Yes. Thank you. Arctic Tern is not an option, and with the support of my colleagues I hope it will never be an option.

I also want to say that the Inuvik Curling Club is not an option. It was an option before, and it’s not going to be an option again.

I’d like to ask the Minister if he’d be willing to share that report with me. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, yes, we’d be happy to share that information. In fact, we’ve committed to the council of Inuvik to sit down and talk about different issues within that community, so we’ll probably be talking to them regarding this issue also. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

McLeod. The

honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr.

Krutko. The

honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In our Marine Division we do have a program for marine docks and supplies. I would be happy to talk with the Member and the community of Aklavik in terms of how we could access that program to address some of the concerns he’s raised today.

Mr. Speaker, there is some urgency to this problem, because the barges are coming in, and they’re having problems docking to unload the goods and services.

I’d like to ask the Minister: is there an emergency program that’s out there that the community can access now? It is that season when the barges are coming in. Also, with these barges having problems docking, they’re not able to get their goods and services off.

I’d like to ask the Minister if he could look into this and put some urgency to finding a solution to this problem.

Mr. Speaker, at the rise of the House today I will speak with my DM and look at the issue of the Aklavik landing site and see what we can do within a short period of time, hopefully before the barges land in Aklavik.

Mr. Speaker, a lot of our isolated communities still depend on barging as an essential way of moving goods and services. It is part of the government’s responsibility. The Minister mentioned that the marine division is responsible for this. I’d like to ask the Minister if he can also try to find a long-term solution for dealing with docking problems, not only for the community of Aklavik but for other communities that depend on that barge traffic. We need a plan in place to deal with these types of problems so we won’t have to continue to raise them here in the House. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we’ve been very fortunate with the federal government in terms of having money available for communities for issues such as Mr. Krutko has raised. We certainly will have a discussion with the communities and see what the long-term solutions of this docking issue might be. Other communities use the barging system for re-supply, and we certainly would encourage communities to take advantage of this program so we can fix their long-term problem and so, as Mr. Krutko said, it wouldn’t be coming back up for discussion in the House. I certainly will look into that. I’ll ask the marine division to do an assessment of all the communities that do need this type of support.

Thank you, Mr.

Yakeleya. Final

supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Mr.

Speaker, I’d like to ask the

Minister, if after his inquiries I could possibly have

an answer at the end of this week so that I can also mention to the residents of Aklavik that we are working on something here and will hopefully have a solution by the end of this week. Thanks.

Mr. Speaker,

I’ve

indicated I will speak to my deputy as soon as possible at the rise of this House, and hopefully I’ll have an answer for Mr. Krutko before the end of this week.

Thank you, Mr.

Yakeleya. The

honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of ITI, and they relate to the issue of campgrounds and camping services in the Northwest Territories. Summer is just around the corner. I think it’s going to arrive this weekend, and a lot of people want to use our parks and campground facilities.

I understand that the Minister may be conducting a review of the rates, and I’d like to ask if any consideration has been given to giving seniors a reduced rate to use our camping facilities. We would like our seniors who retire in the Northwest Territories to stay in the Northwest Territories. We do give them reduced rates on some other things. I had a constituent approach me who said that he and his wife and another couple went to one of our territorial campgrounds for one weekend, and the camping fees were $160. That’s a lot of money when you’re on a fixed income and you’re on a pension.

I’d like to ask the Minister: would he consider having a reduced rate for NWT-resident seniors? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. We are just undertaking a review of our rates for parks, and we’ll certainly consider having a reduced rate for seniors.

I’d like to thank the Minister for that answer. My constituent will be listening.

The other thing I had raised with the Minister but wanted to put on the public record is the use of the facilities at Escarpment Creek. Escarpment Creek is a unique geological area. It is in a park that was designated for camping. Now it is gated off, and it’s

available only for group activities at a rate of $300 per event.

I’d like to ask the Minister if, when considering the facilities, the rates, and so on, he’d consider Escarpment Creek being opened up again so that people driving by could stop in and take a look. Right now, they can’t. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs.

Groenewegen.

We’re going into a bit of a different line of questioning here, but I’ll allow the Minister to answer. Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Escarpment Creek is part of a park that includes other falls in the area, and we use it for group activities. In our efforts to improve services and enjoyment of the use of our parks in the Northwest Territories, we’ll certainly review the designation that we’ve given to Escarpment Creek. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Yes, I would appreciate that

It’s a long, straight, boring road when you’re driving north. People are so glad when they get to those big blue signs as they cross over the border that say, “Twin Falls Highway” and there’s actually something to stop and look at. Escarpment Creek was always one of those places, but now there’s a big gate across there. Thanks, Mr. Speaker. That’s it. No question there.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker. My

questions are for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation. In doing some research on another topic, I came across a couple of programs that they have in the Yukon. One is the Home Repair Program, which provides $35,000 in financing to homeowners at a zero per cent interest rate amortized over 12 years. Another interesting program they have there is an Alternate Energy System Program, which provides up to $30,000 to residents in the Yukon to install alternate energy systems in their homes.

I’m wondering if the Minister can just comment on what comparable programs the Government of the Northwest Territories offers our residents.

Thank you, Mr.

Ramsay. The

honourable Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Miltenberger.