Thank you, Minister Ramsay. Mr. Neudorf.

Thank you, Mr. Neudorf. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Every time I go to Fort Liard, the residents always say, as soon as you get to the… Well, only because they travel to Fort Nelson as it’s closer for shopping, they always say go over the border and you’ll see asphalt and not chipseal, how come you’re not doing anything on our end.

In our last discussion talking with the Minister, I think DOT was looking at some chipseal from the NWT border towards Fort Liard.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister Ramsay.

We have tried in the past, and it is something, going forward, we will have to try to find some money to get that done. Maybe I’ll go to Mr. Neudorf for some further detail on that.

Thank you, Mr. Neudorf. Mr. Menicoche.

Just in terms of chipsealing that 20 kilometres that presently had been reconstructed, I think it might be an opportunity to save some costs because the Hamlet of Liard is going to do that, take some main street chipsealing or they’re looking to save some money there as well. I don’t know if the department is willing to enter into discussions with the Hamlet of Fort Liard to see how they could save money and do two projects while the equipment is there and mobilized and moving around. I think it might be an opportunity worth discussing.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister Ramsay.

If the community is making that effort, it is something the department could consider. We’re always looking for opportunities to work with communities around the Northwest Territories, so we’d look forward to those discussions.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Moving on for questioning I have Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The transportation in the Sahtu, as the Minister talked about yesterday, is something that all avenues are going to be looked at because of the potential for the resource development. I want to ask the Minister, in his capital acquisition and infrastructure plans here, is there going to be some upgrades to the winter road? We’re going to see more and more semis and huge trucks coming up. Sometimes these operators that come from the South are not very familiar with our road system and they think they’re still driving where there’s paved highway. The road system is somewhat changed when they

come onto the winter roads in the Northwest Territories.

I want to ask the Minister about the safety and what plans are there for infrastructure, in terms of having our drivers in the Sahtu that use the roads, also, to do some shopping down south for groceries, that these roads in our region will be safe, because sometimes we have these truck drivers that are not quite familiar with our system.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank the Member for his questions. I know he drives the winter road there quite often, so I will give a bit of an update. In the current fiscal year we do have money to look at Bob’s Canyon, Strawberry Creek, Prohibition and Four Mile. Those will be addressed in this current capital year. There is no new funding in this capital plan, but we put a tremendous amount of effort into building up the crossings on the winter road route through the Sahtu. We also have, and I mentioned this yesterday as well, we have looked at partnerships with industry that would see us enhance the maintenance of the winter roads in the region. That’s something that we have struck a deal with industry to do. I believe it’s $1.2 million. We’re looking forward to continuing that relationship with industry.

Our efforts will make the winter road safer with these projects getting completed this year. We’re obviously looking to the day where there’s an all-weather road down the Mackenzie Valley and we’re not having to talk about winter roads anymore, but we’re not quite there yet so we do have to continue to work on those crossings.

The winter roads are a lifeline for some of our people in our communities up in the Sahtu. There are other winter roads in the Northwest Territories that probably have the same types of issues with safety.

The climate change has been an issue now that it’s been in the back of our minds when we use the winter roads. I want to ask the Minister if there are any types of climate change initiative studies on our winter roads, either by the federal government or ourselves, to get involved in looking at the sensitivity of our environment and the issue of climate change that has an effect on our winter roads in the Sahtu, and there are probably other regions that have similar types of issues.

I do hope that there will be a time where the federal government will start putting in roads into the Sahtu. Like I said yesterday, once the oil companies go forward on a development or production phase, if the Norman Wells oilfields take off, we’re going to need all the help we can get. Right now, we don’t have that because other areas

are taking up dollars that they need to fix their roads. We need to look how we can be supported in the Sahtu.

You know what, Mr. Chair? You look at the economics in the Northwest Territories, the Sahtu contributes a lot to the Northwest Territories. We have over $600 million going to be spent in the Sahtu on oil and gas exploration. Those are just exploration activities. We need to ramp up transportation dollars to meet that in the region. There’s not too much in the Northwest Territories other than around Yellowknife where they have diamond mines that are going full bore and are being supported by the activity that is happening on the roads. The Sahtu is making a huge contribution to the economics in the Northwest Territories. We need to step up to meet that challenge. We are paying our dues. We are spending close to 200 to 300 million dollars this year. Not to have capital infrastructure in the other places where they are putting money in here, I’m not too sure if you want to do an analysis and see what kind of return we’re getting back on those dollars.

For us, we need to see some commitment from the government to see where there’s going to be some dollars. We have people travelling out with families on the winter roads. Some have had close calls with these truck drivers that are coming up from the South who are hauling huge equipment to the Sahtu for the oil companies and there are lives at stake on our roads. I want to see where the Minister and his department will start giving us due attention to our roads in the Sahtu.

Like I said, if you look at the numbers across the board, the Sahtu is putting a lot of dollars into the Northwest Territories, and maybe more. There’s going to be a day when we’re going to need some help even with the Bear River Bridge, climate change on the Mackenzie River.

Mr. Chair, I’m getting a bit concerned that we’re not putting as much of an emphasis on it as I think we should be. Mr. Ramsay, the Minister, is working hard for us, but for my people who use the winter road when it’s open, we have concerns. Just because we don’t have an all-weather road doesn’t mean we don’t have concerns. We are bringing in the oil companies. We have opened up our lands so they can do some work there and bring dollars into the Northwest Territories.

I think once the oil companies decide that it’s a good field that needs to go into production, you are going to see some major changes. I’d like to see something on the Bear River Bridge. Right now, it’s $7 million. We need to look at some type of action so we see a bridge.

