Thank you, Minister Ramsay. Continuing on with questions, I have Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much. Just in regard to airports, the Trout Lake Airport project, I was just there on my fall constituency visit and the project has been delayed, so I just wanted to know

how much of a delay there is. Is there expected potential extra costs as well? It’s currently not listed in the current budget, only because it was supposed to be completed this year. I’d just like to ask the Minister, are there plans for moving forward with the Trout Lake Airport construction, will it have an impact on this budget and is there any expected cost increases on the project. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister Ramsay.

Thank you. A lot of these are items that we are still currently trying to work out with the contractor. We’re hoping to have the Trout Lake Airport complete by next summer, and we have experienced some wet weather, some other issues with the project itself, but we are continuing to work out and iron out the difficulties to try to get the project completed by next summer. I have made a commitment to the Member that we’re going to sit down with the community and make sure the project does see its way through to completion. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I certainly look forward to bringing the Minister to Trout Lake, because the community has always seen it as their project and they want to continue to benefit from whatever work is left there. So we’ll just leave it at that until we get into the community to meet with the leadership on the Trout Lake Airport.

A couple more questions under airports. Trout Lake has also been asking for a snow blower and that’s something I’ve been raising for some time. I think there was a plan to move a blower in there about two years ago. So can the department tell me about what plans there are to put a snow blower in the community of Trout Lake? It’s a fly-in community and it’s an incredible amount of work moving snow with a grader.

Yes, thank you. We are aware of the situation in Trout Lake when it comes to the use of the snow blower. We believe there probably are more effective ways to deal with it and it all comes down to the amount of snow load in a community, but I don’t know if there’s more of a technical response. Mr. Chairman, perhaps I could go to the deputy minister for that.

Thank you, Minister Ramsay. Mr. Neudorf.

Thank you, Mr. Neudorf. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much. I would certainly like to see it in future plans as we move to the opening of the new Trout Lake Airport and it’s a much larger area, much more snow has to be removed. Once again, I make the case from the community that I don’t have the records to show how many airplanes they do get, but I know every time I travel there, there’s an awful lot of airplane traffic. I’m sure the air traffic companies in and around the North are starting to depend on us having that airport open, including for emergencies, so they see the need for a new snow removal machine and I’ll press that with the Minister one more time.

Just on the last note and then I’ve pretty much asked all my questions. In the application of EK35 products, is there going to be any done in the Nahendeh riding at all as well? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First, before I go to Mr. Neudorf for a response on the EK35, I just wanted to provide the Member that I believe it’s a fair comment that the Member has on the provision of a snow blower in Trout Lake, and as we move toward having the new runway in place in Trout Lake we can see how that may fit into future plans for the department. So I appreciate the Member bringing that up and it’s something I can’t make a commitment on today, but we definitely will look at that. Thank you. We’ll go to Mr. Neudorf for the EK35 question. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Ramsay. Mr. Neudorf.

Thank you. Moving on with questions, we have Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a couple of questions for the Minister. Under Aklavik, I know a number of years ago the community was promised the expansion of the airport. I’d just like to ask the Minister when does the department plan to expand that airport. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Minister Ramsay.

Thank you. In the almost two years I’ve been Minister, I don’t recall a formal request from the community to expand the airport at Aklavik. If that’s something that predates me, maybe the deputy minister may know something about that.

Thank you, Minister Ramsay. Mr. Neudorf.

Thank you, Mr. Neudorf. Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to remind the Minister of my Member’s statement just briefly of the completion of the Fort McPherson expansion project. If you look in Hansard you’ll find it there.

The other question is for the community of Tsiigehtchic. I mentioned before that they would like to have an emergency airstrip as we don’t have an airstrip in the community. We have a lot of emergency situations there and I know the community would really like an airport. What are the plans for the community? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Minister Ramsay.

Thank you. If the Member did raise that issue in the House in regard to the expansion of the airport in Aklavik, I will take a look back at that.

On the emergency airstrip for Tsiigehtchic, again, unless the Member, perhaps he’s raised that in a Member’s statement. I don’t recall that as well, but maybe we’ll go to the deputy minister for a response to that. Thank you.