Thank you, committee. I’d like to thank Mr. Devitt and Ms. Eggenhofer for tonight. Thank you to Minister Lafferty for being here. Sergeant-at-Arms, if I can get you to escort the witnesses out of the Chamber.

Committee, if I can direct your attention to, we’ll be starting with Transportation. With that, we’ll ask Minister Ramsay, do you have any opening comments?

I am pleased to be here today to present the Department of Transportation’s proposed main estimates for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. The department is requesting a total budget of $117 million, including amortization. This represents a net decrease of $3.4 million, or 2.8 percent, from the previous budget.

The net decrease in the Department of Transportation’s budget for 2013-2014 includes an increase to amortization expenses of $3.7 million, an increase for forced growth of $2.4 million, and a number of other adjustments with a net decrease of $7.2 million mainly associated with the Deh Cho Bridge coming into service.

The amortization increase of $3.7 million is a result of both the Deh Cho Bridge coming into service and an increase in the level of capital expenditures over the past several years. These assets have now come into service and accounting for their depreciation has begun.

The department’s forced growth increase of $2.4 million is provided to deal with the general inflationary increases to services and consumables required to maintain and operate the transportation network. The ongoing safe operation and maintenance of the transportation system is our highest priority, and these incremental resources

are essential to continue operating and maintaining the transportation system.

The November 2012 opening of the Deh Cho Bridge marked a celebratory occasion for Northerners who braved the biting cold to be among the first to drive or walk uninterrupted across the Mackenzie River for the first time in history. Opening the bridge means the Department of Transportation is no longer required to operate the Merv Hardie ferry or construct an annual ice crossing near Fort Providence, resulting in a reduction to expenses of $2.4 million annually. To operate the bridge requires a number of other expenditures, totaling $900,000, that include funding to maintain the bridge, operate and collect tolls, and for the community opportunity grant. In addition, as part of bringing the bridge into service, the debt service payments are being transferred to the Department of Finance, who will be responsible for managing this debt along with the rest of the GNWT debt portfolio.

I am very pleased that the department was able to bring this important asset into service, and look forward to the benefit that improved access will provide for business and industries in the NWT. As part of the project, the department is now collecting tolls for commercial vehicles utilizing the bridge. I can report that the process for collecting tolls is going very well. Commercial operators are able to pay by calling our Call Centre 24 hours per day, seven days a week. For those that wish to register with the department, we have also established a process to report and pay monthly for use of the bridge.

For 2013-2014 the department is projecting total revenue of $29.8 million, which represents an increase of $4.5 million from the previous fiscal year. The most significant increase to revenues is the tolls associated with the Deh Cho Bridge where we are projecting to collect $4 million in toll revenue.

The department is also proposing a number of other changes to revenue. This includes a requirement to incorporate existing service fees into the base rate for the various driver and vehicle licensing and permitting services that the department offers. There is no increase in the cost of the service for this change, but incorporating this change into the previously established revenue categories required a number of adjustments to the amounts reported in the various line items. In response to the Financial Management Board’s direction to review revenue sources, the department conducted a rigorous evaluation of fees charged by the road licensing and safety and airports divisions to ensure each is fair, equitable and reasonable. This budget proposes a number of adjustments to bring these fees up to date, with the

majority of the fee increases ranging from 15 to 20 percent.

Meeting the 17th Assembly’s priority of improving economic development opportunities hinges upon improvements in transportation infrastructure. The importance of cultivating the link between the transportation system and economic development prospects is now greater than ever. New developments within the mining industry such as a fourth diamond mine, the Prairie Creek Mine and the NICO project, highlight the need for additional transportation infrastructure investment so that our infrastructure and services can meet the demands of industry. The need for improvements to transportation infrastructure has been highlighted this past winter where the department’s regional operations in the Deh Cho and Sahtu are experiencing a marked increase in industrial traffic due to resource development. In anticipation of increased pressure on the winter road system, the department is working directly with industry to accelerate the construction of ice crossings, strengthen the road surface, and increase the level of service to extend the operating season to the latest possible date in the spring. The department is also working to improve safety by increasing the number of enforcement patrols on the winter road, developing a Mackenzie Valley Winter Road driving guide, and working with the oil and gas and trucking industry to ensure the safe movement of the heavy loads.

