Thank you, Madam Chair. For more detail, I’d ask the deputy minister to provide a response.
Debates of Feb. 23rd, 2015
This is page numbers 5727 – 5768 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 5th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was know.
Topics
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Neudorf
Thank you, Madam Chair. Green Light is our Department of Transportation environmental strategy. It has a number of different actions that are proposed underneath it. We released it about five years ago, and those actions continue. It is another one of the background documents that’s also feeding into our Transportation Strategy update that we’re working on right now. Our efforts on the strategy are focused on the main document, our update, which we will table in the May/June session. Following that, we’ll see what direction is provided as part of that and consider updating any of the sub-strategies underneath that, including that Green Light environmental management strategy.
I would note that are, as I indicated, a number of activities that are still going on with that, and this year we’ve got a low focus on our environmental management systems to try to improve the way that the various aspects around the regulatory environment and our environmental activities are being undertaken.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Bob Bromley Weledeh
Thanks, Madam Chair, and thanks to the deputy minister for that. I’m wondering: is there an evaluation program in place for that and can the Minister commit to getting committee an update on that? I believe the deputy minister said it had been in place for five years. It seems due for a good review.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe
Thank you, Madam Chair. We don’t have an evaluation program per se, but we can give an update on the plan.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Bob Bromley Weledeh
I’ll leave it at that. I think it’s always good, as the Auditor General continually reminds us, to have an evaluation program in place when we start new programs like this. I would have thought there would have been one and I hope the department will address that. For now, I appreciate the Minister’s commitment.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
The Chair Jane Groenewegen
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Corporate services, operations expenditure summary, $10.965 million.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
The Chair Jane Groenewegen
Page 462, corporate services, grants, contributions and transfers, contributions, $12,000.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
The Chair Jane Groenewegen
Page 465, highways, operations expenditure summary, $66.420 million. Mr. Menicoche.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I know that with Highway No. 7 there was previously capital amounts, but I would just like to know, in terms of operations and maintenance, what expenditures they have planned for Highway No. 7.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe
Thank you, Madam Chair. We may have that information here but it’s a fairly standard amount. Each year we go out, or in blocks of time we go out to tender to maintain all our highways, and the contract to maintain Highway No. 7 would be similar to what has occurred previously. If you give us a minute, perhaps we’re able to find the amount.
We have the amount. It’s $800,000.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh
With the $800,000 I wasn’t too clear if the Minister said that it was part of the contract, or else is this additional investment like replacing culverts and strengthening the road that’s outside the standard maintenance contract?
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe
The deputy minister has the amounts here. I will get either the director or the deputy minister to do a response. Maybe the deputy minister.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Neudorf
Thank you, Madam Chair. We did have a forced growth submission that’s in the budget here for contracts within the Fort Simpson
region, and that total is the $800,000 that the Minister had referenced before. It’s for a number of different contracts including the highway maintenance contract. Total spent on Highway No. 7 maintenance is about $2.5 million. The contract with Fort Simpson region takes care of part of Highway No. 7 and also Highway No. 1. I don’t have the breakdown of that contract amount between the two different highways, but the total highway contracts within for Beaver and for Rowe’s Construction are about $2.5 million.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Just when it comes to the expenditures of extra work on Highway No. 7 or any of the highways around Fort Simpson, I’ve always said that Nahendeh, because we don’t have industry or anything around, that government supplies a large portion of the contracts to the service sector there. So any work that they can do on the highway systems there and extra work on Highway No. 7 is certainly a benefit to the communities and the people that I represent as we have more work for them.
Just as a note, I’d just like to continue to support any investment that we can, and yes, I know that we’ve got passive restraint, but any projects that have been planned, I certainly urge the department to continue with them as we move forward into this year.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
The Chair Jane Groenewegen
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. I’ll take that as a comment. I’ll go to Ms. Bisaro.