Page 11-21, Transportation, activity summary, highways, operations expenditure summary, $64.766 million. Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I’m probably going to open up my conversation on this page with respect to the overall strategy we have for our highway systems. It’s been noted a number of times. I know the Minister had made some comments towards our overall strategy moving forward for the remainder of the 17th and maybe

setting up for the 18th Assembly. Can the Minister

indicate where we’re at with respect to the overall Highway Strategy as an investment focus, as a terms of priority for maintenance, and some of the key expansion initiatives that this government or future governments will be facing in the next couple of years? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We hope to go to a Transportation Strategy update in the next year. We also need to come up with a plan and we are currently working on a plan on an infrastructure program from the federal government, a cost-shared program, where we could best utilize those capital dollars in the NWT in our transportation system. We are working on that and that is definitely a work in progress. As soon as we get something concrete, we’ll be coming to the Members to share that plan with them. Thank you.

Madam Chair, I can speak on behalf of I know the people of Range Lake, and I’m sure Yellowknife in general and probably every resident in the Northwest Territories, that this is by far probably one of the biggest frustrations that any one of us deal with on a regular basis. Those of us who have to travel by road know only too well the frustrations that we have out there. We are very cognizant that the department only has so many dollars in their tool chest and their coffers, but I think a strategy would serve well, knowing in terms of priority, in terms of planning, especially those communities that are waiting patiently to find out if their road is going to be touched.

The question I have is in the interim, we are probably talking about a strategy that is imminent, but we have a lot of issues involving road surfacing, a lot of roads that require that type of update and options. Can the department indicate to us is there a plan of action to deal with a lot of the road

surfacing hurdles in the short order for roads in the NWT?

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Neudorf.

Madam Chair, I appreciate the honesty here. We know the troubles. We know the challenges faced by the department. What would be interesting to have is – and I know we have to wait for the strategy to come full course – the needs assessment, the priority list or the substantiation sheets on those sections of highways that are in dire need of repair or resurfacing or actually even new construction. Has the department compiled such a document? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Minister Ramsay.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The department does a needs assessment every year and has to substantiate every capital request that’s submitted. Thank you.

I guess, in due course I think Members would probably be interested in seeing a consolidated version of that document. I know some Members have received segments or certain sheets from that document, but a consolidated version of that document definitely would put a lens on the needs assessment, and it would also give Members here an opportunity to see as to what road structure or road infrastructure they are affected by their own riding. Again, I will challenge the Minister to provide that in due course.

I just want to talk a little bit about the Inuvik-Tuk section of the northernmost section of the Mackenzie Valley Highway system. It is very clear and documented that this government, through the support of Regular Members, supported about $12 million for due diligence work, so that the cost-

sharing number that Minister shared with us earlier of $299 million came to fruition.

I’m going to challenge the Minister here to hold to his word in terms of responding to the Members and being upfront with these numbers. Is that $12 million of pre-work, is this included in the overall budget of the cost-sharing estimate of $299 million? Thank you.

That information was provided to Members, and Members would know the answer to that question. The answer to that question is the government had to put money into the project upfront. Those are some costs in a project that’s going to be close to $300 million. So, no, that $12 million isn’t part of the $299 million. Thank you.

I would just like to remind Members that we’re dealing with the operations and maintenance budget here. We’re not dealing with the capital budget. There isn’t actually anything on this page with respect to what Mr. Dolynny is asking. However, Mr. Ramsay did bring up the issue of the Inuvik-Tuk highway in his opening comments, which I suppose does give Members a reference point. I just want to caution Members to stick to the matters before us on this page and on this department. Mr. Ramsay.

The number of $299 million, worst-case scenario and it does go over $299 million, history shows that other funding arrangements that the territorial government has had with the feds is that they don’t fund cost-overruns. But, again, we haven’t seen a funding arrangement. We haven’t got the approvals from the federal government, so it’s really yet to be determined.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Next I have Ms. Bisaro.

