Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The residents of Nahendeh have been asking the Department of Transportation to consider moving from a 16-hour day to an 18-hour day, which means opening up the Lafferty Ferry at the Liard crossing from 6:00 a.m. until midnight. We were very pleased that we almost had a trial period this fall, but unfortunately the residents didn’t like the two- hour break which is prime time for traveling back

home and would have created some other headaches. Since that time, I have spoken with the Minister to review how the Providence work was being done for an 18-

hour day. I don’t know if the

Minister has had time to review how they would be able to operate from 6:00 a.m. to midnight as opposed to 8:00 a.m. to midnight that is currently happening with the Lafferty Ferry. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Sometimes you have to challenge government; sometimes you have to commend them, so that’s what I’m going to do today.

On September 15, 2015, I had the honour to celebrate the opening of the newly built John Tsetso Memorial Library in Fort Simpson. It was my

pleasure to join the Honourable Jackson Lafferty, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment; Dehcho First Nations Grand Chief Herb Norwegian; Liidlii Kue Chief Gerry Antoine; Mayor Sean Whelly and the residents of Fort Simpson to celebrate this long awaited and very special event.

A library is the heart of a community. It is a place where our children can nourish their imaginations and learn important life skills while having fun. The John Tsetso Memorial Library has been an important part of Fort Simpson for many, many years, providing a range of popular programs and services promoting literacy.

Mr. Speaker, as you and my colleagues in this House are well aware, I have expressed my concerns many times over the years about the condition of the library. Since the closure of the Deh Cho Hall in about 2004/2005, the library has struggled to manage its collection and meet the community’s need in a less than ideal space. Now, in addition to the new space, the library has expanded its collection, added iPads with a digital language app loaded on them, DVDs and new furniture for the patrons.

It took a long time

– over eight years – and a great

deal of urging to get the funding for the new library facility in the GNWT’s capital budget process. I would like to thank my colleagues for their support, who toured the small resource centre some seven years ago during the 16th Assembly. I also wanted

to thank the Minister for his contribution to this important project and thank the Village of Fort Simpson for their involvement in the management of the project.

The new John Tsetso Memorial Library has room for an expanded collection, better spacing for library programming, public access computers, iPads and an awesome northern collection of books by NWT authors and about local history in the Fort Simpson area.

I am excited for the people of Fort Simpson, the Aboriginal users who will benefit from this new facility. I also want to encourage people to get out, renew their library cards and use this wonderful resource. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. The construction of the Fort Simpson Health Centre is certainly a priority for the community. The department is right; acquisition of the land was of primary importance. I do concur it did take some time. I know the red flag is a priority of the government, and like I said, I’m upset it was bumped up five years as opposed to including it into the capital plan sooner, like they were just talking about. Having it in 2022-

23 doesn’t give me any comfort.

Sometimes when they put plans in black and white they get stuck there without somebody following up on it. Let’s take this document and put it in ’17-18. Just to do that would be a big win and create lots of certainty in the residents of Fort Simpson replacing our aging infrastructure. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Just in terms of the capital infrastructure that’s

planned for next year.

Of course, I’m certainly

pleased to see the investment into Highway No. 7, the resources that are going there. It’s something that has been high on my agenda and will continue to be so.

It’s $3 million a year, and certainly, it will

help with that highway.

Because I’ve always said, as

part of our tourism plan, as well as to have a good solid highway, we can truly continue to sell the Deh Cho Trail which means coming in through Alberta and exiting through BC, or vice versa. It will be a boon to our economy.

I noted in transportation, as well, that we’ve got some chipsealing program, and residents of Fort Simpson and Fort Liard are very pleased to see additional chipsealing happening at about almost 20 kilometres per year, and we’d certainly like to see more, but I’ll continue to press for that and hopefully the department and Cabinet is in concurrence.

As well, when I speak about highways and the Highway No. 1 investment is also in the budget and I’d like to push that highway north of Fort Simpson towards Wrigley be included in some of the upgrades and investments.

That’s another road, too, that

definitely needs attention.

A couple of things that are sitting with P and P committee reviewing the infrastructure investment, it’s certainly missing in the short term, the Fort Simpson Health Centre. It’s slated for ’22-23, but it

was certainly bandied about that it would be in the ’17-18 capital project. This whole term I have been speaking about it and it was red flagged and imminently being put in the capital plan along with the planning study. I kept asking every six months where the planning study was at. It’s the government’s own engineer’s report that said this building is over 40 years old and needs to be replaced. I just don’t see how we can continue to put it off. That is something that is high on my agenda. Hopefully we will get the planning study concluded. In fact, Mr. Chair, with your assistance we found documentation that said that the planning study was indeed completed. Now they are saying i

t’s not, but

certainly I know we have lots of major infrastructure planned in the 18th Assembly. I believe and know

that due to public interest this older hospital has to be completed, much like a priority of the government to do the Stanton. This one is a priority, so we will have a discussion at the appropriate time, but I would certainly like to see that moved up to ’17-18 where it used to be.

I am also pleased to see the investment and Trout Lake’s concurrence about retrofitting the Trout Lake School expansion and make full use of the building for the schooling needs. This is one of the few communities in the North with a growing population. There are a lot of young people moving back with young children. In fact, I think there are 18 to 21 students in Trout Lake. It definitely needs expansion of the school. You can’t do it in a one-room schoolhouse.

With

their

concurrence

about

renovating the existing school, they are going to lose their community centre. That is a focal point to Trout Lake. It is used six days a week. I would like to speak about that. You are going to need a replacement community hall.

As well, there is a much needed seniors home built in Fort Liard this year. I know it was supposed to be completed this year, but they had a late start. I

don’t

know if the Minister can comment on that. We will see the completion in 2016 definitely.

Another way that our capital projects help our communities is with Cabinet’s concurrence and agreement with negotiated contracts with proximity communities and

local businesses. I’m glad we do

have this policy. It’s really, really needed. I’m glad that Cabinet continues to work with that to develop our local base, our local capacity and the merging small businesses in the small communities that do need the type of support of a negotiated contact, with the concurrence of our current leadership meeting the bands and municipalities. It is beneficial to the communities when the work can be local and we are generating income. I have made the case in the past where we have given contracts to BC companies and they were bringing in their own fuel, bringing in their own men and we generated revenue through taxation. If these people aren’t living and working in the North, then we’re not generating revenue from

giving it to

a southern company. I’m a strong

supporter of the negotiated contract. Our capital investment is stimulating our economy and I’m supportive of it and urge Cabinet to continue to do that.

Those are my comments, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Of course, timing is

an issue because we’ll

be heading to dissolution pretty soon. In fact, our sitting of this House ends, I believe, next Thursday.

I’d just like to ask the Minister, perhaps, how they will be proceeding should there be an acceptable claim. Because I believe, and I’m sure my colleagues will concur, that you need the consent of the Assembly. So, I’d like to ask him, how will he proceed? Can the ministry and the Cabinet defer any decision until the first sitting of the 18th Assembly? Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

I’d like to ask the Minister, will

he commit to providing regular updates to Members of this House and our Priorities and Planning committee as the claims are evaluated over the next couple of weeks? Mahsi.

Thank you very much. He didn’t

really speak to why he chose to not inform Regular Members for at least a couple of weeks afterwards. Nevertheless, how long does the Minister expect this process to take? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to ask some questions on my Member’s statement on the Inuvik-Tuk Highway. I know that they’re sensitive negotiations, so my experien

ce will tell me that I’ve got to be pretty

general about my questions, so I will proceed that way.

Just in terms of why did the Minister of Transportation not advise Regular Members of the claims of the Inuvik-Tuk Highway in an expedient and timely manner? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise today dismayed by the sudden prospect of up to a $32 million claim to the GNWT for the construction of the Inuvik-

Tuk Highway. We’re

not talking about nickels and dimes. This is a massive potential expense that the GNWT has not kept Regular Members up to date properly.

The GNWT press release last Friday says the contract claims are a normal part of the process, but the amount of the claim is not normal.

This is a potential absolute blow for our small communities. If the GNWT picks up the tab for this kind of contract over-expenditure, it eats into the money available for other projects. That means essential community infrastructure projects in our small communities suffer. In Nahendeh alone, that kind of money could have been spent on a school for Trout Lake, the Fort Simpson Health Centre and Highway No. 7.

On a territorial level, the recent CBC News report states it would cost $21 million for universal child care. Imagine that was possible or could be possible, but these claims are interfering.

Without a doubt, the Inuvik-Tuk Highway has made big improvements in employment in the Inuvik and Beaufort-Delta region, contributing to our NWT economy, and the project promises vital all-weather road connections, but it is unacceptable that other projects throughout the NWT could suffer.

As the GNWT evaluates these claims and because we’re so close to the election, Members must be regularly updated and there must be a full and fulsome debate here in the Legislative Assembly before any decisions are made.

I will be asking Cabinet to ensure that they do not proceed without consulting with Members or, and if needed, to discuss this fulsomely in the 18th Assembly. Thank you.