David Krutko

In regard to this item, I requested the Minister of Transportation to give me a breakdown on the age of the culverts on the Dempster Highway. The report that got back showed that the majority of culverts on this stretch of highway were installed in 1973. Again, they are 37-year-old culverts, and we are starting to see that corrosion is happening in these culverts. I think this is probably not the first culvert that you are going to see collapsing on this road system. I think that the government has to ensure that we do a literal test of our culverts to make sure that this doesn’t happen.

I know...

Human Resources Strategy and Policy, not previously authorized: $187,000. Agreed?

Human Resources Strategy and Policy, $187,000 approved.

Legal Aid Services, not previously authorized: $403,000.

Legal Aid Services, $403,000 approved.

Mr. Speaker, I believe I heard a yes somewhere in that answer.

This issue has been around for some time. I know the Gwich’in Development Corporation is looking at the possibility of a P3. Since we already have a patent down with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation, if we get $9 million to do this, we’ll go ahead and do it.

I’d like to ask the Minister: is he open to looking at the possibility of a P3 initiative using the patented Deh Cho Bridge Corporation model so that we can go ahead and build a bridge for $6 million, which is a lot less than $165 million? I’d like to ask the Minister: would he...

Mr. Hawkins, I don't believe we've gotten to that item yet. It’s under Regional Operations. We're still dealing with Land Administration. It’s further down the list, under Regional Operations, if you can hold your question until we get to that line item.

Sports, Recreation and Youth, not previously authorized: $425,000. Agreed?

Sports, Recreation and Youth, $425,000 approved.

With regard to the way the funds are going to be rolled out, is that going to be base-plus funding in regard to having a base for communities to work off of and then maybe look at population on top of that? I know that process. We have done that in the past in regard to the last Assembly. And I think that way did work.

I think that having a base to work off makes it more workable for communities to do capital projects in communities. I would just like to know: is that program going to be base-plus funded?

Total Executive Offices, not previously authorized: $981,000. Is the committee agreed?

Total Executive Offices, $981,000 approved.

Law Enforcement, not previously authorized: $280,000.

Law Enforcement, $280,000 approved.

Mr. Speaker, in regard to my Member’s statement, I touched on the proposal that was recommended by the Inuvik Chamber of Commerce to look at a bridge across the Peel River in 1981. Back then the estimated cost was $2 million for a one-lane bridge and $4 million for a two-lane bridge. They wanted $20,000 to do the survey, the report and the assessment. Yet some 26 years later we’re still talking about it.

I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation exactly what are we doing as a government to look at all our bridge crossings in the Northwest Territories and remove our ice bridges and replace...

Lands Administration, not previously authorized: $30,000. Agreed?

Lands Administration, $30,000 approved.