Thank you, Minister. Next on my list I have Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I know the Minister gave me a commitment to give me the breakdowns of the regional costs of the ferries by the 29th; it's magically the 29thnow. In regards to ferry operations, I notice that my colleague up in Tsiigehtchic and McPherson has got a nice little bit of an operation going till December. Has the department looked at the potential of doing the same thing in the Deh Cho? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The operation in Tsiigehtchic versus what's happening in Fort Simpson is two totally different things. One of the reasons it's in the Beau Delta is to service the propane and the liquified natural gas in the region, and the Fort Simpson region does not need to have that service delivered to them. So this is just to have a continued service to make sure there isn't an interruption to the power supply and heat supply for the town of Inuvik. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for that enlightened answer. They've been talking about LNG opportunities in Fort Simpson, so I guess my -- I look at this and mean proactive on the Department of Transportation, would you guys be looking at it, looking at how to make it more efficient in the ferry operation? I guess it's just being proactive. So, Mr. Chair, can the Minister elaborate if the department is looking at that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's an initiative that would be taken on by our Public Works and Services and NTPC, and I suspect that, moving forward, they will be contacting our department to see, you know, what will we be doing to meet the demands if the LNG was put into Fort Simpson. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for his answer, and we look forward to LNG in our community of Fort Simpson so we can get the longer ferry service.

In regards to the old Merv Hardie in Fort Providence, there, what is the status of that ferry? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Merv Hardie continues to be the backup for all our ferry operations in the Northwest Territories, and, at present, we have no plans for it other than that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So that's really good to hear, it's backup. Would it not be nicer to have it closer to where the other ferries are actually, in Fort Simpson or, you know, Wrigley, or Tsiigehtchic, or McPherson. So would the Minister look at moving it to Fort Simpson for potential use there? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. If there's an issue with the other ferries, which we've had some issues in the past year, but most of the time we can service them on a timely basis where interruption of service is not a great deterrent. Where the ferry is presently parked, the Merv Hardie, it's a Coast Guard base, and it's a safe location and out of the way from any type of vandalism or anything like that. So we're quite comfortable leaving the ferry right where it is. So thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I've been informed there's been a bit of vandalism on that beautiful piece of equipment, so I guess I would really like the department to look at maybe switching the ferries and getting the Merv Hardie into Fort Simpson, and we can use the Fort Simpson ferry to be moved up to Tsiigehtchic. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

---Laughter

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Would the Minister like to respond?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess, just to make a comment on the vandalism that happened when the ferry was parked at the Deh Cho Bridge crossing, and that's one of the reason we moved it to where it is. So thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Anything further, Mr. Thompson?

…ferry in Fort Simpson at some time soon, so, without the other one breaking down. So, thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Anything further on marine transportation? Seeing nothing, we'll call the page. Transportation, marine, operations expenditure summary, activity total, $7,887,000. Agreed?