Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to report on a number of studies the Department of Transportation has or will be completing under a new agreement that will help move forward the planning to improve road access into the Tlicho.
As we all know, the only year-round access to the three Tlicho communities of Whati, Gameti and Wekweeti is by air. Access is augmented for approximately two months during the winter road season. The provision and reliability of this seasonal access is being increasingly challenged by climate change and resulting warmer winters.
Mr. Speaker, the department last year completed a Tlicho Corridors Options Study which looked at winter road and all-weather road corridor options in the Tlicho. The department also completed an economic analysis of the benefits and costs of both realigning the Tlicho winter road to an overland route and upgrading the seasonal route to an all-weather standard. The economic analysis established that improved road access would have a number of direct benefits to Tlicho residents including:
- • enhanced inter-community travel and access to services for residents;
- • reduced resupply costs and improved resupply options;
- • employment, training and contracting opportunities during winter road and all-weather road construction and maintenance; and
- • improved opportunities for road-based tourism travel.
Improved road access could also reduce costs for resource development projects in the Tlicho and possibly other areas of the Northwest Territories.
This earlier work has set the context for two new studies, one to detail environmental impacts and the other to identify engineering issues including what alignment a road would take and at what cost.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to advise that these studies are not being initiated through a partnership involving the
Department of Transportation, the federal government, the Tlicho Government and private industry. The federal department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada has agreed to provide $460,000 towards the estimated cost for these studies. Matching funding will be provided by the Tlicho Government, industry and the Department of Transportation. These studies are expected to be completed later this year. Once completed and assessed, they will form the basis of our next steps and approach to the federal government to improve road access to Tlicho communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause