Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Dempster Highway has been a priority for some time, and has been raised in the House by the Member on a number of occasions. We continue to focus on reconstruction of this highway, the Dempster Highway. We’ve done a lot of work on improving the roadway alignments, the roadbed and driving surfaces.

As I responded to this question by this Member on a number of occasions, the road needs to be reconstructed. We are attempting to do that with the resources we have on hand and we’ll continue to focus on that. However, the reconstruction process for this length of highway with the investment we have is probably going to take in excess of another 10 to 12 years. It’s going to be a long process.

If there is concern with maintenance, we certainly can review what our contractors are doing, and if he has any issues with contracts, we’d like to hear from him. Thank you.

Overall, we think it’s an excellent opportunity to the qualified businesses in the Northwest Territories to expand their service, to generate a revenue source. It may mean a different type of vehicle. It may mean a different schedule. It may mean convincing Greyhound to release some of their commitments to provide freight. All those discussions have to take place, and we certainly have to get a better understanding as to what is going to be coming in terms of what the Greyhound plans are. We don’t have that all in our hands right now.

Yes, I’ve talked to all my colleagues at the national level. It’s a concern right across the board. The decision by Greyhound to continue their service into B.C. all the way to Whitehorse is a business decision. They have the market volumes there to warrant carrying of passengers. We had the jurisdiction of Manitoba look at doing one year of subsidies. They have since discontinued that and I’m not sure where they’re going to go as next steps. We have looked

and talked with all our colleagues at different jurisdictions and are looking at all the options.

The reason the bus service is not going to haul passengers anymore is because the Alberta government deregulated their system. It is now allowing what was a monopoly up until now, to cancel some of the trips that are coming to the rural areas that have very low market volumes.

We have certainly an interest to communicate what the plans are from Greyhound. Our information coming from the local operators is they don’t have a very good understanding as to what the Greyhound plans to do, whether they would step aside if an operator came forward from the Northwest Territories and operated up to Valleyview where the Greyhound services are going to be ending for passengers.

I think our role right now is to try to bridge that communication gap, to talk to Greyhound, to talk to the local operators and make sure we have a good understanding. We’ve already had some requests from operators to see if there was any way that we could subsidize. We’re not at that point yet but we have to consider all options. We are very interested in having a service resume. We think it’s also a good opportunity for our operators in the Northwest Territories to expand their routes and have passenger service continue.

As the Member has mentioned, it is a good service. It is targeted to people that are of low income. A lot of them are seniors, students, and others that are wanting to see the people…That’s it.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The NWT is one of four jurisdictions that do not regulate passenger or bus industry. We certainly control and insist on safety and insurance requirements to provide service. However, in the last while since we were made aware of the bus service that came into Hay River, as the Member referred to, we are not going to provide passenger service anymore. We’ve taken the occasion to try to get as much information as we can to see what that meant in terms of are they also going to discontinue hauling freight. Are there other people out there that would step up to the plate to take over the service?

We had deputy ministers get together from all the jurisdictions, as this does not only impact the Northwest Territories, there are other jurisdictions, to see if there was any interest, to see if we could get any support from the federal government for a national program to try and subsidize the operations. That was not successful. So we are right now talking to some of the operators in the NWT to see if there is an interest. If we find there is an interest, we just need to know if it’s going to include the hauling of freight. That’s an area that we need some clarity on.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take the occasion to recognize a former colleague from my time in RWED in my past life, Mr. Robert Bouchard. I understand Robert has developed a keen interest in politics and I want to wish him all the best. Of course, I want to recognize Melody McLeod, my sister-in-law, and say welcome.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about another potentially significant development in our northern transportation system. On Monday, June 6, 2011, the Government of

Canada announced funding for the construction of an all-season road between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk.

Mr. Speaker, this investment not only builds momentum behind a dream long held by residents of the region, to drive on an all-season road between the communities, but it also realizes the first step to complete the construction of the Mackenzie Valley Highway project.

