Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to focus my comments on the big picture within the department here and even with the GNWT. I would look forward to looking into details of the program that the department has, the Drive Alive Program. It’s a program for the public in terms of safety issues and adults, young kids having safety programs in our schools and communities. I would like to ask some questions in that area of the safety programs and that initiative, certainly for safety for the people in my region that have about 800 kilometres of winter road from Wrigley to Colville Lake.
Safety is a real major factor. I want to again be pressing the Minister and the department on what type of work is going to be looked at in improving the road system, the grade system in terms of safety for the travellers and people who do come up to the Sahtu to visit. I want to see where traditional knowledge will be applied in terms of transportation for the areas in the Sahtu, the winter roads, and meeting with our people, the local contractors and seeing what areas are dangerous, what areas need to be looked at by the department and that stretch of highway here.
Mr. Chairman, also I would like to have some discussions around some of the bridge work that’s been done and the winter road. There are 36 bridges that have been completed. There are some that need to be worked on. There is always ongoing work on the bridges and the replacement of timber on the decks of the bridges. There is shifting of some of the bridges that our people have noticed over time. Certainly our department is well aware of this also. So I just wanted to look at some of the bridge work on the winter road system, particularly Oscar Creek. I know there is some planned work there. I think that is a long-standing bridge that people have also made comments as they drive by it on the way from Norman Wells to Fort Good Hope.
Mr. Chairman, the other one I want to ask the department is some of the projects that are happening in the Sahtu, some of the other ones like on the airport, so the road in terms of partnerships in terms of working with the department to see where partnerships can be sought after and discussed in terms of doing some work with the department here on their policy on partnerships.
Speaking of policy, Mr. Chairman, I understand that there is not a policy in terms of gravel source roads
or all-weather roads into gravel sources. I know that there was some discussion here. Mr. Krutko had talked about it somewhat. I know there are more communities that are interested in accessing an all-weather road to the gravel source. It becomes very complicated discussion because of the costing factor, in terms of if you are going to do this, you are going to look at a lot of communities. However, it is an important issue here. Hopefully we have some discussion as to how we go forward in terms of having some kind of policy like that. It certainly requires some attention here.
Mr. Chairman, two more things I have on my list here. The government’s position has duly noted over here that the Mackenzie Valley Highway is a priority. I know the department has talked about doing some work in the future in terms of advancing some of that work in terms of some baseline studies. I understood that there is some economic analysis on the Mackenzie Valley Highway construction. I wouldn’t mind having a report of that to look at in terms of continuous support on the Mackenzie Valley Highway. I am not too sure how this idea will be discussed within the department in terms of even a construction of a road here between Tulita and Norman Wells. That road here is quite expensive. I was hoping that people will be willing to look at it and have some discussion of working on this, similar to the Tuk gravel source 177. That source that the community of Tuktoyaktuk and the department worked successfully on together is on realignment of the Mackenzie Valley road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk. These types of discussion, I would like to see where the department is at.
I want to ask the department in terms of the winter road. Is that on our core national highway standards or are we linked somewhere in terms of some standards of funding in terms of where that winter road is? Or is it just the all-season road in the Northwest Territories that is on this standard here? If that is not the case, then I don’t know if we are going to be successful in trying to access dollars. That is something that I want to have a discussion on.
Lastly, Mr. Chairman, I want to just say to Mr. Krutko’s comments in terms of the road up in Inuvik -- it’s called Highway No. 8 -- I have driven it and I have also stated publicly that this road should have some attention in terms of dust control, suppressant or even chipsealing. That road is dusty and people out in Inuvik certainly need to have some attention in terms of having that road looked after in terms of having some dust control or suppressant on that whole highway or some kind of chipseal. It is a real shame that it doesn’t have anything yet. I know there is a lot of work being done on that highway there. Hopefully it will get there one day, because I have noticed that people up there talk about the amount of dust and I have seen it myself.
Mr. Chairman, these are my opening comments to the department.