If it’s not the GNWT’s responsibility, why are we dedicating $60,000 to a project that almost sounds fruitless? Perhaps at the same time, can the Minister provide a financial scale of what type of funding needs to be done for that type of project? Thank you.

Madam Chair, we are addressing a need. It’s through federal funding that we look at the $60,000 in partnership with the Canadian Coast Guard. We work with other folks in Hay River to try and get up as much of a program as we possibly can. The requests keep coming. I know I’ve heard both Members from Hay River talk about the requirement for dredging in the port of Hay River. That’s how we can answer the call. We don’t have millions of dollars, but we can offer assistance where need be. Thank you.

Thanks, Minister Ramsay. Just to the Minister and to Mr. Hawkins, we are talking about marine, which is kind of ferry operations, I believe, not dredging, but maybe Minister Ramsay can identify whether the $60,000 we are talking about is…where it is in the budget.

It would be under information items, work performed on behalf of others, but we’ll get you the exact page, Madam Chair. Page 11-36.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Maybe you can hold your questions, Mr. Hawkins, until we get to that page, at least on dredging. Mr. Hawkins.

I could, Madam Chair, but it was the Minister who brought it up and he was the one who coined the money. But that’s fine.

Thank you. Page 11-26, Transportation, information item, marine, active positions. Are there any questions?

We will move on. Page 11-29, Transportation, activity summary, Community Access Program, operations expenditure summary, $1.008 million.

We move on to page 11-30, Transportation, activity summary, Community Access Program, grants and contributions, contributions, $980,000.

Thank you. We move on to page 11-33, Transportation, activity summary, road licensing and safety, operations expenditure summary, $5.490 million. Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to open up my discussions on the driver examination wait times. This is something that I did bring up in the House here a couple months ago. At

such time, there was about a three-month wait time here in Yellowknife and roughly about a two-week wait time in every other jurisdiction across the Northwest Territories.

Can we get an update as to if that has now been rebalanced in terms of the driver examinations? Are they now all in line and roughly what that time wait would be across the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Minister Ramsay.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I thank the Member for bringing this to our attention last year. The wait times now in Yellowknife are in line with other wait times around the Territories. So someone shouldn’t have to wait any more than the two-week time frame to be tested. Thank you.

Madam Chair, I appreciate the Minister looking at that when we did bring that up. The question was regarding Class 5 regular examinations. My question now will have to deal with, I call, specialty licences. I am talking about Class 1, motorcycle and that kind of stuff. There seems to be very few opportunities throughout the given month where people across the Northwest Territories are able to actually access proper examinations for those specialty licences. Is the department aware of this? Is there a plan of action to decrease the amount of wait time, especially for things like motorcycle licences? Thank you.

Madam Chair, that’s the first that has been brought to my attention. If the Member has some specifics of people waiting an inordinate amount of time to be licensed or to have a test, I would be more than happy to try and address those concerns if his constituents or others are having those types of difficulties. I haven’t heard those concerns personally. Thank you.

Madam Chair, I’ll bring those direct questions to the department personally. Thank you very much.

The so-called on-line availability for road licensing and safety in terms of drivers and vehicles and NWT driver’s licence, it was indicated, back in this House, that there were going to be upgrades to the system, allowing the opportunity for on-line access for things like abstracts to be done. Can the Minister update us as to where we are at with that initiative? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Neudorf.

Madam Chair, it is very promising news. I think the general public would appreciate that. I know people who have to drive hundreds of kilometres to get a driver’s abstract probably waste more in fuel than they do in trying to get the piece of paper.

My next question has to do with harmonization of vehicle permitting, or I like to refer it to as “in transit”. Currently, if you were to purchase a vehicle outside of the Northwest Territories and have to register it in transit, the user has to go to each and every province to re-register that vehicle on his journey back to the Northwest Territories. If you buy your vehicle perhaps in Quebec or PEI, you have to stop in every province to re-register that vehicle that is called in transit.

Is there any appetite for the department to look at any type of harmonization program with the vehicle permitting requirements through interprovincial jurisdictions? Thank you, Madam Chair.