As the celebrating and the handshaking were underway, Mr. Speaker, the Department of Transportation was already hard at work to ensure momentum continues to move forward for the project. Mr. Speaker, maintaining that forward momentum may be challenging, considering the 16

Assembly will dissolve at the end of this sitting

and a general election will be called in September.

Mr. Speaker, some of the more substantive project planning activities for the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway that have to be completed include the environmental assessment now being conducted by the Environmental Impact Review Board; discussions with Canada on the funding agreement, and with the Inuvialuit Land Administration on a purchase agreement for the highway right-of-way.

Mr. Speaker, completing these high-level activities at the official’s level will provide Members of the next Legislative Assembly with the information they will require to make a decision on this project. Completing this work will demonstrate to the federal government, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, and to residents in the communities of Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik how important the project is to the Government of the Northwest Territories. This recognition was also made when the 16

Assembly

unanimously passed a motion in support of a Mackenzie Valley Highway to Tuktoyaktuk.

These are exciting times for Northerners. The federal government’s investment in transportation infrastructure will promote regional economic and employment opportunities, through road construction and maintenance. This investment will improve access to oil and gas resources, it will create community access and mobility, and it will advance Canada’s ability to assert sovereignty over lands occupied by our Aboriginal ancestors for generations.

With determination and patience, the Department of Transportation has been building the Mackenzie Valley Highway one section at a time. While new road construction in the territory remains a federal responsibility, the Government of the Northwest Territories has not been sitting on its hands waiting for Canada to build the highway.

Instead, the Department of Transportation has been making considerable progress since the 1950s, when Prime Minister Diefenbaker’s government first recognized the Canadian advantage of having a

highway connecting the country from coast to coast to coast. In 1995 the Department of Transportation completed the all-weather highway as far north as Wrigley, and began operating the N’Dulee ferry. In 2001 the department began investing in grade improvements and permanent bridge construction along the Mackenzie Valley winter road.

Thirty-five bridges later, and with another two planned for this season, the winter road season has been dramatically extended and stabilized, and the environmental and safety risks associated with ice crossing construction have been reduced.

Finally, in 2008 the Department of Transportation and the Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk partnered under the Building Canada Plan to construct a 19-kilometre access road to Gravel Source 177. Hamlet residents are now using the road to access the gravel source, to access the land, and other opportunities. With some upgrading, the road will become a section of the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway.

Once complete, the stretch of highway linking the two communities may be the first 137 kilometres of the Mackenzie Valley Highway; an aspiration Northerners have held for more than five decades. All these improvements ultimately serve the future all-weather Mackenzie Valley Highway.

The Department of Transportation continues to work toward the dream of connecting the Mackenzie Valley to the Arctic coast, and has made significant progress in the last 10 years. With the federal announcement, Northerners are one step closer to driving the length of the Mackenzie Valley from Wrigley to Tuktoyaktuk.

I am also pleased to welcome Erin Nadli from my riding and my hometown of Fort Providence, who is now here with us as Premier for the day. Erin, along with many students throughout the North, entered an essay contest explaining why she wanted to be Premier for the day. She was quite surprised to find out she won. Her essay was about the importance of protecting the Dene land, about animals and climate change. The honourable Erin Nadli is a grade 10 student from Deh Gah School in Fort Providence. Erin plans to continue her education in the North and plans to further education and continue on to environmental law or social sciences. When we asked her about how she found her first few hours here in the Legislative Assembly, she said it was good and she was happy to find out that Premier Floyd Roland isn’t all that scary. I think she was a little bit apprehensive when she first got here. I want to say congratulations to Erin and welcome her to the Assembly.

I also wanted to recognize Paschalina Nadli, her mother, and Edith, who are here as chaperones with Erin. Thank you and have a safe trip home.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Karl is survived by his wife, Anne, who continues to live in Enterprise. He was cremated and will be buried in Winnipeg, Manitoba, near some of his relatives. A memorial service will be held on May 28

th

at 2:00 p.m. in the community hall

of Enterprise and we welcome any visitors. Thank you.