Thank you, Madam Chair. I had a good weekend to think about what I said and I will tone it down here.
I do want to conclude my opening comments to the Minister, the department and the government. I would ask them if they would seriously consider the issue of decentralization with regard to looking at the regional offices in the Sahtu with the decision-making type of authorities by our superintendents being in this position for 10 years. I thought by now that the government would start seriously considering putting in our own superintendents for airports and highways in the Sahtu region.
I have had a number of e-mails and correspondence over 10 years, reasons why they aren’t able to do it yet. I want to make a play for it on behalf of the Sahtu people.
I have notes from one of my road trips, questions asked by Sahtu people why there isn’t yet a regional office. We certainly could take advantage of what’s happening there now and if we wait for the Mackenzie Valley Highway, it will be a while yet because of the amount of work that is required. We have come to a place where they are doing some work up in Inuvik.
I would ask if they would look at a plan, bring it to the House to look at how they could bring a regional office into the Sahtu for airports and highways.
Madam Chair, the winter roads have been quite busy this year. The support I’m going to lend to this Minister for Corridors for Canada and moving that proposal with the federal government, I’d like to hear where that’s out and where the projects in the proposal are being considered for support from the
territorial government. I will ask again to look at the Bear River Bridge and bring that up, so we can take advantage of it.
I’m very glad that the department has produced a booklet for the drivers in the Sahtu, more importantly for the truck drivers in the Sahtu, so they know more about the Sahtu.
The oil companies have given close to $400,000 to help with the winter roads. Last weekend I want onto the Conoco lease and the Husky lease. Certainly, by talking to the construction foreman, they have given me an indication of what type of dollars have gone into their roads. It’s a huge difference what dollars go into their roads compared to our winter roads in the Northwest Territories. There really is no comparison. Safety is their highest priority in the oil and gas industry. I believe that’s also with the winter roads we have in the communities. Maintaining the roads and putting the proper signs and cutting down the errors that are dangerous in our Sahtu winter roads are a must, and I think the Minister has begun to do that already.
I do want to say we appreciate the additional support we are going to have in our winter roads for the amount of traffic that is now coming into the communities on the winter roads. Between Tulita and Norman Wells, where I drove this past weekend, there are quite big trucks on the roads there. I would certainly like to see more maintenance on the roads. They are taking out the potholes. Driving from Norman Wells to Tulita is about 84 kilometres. The shape the roads were in, if those roads were like that between here and Behchoko, you would automatically see a lot of transportation trucks and contractors out spooning off those roads. I don’t think our roads should be treated any different. We can also put a lot of water trucks out there.
The last point I want to make before concluding is there’s a great need for this Minister to work with Education, Culture and Employment to bring Class 5 training into the communities in the Sahtu. I’m working with the Department of Education council. We have a lot of young people in Colville Lake, Fort Good Hope, Deline, Tulita and Norman Wells that certainly could benefit from a Class 5 training program in the schools. A lot of them have been told that they could work, and want to work, but yet they fall short of having a Class 5 driver’s licence. That hinders them; that limits them to getting other jobs. So I would look forward to this Minister in this budget helping our communities out to work with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to get Class 5 training programs in our small communities. Like I said earlier, there are close to 500 youth – that’s 2012 stats – that are aged between 15 and 24 years of age and they’re ready to get on with life and get some training in oil
and gas, or traditional economy, or with government. A lot of them would benefit greatly by having a Class 5 training program and what better place to do it than in our educational institutions to motivate the youth so that they can know that the training is available to them. Go to school, gain self-confidence, self-esteem and know that their Class 5 training could possibly help them with their educational diploma program.
So that’s something specifically I’m looking to this Minister for, to work with the Education Minister to see if this is a possibility of bringing in an educational drivers’ training program. That’s all I have to say, Madam Chair. Thank you.