Our issues need to be up there. Not very often you hear a region bringing that type of money to the economics of the Northwest Territories. You need to pay attention to us. It gets frustrating. I don’t see

other regions with those types of economics. We pour a lot of money into those regions. The Sahtu has suffered long enough in terms of winter road infrastructure.

So, for me, I’d like to see the government start paying attention and see where these types of roads can be upgraded. I have family travelling on that winter road. If I see close calls, I’m concerned. A life is not worth it. You are saying we have to cut here and there. For me that’s not acceptable. We are seeing a lot of people working in our region for the oil companies. Like I said, we have to pay attention to the money that’s coming into the Sahtu.

I guess a little frustration of my side when I look at the infrastructure. So I’d like to thank the Minister for visiting us and paying attention to some of our needs through this infrastructure and I’d like to hear what he has to say.

I really do appreciate the Member’s concern. I’ve been there a number of times and talked to a number of people in the communities in the Sahtu and it is a pressing issue.

Here in the Northwest Territories, we have over 1,200 kilometres of winter road. It’s a lifeline for a number of communities around the Northwest Territories. It’s important, first and foremost, that they’re safe.

Over the past 10 years, the Department of Transportation, into the winter roads in the Sahtu, has put in permanent bridges. About $60 million was spent on those permanent bridges.

I mentioned earlier, we are addressing Bob’s Cannon, Strawberry Creek, Prohibition Creek and Four Mile. In very short order here, those will be done. That will lend itself to further safety on the winter road. Again, it really does set the stage for the Mackenzie Valley Highway and getting a permanent all-weather road down the Mackenzie Valley. We’re anxious to continue to pursue that. In the meantime, we have to do what we can with the existing winter road system in the region and in the territory.

As I mentioned earlier, partnering with industry is a good thing to be doing, working with communities. That’s what we intend to do. We intend to work with whoever will work with us. We only have so many capital dollars to go around. In this year’s capital plan, we’ve done our best to try to address the things we need to address, but I do appreciate and hear the concerns that the Member has. I believe wholeheartedly, as things progress there, and as the resources are proven up, and if it does get to production and commercialization, both the federal government and our government are going to need to react to that and find the capital dollars to invest in the Sahtu. I can see that happening in the next three to five years, Madam Chair. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Next on the list I have Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Welcome, Minister Ramsay and Mr. Neudorf, back to the House.

I will continue some of the dialogue that was started on Highway No. 3 which was part of our project listing here in the capital budget. As mentioned by the deputy minister, we do hear that in the Building Canada Plan those funds are depleted and we can only imagine trying to make the tough decisions that have to be made by highways and the department itself.

We were also told today that only 20 kilometres of Highway No. 3 will probably be rehabilitated or reconstructed in this upcoming budget, which probably leaves about 80 kilometres of road which, for the most part, if anyone has had the pleasure or displeasure of driving that road, knows full well the concerns anyone travelling to the capital city or leaving the capital city has. We only have to ask one of our own Members here from Behchoko, and I commend the heroics of one Minister Lafferty who did save a life on this road.

So there’s a lot of rationale for safety for this road. Where I’m going with this, Madam Chair, is the fact that safety has always been the priority anytime I discuss roads and strategy behind it.

Some of the road postings for speed limits are not proportionate for the quality and safety of the road that is currently being enforced. I will leave my first question as that. Has the safety component and have the speed limits been adjusted to accommodate the safety profile for the 100-kilometre stretch leading into the capital city?

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Minister Ramsay.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We are continuing to look at that. We are going to get the work done on the road that we can do this fall, and re-evaluate where we’re at and make the decision on the speed limit at that time.

I had the opportunity to drive from Yellowknife to Fort Providence and back. The section of road between Behchoko and Yellowknife, if you’re under the speed limit or right near the speed limit, there are a couple of spots that do have some dips in it, but it certainly wasn’t unsafe and I wouldn’t categorize that highway as unsafe.

Safety is a priority of the department. That’s why we’re looking at the speed limit and we will come up with a solution here in the very near future. Thank you.

Thank you. This is probably where the Minister here and the Member here slightly differ on opinion of safety. If one is driving a large four by four pick-up truck or a vehicle with the

posted speed limit as it is currently for that 100-kilometre stretch of road, I might concur with that statement. Anyone driving a truck with a trailer, holiday trailer, motorhome, even large-scale trailers that are bringing in goods and services into the town of Yellowknife, I think if you poll those people and you asked them is 70 kilometres safe, is 80 kilometres safe, I think you’d probably have a different response from those people with those different categories of vehicles.

So again, would the Minister commit to looking at, for those reasons and those reasons only, sooner than later in terms of re-profiling the proper safety speed limits for that stretch of highway until such time as we do get that done? Thank you.

Yes, we always encourage people to drive to the condition of the road. I said it in my previous response and I’ll say it again, that we are going to take a good, long, hard look at the speed limit. After we get the work that we have to do this fall, once we get that completed, we will do that and we will communicate that if we’re going to make a move, or even if we’re not, we’ll communicate that back to the Members and to the public.

Thank you. I do appreciate the Minister’s response to that need. We mentioned or we talked earlier about what’s referred to as continuous permafrost, which was pertaining to this stretch of highway, and that testing is being done. Testing has been rigorously done in this area and continues to be done over the next couple of years.

The question I have is permafrost degradation is nothing new. This is something that is probably very common practice in many other parts of North America, Europe and Asia. I find it odd that we’ve got to spend all this time studying highway degradation and, really, I believe there’s plenty of data at our fingertips here. So are we reinventing something that’s not currently out there in terms of scientific data on this road or are we leaders in this area? Thank you.