Thanks, Madam Chair. At the risk of angering the Chair, I just want to ask one question with regard to the Inuvik-Tuk highway, I listened with interest to the exchange in the House earlier this afternoon, and I believe the public is interested in knowing details about the project and what is planned, and what the planned costs are. I would like to ask the Minister if he could advise when the public might be able to see or have access to those

sorts of intricate details on the Inuvik-Tuk Highway Project. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister Ramsay.

Thank you, Madam Chair. As soon as decisions are made, the approvals come in from the federal government. We want to stand behind this project. We want the public to know fully what the Government of the Northwest Territories intends to do with this project, how we’re going to build the highway between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. So we will be forthcoming with information as it becomes available to us. Again, we aren’t quite there yet. We have to get approvals. We have to get the funding agreement from the federal government. But I promised the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning an update as soon as we get those approvals in and the agreement in. We will be back in front of committee and it will be the Members of this House that will approve this project. So we will be putting every number that we have out there. Also, the public has every right to know what those numbers are as well. Once we know what we’re getting into, we will share that information publicly as well. Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister. Really all I asked was when. I’m looking for an estimate of when you think that might be. My point is we do have constituents who have a great deal of interest in this project and will want to tell us what they think so that we can vote accordingly.

I wanted to ask a question, as well, with regard to the Sahtu winter road. You’ve just recently had a lovely experience on it, Mr. Minister. There were a lot of problems, certainly at the beginning of the use of the road this winter. Is there, and maybe this is capital again, and if so, I’m sorry, but is the department planning on doing sort of a bit of upgrading or a lot of upgrading on that road to try and make sure that the problems that occurred this winter don’t occur next winter? Thank you.

Thank you and I apologize to the Member in not giving her a time in response to her previous question, but when the approvals come in and we get the nod from the federal government, things will move quickly. We’re hopeful that even by perhaps Friday we could be in front of standing committee. If we are going to make something happen in the Beaufort-Delta, things are going to have to progress quickly in order to make that happen. So it could be as early as this week, in response to the Member’s previous question.

On the Mackenzie Valley winter road, and again that’s capital, but I’ll touch on this for the Member. We did have some difficulties early on in the season. There’s been a tremendous amount of heavy truck traffic in the Mackenzie Valley, given the economic activity that’s taken place there. Not just in the Sahtu in and around Norman Wells and

Tulita, but also further south we noticed quite a bit of activity in and around Wrigley and Fort Simpson as well. You couldn’t get a hotel room in Fort Simpson. Very much a busy, busy place. Ledcor is doing a lot of work on the Enbridge line north of Simpson and there are lots of jobs and opportunities for people, but that has brought some problems for the winter road and that is the heavy truck traffic.

I had the opportunity on the weekend to drive from Fort Good Hope to Fort Simpson. So I saw firsthand some of the concerns that are out there. The ruts in the road, there’s some holes, there’s some approaches that needed some work. As soon as I got back on Monday, the first guy I phoned was my deputy minister and we were assured that the contractors that are in place addressed the areas of concern that Norman and I saw on the ride down from Fort Good Hope.

So there are issues, but it is a winter road, the speed limit is 50 kilometres an hour. Really, if you talk to the people in the Mackenzie Valley, I mean, that winter road is a real lifeline for them getting goods in and travelling around the communities and the regions. So they depend heavily on that winter road.

But again, the bottom line, and it impressed upon me and anybody I talked to on that trip, was the need for an all-weather road down the Mackenzie Valley, and judging by the truck traffic that we saw coming south from Norman Wells, we need an all-weather road there sooner rather than later. Thank you.

Thanks for both the Chair and the Minister indulging me with a capital question.

I do have a question with regard to the number under details of other expenses. In this year’s budget we have other, $6,000 and previously it was more than $8 million. So I’m wondering if that is the interest expense on the bridge or if it’s something else. Can I get clarification? Thank you.

Thank you. The Member is correct; that was for the Deh Cho Bridge, the remains there are $6,000 and that’s chargeback expenses. Thank you.