This is page numbers 131 - 159 of the Hansard for the 16th Assembly, 1st 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 work.

Topics

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We have had that issue clarified in the past and have discussed it before. We are quite prepared to discuss it in light of the Auditor General’s recommendations. Certainly I’m not looking at renegotiating the land claims agreement, but certainly we’ll clarify the arrangements. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask my question to the Minister of Transportation. Recently the operations in the marine operations, they hired a marine supervisor, but they had relocated that position from Fort Simpson to Hay River. So I’d just like to ask the Minister what is the timeline of getting this position moved back to Fort Simpson? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Yakeleya.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Minister of Transportation

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ve been told that the former position of marine, head of marine operation in Fort Simpson had served two functions. He was also the director and also the superintendent at that time. Since today, my understanding is that the position has been moved to Hay River because 90 percent of our marine operations are out of the hub of the waterway transportation in the North and that there’s an assistant director of marine operations in Fort Simpson. Unless I’ve been briefed on this, I haven’t seen any indication as to when this position of director of marine services will be moving back to Fort Simpson.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. No, it’s just that our government has a policy for keeping positions in the regions and the communities, and here’s a classic case where a position was moved and I thought there were indications that it was a temporary move, that until they find accommodations in Fort Simpson. So I’d just like the Minister to follow up on when will that position be relocated back to Fort Simpson.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Yakeleya.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Minister of Transportation

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ll certainly check my records with the department in terms of what type of decisions were made on this issue here, and certainly look within this government here to see if there’s any plans to move the position back into Fort Simpson. As the Member is well aware, there are other regions also that are looking at present areas in terms of where other regions are making positions and that affects other regions without any type of regional presence by our department.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, in many of our regions, it takes a long time to fight for the positions that we do have for those, and in some of the regions that’s the only form of economic development, a $140,000 job there, Mr. Speaker. So I’d like to press with the Minister that. I’d like see this position returned to Fort Simpson and I’d like the Minister to start working on that and give me some assurance that he will look at it, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Yakeleya.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Minister of Transportation

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are marine positions in Fort Simpson right now, and Inuvik. I’d like to state clearly to this House here that when we have these type of requests, that we’ll certainly look very closely with our department in terms of what makes good business sense in terms of having positions being moved to other regions in terms of serving the interests of people in the North. Again, to state clearly also that, Mr. Speaker, there are some regions right now in our department that are serving other regions without any type of presence in the North here.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a question concerning the identification of the transportation priorities. Previous governments and Assemblies have established the access road the priority transportation project. Can the Premier advise me whether the government remains committed to establishing access road 177 for the community of Tuktoyaktuk? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Premier

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the area of the access road 177 in Tuktoyaktuk is something that has been discussed by a number of Assemblies. As we’ve heard -- Members are probably starting to get tired of hearing this -- as we set out our direction, as we look at our business planning process, we’ll have to look at how we incorporate a number of these initiatives. This project would fall into that category of having to have a look at it and how it would fit within the overall plan of the 16th Assembly. Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Jacobson.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier make it a priority for this 16th Legislative

Assembly to get this access road done within the next four years? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. Mr. Roland.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it would, as an Assembly of the Northwest Territories to have our infrastructure built, a Mackenzie Valley highway, a highway right from coast to coast to coast, as we’ve said in a number of our plans, previous governments, like the number of documents put out there, that would be a goal of ours to try to continue. We need to sit down as the 16th Assembly and reaffirm that, and that’s

the process I think we should be using in this case. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Jacobson.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Premier commit to make this a priority, to work with me to make this a priority? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. Mr. Roland.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I definitely will work with the Member and try to move this project along and how we work together with ourselves as a government with the Inuvialuit, with companies. We’ve got to come up with some potential solutions of how we can proceed forward with this project. Thank you.