David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank the Member for the question. Certainly there’s a lot of activity taking place in the Sahtu. I think the number for economic spent this coming winter season is somewhere around $90 million, I do believe.

A lot of the goods that end up there do go through the airport, but the Norman Wells Airport is a regional airport. It’s a hub. It is equipped to handle the increased activity. Going forward, we’ve identified some funding through the Corridors for Canada III proposal to the federal government, where we would see an increased opportunity through commercial space...

We didn’t do an expansion there, but for the specific improvements – and all I am aware of is there have been some improvements – I’ll go back to the department and we’ll endeavour to get a list of the improvements to the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It’s not for moisture control; it’s for dust control. It is a dust suppressant. I think Tulita had applied EK35 to the roads in Tulita a few summers back. We were there and it was a marked improvement on the amount of dust in the community. That is what EK35 used for, is a dust suppressant.

Yes, I do, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, the Detah road was not deemed a high enough priority through the capital planning process. I’ve given assurances to the Member that we have the Detah access road and we will have the ability to conclude that project through Corridors for Canada III, that proposal that we’re bringing forward to the federal government. We’re very optimistic that that funding proposal will be approved by the federal government. The Detah road would figure very prominently, right at the front of that plan, should that proposal be successful. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents, entitled NWT Business Development and Investment Corporation 2012-13 Annual Report, and NWT Business Development and Investment Corporation 2013-14 Corporate Plan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we can certainly look at that. I would be more than happy to discuss the opportunity with my colleague Minister Miltenberger of ENR and set out to get some more community workshops and exercises like that underway. One of the things I think will also go a long way to helping community members understand the process is – and I believe the Member saw a big display case which showed a well being drilled and then going out horizontally and explaining the process of hydraulic fracturing in layman’s terms – I think if we put that in the local language and also in English, and put these...

Mr. