Thank you very much, Madam Chair. In the previous day’s deliberations in Committee of the Whole, I was asking some questions on Highway No. 7 and the plan for the department to deal with the conditions on Highway No. 7, fixing it up. I know that some of the issues have been because of lack of capital dollars and I continue to remain frustrated that there were zero dollars allocated in the 2012-13 Capital Budget as it stands.
Another issue that I do have is that there are appropriations in the interim budget and in our budget for operations and maintenance of Highway No. 7, but myself, my constituents and communities continue to be frustrated that the expenditures are done in August and September during the rainy season. It’s late in the season and I’ve continued being at the table; I’ve been in the House saying look, we’ve got to spend the money early. I get verbal commitments that the money will be expended earlier so that we can address some of the highway conditions and get it done early in the season. But that’s been falling on deaf ears.
So, once again, in yesterday’s deliberations I asked for a plan for Highway No. 7. I’m pleased that I did get a note from the Finance Minister’s office, but the plan that they indicate for me for Highway No. 7 is to monitor conditions during the spring, and that’s not something that either me or my constituents wanted to hear. I’d like to know when will they be constructing, what will they be constructing, and I’d like to have a firm written commitment that they’ll do this construction early in the season.
I’ve been here almost nine years, I’ve been fighting for Highway No. 7 for that long and that was the biggest concern out of Fort Liard and Fort Simpson, my whole riding of Nahendeh, anybody that travels down Highway No. 7. It affects our tourism years. Over the years we used to have busloads of tourists that would go to Fort Simpson. That has declined. In fact, the recent statistics from ITI show that tourism has declined in the Nahendeh region and if there’s anything that adds some economic stimulus to any region it’s tourism, and that cannot be happening when Highway No. 7 is known to be impassable.
People from Fort Nelson, people even from the Yellowknife tourism office, Hay River, Enterprise, they all advise people not to use Highway No. 7 every year and that takes away from us. It’s a real shame that Highway No. 7 has that kind of a reputation. In fact, talking with one of the guys in Simpson that has international contacts, even people from Germany phone him up about this time of year or else in early spring about the condition of Highway No. 7 as we get lots of European tourists and they do want to make the trip up to our northern territories and one of the ways to do it, if they do want to access the Nahanni National Park,
a lot of them do it fly-in, but a lot of them drive in as well. Once they know about Highway No. 7 it scares them away.
So the reasons are many that we should pay attention to this highway and I’m frustrated with this government for their inattention to Highway No. 7. There’s zero dollars for capital in 2012-2013 and then we’ve got our interim budget appropriations. Like I said, I want to know the plan for Highway No. 7. There are some carry-over dollars from last year, but the key is to spend it early in prime construction season, and I don’t see that. I’ve got no commitment about that and it’s equally frustrating. So I’d like the Finance Minister or the Transportation Minister to give me some commitment, some written commitment that they’ll spend these funds early.
Every year about April or May Highway No. 7 does collapse. So we’ve got to be prepared for that and I would like to know how they’re going to be prepared for it other than monitoring it, because I really believe that we need a plan and we’re here early enough, I’m raising it early enough that I believe that we can come up with an adequate plan that the roads are open. If there’s an issue, then it can be addressed right away. I’d like to know the plan about that, Madam Chair.