The magnitude of the oil and gas activity in the Mackenzie Valley reinforces the need for an all-weather highway. Formal planning for this highway has been underway for a number of years. Last month the department submitted the four regional project description reports, completed in partnership with the land claimant groups, and a project screening document to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Review Board. To get the environmental review process underway, the department referred the project to environmental assessment. Much additional work is required to keep this project moving forward. The department has engaged the federal government in discussions on funding required to move the project through the environmental assessment process. To support this work, CanNor recently contributed $600,000 for the next stage of environmental and engineering study activities. The department signed a memorandum of understanding to create a partnership with the Gwich’in Development Corporation for stage 2 planning activities and a similar MOU is anticipated with the Tulita District Investment Corporation shortly.

The northern portion of the Mackenzie Valley Highway project, the highway from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk, has reached an important crossroad. The Environmental Impact Review Board issued its final report in January 2013, recommending the

project proceed subject to terms and conditions. The GNWT’s response to the report has been submitted for consideration to the federal government and we expect that formal environmental approval of the project will be issued shortly. The department has also recently completed the 85 percent design for the highway and used this information to prepare an updated cost estimate that reflects our northern construction realities, granular material sources, haul distances and design parameters. We are currently negotiating with the Inuvialuit Land Administration around royalties and land tenure with respect to the Inuvialuit Land Claim Agreement. The updated cost estimate of $299 million was sent to the federal government, and we are now seeking a firm commitment from Canada for an agreement on additional funding. The GNWT continues to emphasize the importance of knowing the federal commitment in advance of project approval decisions and anticipates a response shortly.

While I have highlighted some of the major new projects we are working on, I also wanted to share a few of the activities underway to address needs across the existing transportation system. The department is currently developing a Climate Change Adaptation Plan, Road Safety Plan, Green House Gas Strategy and Strategic Infrastructure Investment Plan that will be completed in 2013- 2014. The department is also investigating options to improve the existing Tlicho winter road and to connect Wekweeti to the public highway system in the future. These planning activities, along with the modal strategies already completed, will support the development of a multi-modal transportation strategy that will guide our path forward through the future. The development of the Transportation Strategy will also be informed by other GNWT-wide planning activities such as the NWT Economic Opportunities and NWT Mineral Development strategies currently under development.

These are the highlights of the Department of Transportation’s proposed main estimates for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. There are many other positive and exciting projects and initiatives that the department expects to accomplish. I am confident that the proposed budget will provide for the continued safe and reliable operation of the NWT transportation system. I would be happy to answer any questions. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Ramsay. Mr. Bromley.

Mr. Chairman, I move that we report progress.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. There’s a motion on the floor to report progress. The motion is in order. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is at a tie. I will vote to defeat the motion.

---Defeated

Minister Ramsay, do you have witnesses you’d like to bring into the Chamber?

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Agreed?

Sergeant-at-Arms, if you could bring the witnesses into the Chamber, please. Thank you.

Minister Ramsay, please introduce your witnesses for the record.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To my right is deputy minister of Transportation, Mr. Russell Neudorf and to my left is the assistant deputy minister of DOT, Mr. Daniel Auger.

Mr. Neudorf, Mr. Auger, welcome to the House. General comments. Ms. Bisaro.

Mr. Chair, I don’t believe we have a quorum.

The Member has made reference to lack of a quorum, so I will ring the bells and commence in 15 minutes.

---Ringing of Bells

The bells have run for 15 minutes. As we do not have a quorum, I will now rise and report progress.

Can I have the report of Committee of the Whole, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Tabled Document 9-17(4), NWT Main Estimates, 2013-2014, and would like to report progress with one motion having been adopted and a loss of a quorum at 7:58 p.m. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Clerk, can you take note of those Members present in the Chamber?

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Item 22, third reading of bills. Mr. Clerk, orders of the day.

Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until Tuesday, March 5th , at 1:30 p.m.

---ADJOURNMENT

The House adjourned at 8:14 p.m.