition, the department met with the oil and gas exploration companies on October 1, 2004, to obtain pre-season estimates of the traffic they anticipate their operations might generated in 2004. The department will arrange post-season discussions with the industry in March 2005 to gauge the accuracy of their traffic forecasts.
2. How many accidents were reported within the Sahtu winter road system last year?
In the 2004 season, there were nine reported traffic accidents on the Sahtu winter road system outside of municipalities. More serious than simple property damage, two of the nine accidents resulted in personal injuries. There were no fatalities. Four of the nine accidents were caused by the driver's loss of control of a single vehicle.
3. How of what steps have the department implemented in the Sahtu for safety measures?
It is in the nature of seasonal winter roads that are reconstructed annually that the department and its contractors improve the road incrementally every year as it is constructed for the new season.
In the 2000-01 fiscal year, the department began a two-thirds/one-third cost-sharing program with DIAND to build seven permanent bridges over stream crossings along the Mackenzie Valley winter road system. Beginning in 2003-04, the original two-year Winter Road Bridges Program with DIAND was renewed and then substantially enhanced with the addition of a 50/50 cost sharing contribution from the Canadian strategic infrastructure fund to install 22 more permanent bridges as well as making grade improvements along the alignment. Over the six-year period from 2003-04 to 2008-09, the department has scheduled expenditures of $46.8 million for improvements to the Sahtu winter road system.
In the 2004 season, the department assigned transport officers for spot check patrols along the Sahtu winter road system to make sure that oil and gas industry truck traffic was operating safely and in compliance with trucking regulations. The department will increase the number of these patrols in the 2005 season.
4. What are the policies to handle emergency responses for travellers within the Sahtu region?
In the Northwest Territories, the responsibility for handling highway traffic emergencies resets in the first instance with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as set out in its policing contract with the GNWT Department of Justice. The staff of the Department of Transportation and its contractors regularly inspect and patrol the length of the Sahtu winter road system. However, these routine inspections are principally for the purpose of highway maintenance and not for the purpose of delivering aid to travellers in distress.
Although the department's staff and its contracts have and will do everything in their power to assist travellers in an emergency situation, motorists should not travel the winter roads under a mistaken understanding that the Department of Transportation monitors or patrols the winter roads for emergencies or that it is specially equipped or trained to provide an emergency response. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.