Mr. Speaker, I have Return to Written Question 18-16(2), asked by Mr.

Krutko on June 6, 2008, regarding capital

projects within the Department of Transportation.

All transportation projects identified for funding under the Building Canada Plan have been previously referenced in the NWT Highway Strategy (Investing in Roads), the Infrastructure Acquisition Plan or the 20 Year Capital Needs Assessment. Many of the projects have also been included in the Corridors for Canada, Corridors for Canada II and Connecting Canada funding proposals to the federal government. The highway strategy and subsequent funding proposals have been previously provided to MLAs, community and aboriginal governments for comment and review. Agencies such as the NWT Business Coalition and the NWT Association of Communities were also involved in the development of these strategies.

Consultations on specific projects have also been undertaken with community and aboriginal governments. For example, in developing the Highway Strategy, the Department of Transportation for each proposed highway project established a stakeholder advisory committee comprised of individuals from local aboriginal and community organizations. These stakeholder advisory committees were also complemented by

various Minister/MLA information tours and attendance at a number of aboriginal assembly and regional leadership meetings. Many of these consultations have realized letters or resolutions of support. As many of these projects have long histories attached to them, the department requires further details on which projects and time frames the Member requests supporting documents for. As these projects move forward, further consultations will be undertaken as part of the permitting process.

A mix of class “C” and “D” estimates have been used for the proposed Building Canada Plan projects. Class “C” estimates have been used for proposed projects with timelines early in the Building Canada Plan. These include Kakisa River Bridge, the city of Yellowknife bypass road and the Yellowknife combined services building. Class “D” estimates have been used for all other projects.