David Krutko

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are directed to the Minister of the Housing Corporation. It’s in regard to the way capital infrastructure is now being approved through this House. In most cases most of our infrastructure departments are now being approved in the fall session so it allows for the departments to be able to allow their contracts to be let in the fall, allow for logistics to get those materials and contracts in place before the spring session, get them into our communities on the ice roads, and also ensure that we take advantage of the long summer construction...

I would like to call Committee of the Whole back to order for consideration of Tabled Document 4-16(5). What is the wish of the committee? Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, will be supporting the bill, reluctantly, but I think that we have no other choice in the matter. Regardless, we would have to pay $165 million over 35 years. It is just that we are going to basically have to refinance this thing in a different manner and we will get the major piece of infrastructure completed. I think also that we do have to learn from this event and I think, if anything, in some cases, hopefully that we do get the answer back from the federal Finance Minister hopefully sooner than later so we have an answer by the time we next sit. I think it...

Mr. Speaker, I believe that by logistically working together with other departments it will also allow for possible savings in getting a lot of these materials into our communities. We do have fuel resupply; we do have the winter road construction, which they have open roads to ensure that we are able to resupply those communities. So I would like to thank the Minister for that, but how soon does the Minister intend to come back to the House with the assurance that that decision has been made? Are we talking this fall capital session? Will we see that being approved in that session? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the 16th Assembly made a decision to change our capital planning process and approval of the main estimates. Now we approve our capital estimates in the fall session and the main estimates are being approved in the spring session.

One of the fundamental reasons for that was for the infrastructure departments to be able to take advantage of the construction season, logistical challenges such as taking advantage of the ice roads, and ensuring that we are able to construct in a reasonable time and allow for the contractors and service providers to be able to...

Mr. Speaker, your committee would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

At this time I will call for a short break before we proceed in Committee of the Whole.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I think this is a perfect opportunity for the region of the Beaufort-Delta to have this capacity, develop the capacity, and keep it in the region. There are other projects being looked at. I know Inuvik is doing a resurfacing job this summer and there’s the possibility of the extension of the Inuvik airport. There is also work in other airports. I think we have to look at the regional economics of this to see how feasible developing this industry in the Inuvik region is. With the potential of the Mackenzie Highway, this is something that we can look into the...

Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to sit down with the hamlet and also Fort McPherson is one of the communities that did receive main street chipseal funding in which they chipsealed the main street. Again, at some point they are going to have to upgrade it, extend it or find a way of maintaining that strip of chipseal. I think it is important that they do consider their options. One of their options is to look at the possibility of working on other streets in the community and also maintain what they already have, so build off of that.

I would just like to ask the Minister exactly how soon is...

Mr. Speaker, I believe there’s a need in our communities also for firebreaks, and I think that’s probably a perfect opportunity for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, working with the Department of the Environment, to use those dollars that are going to be expended to develop firebreaks around communities as, basically, fire protection. So I’d like to ask the Minister, will he consider talking with his colleague from the Department of Environment if there’s such an opportunity for communities to use those dollars to not only develop firebreaks but also use them to develop multi...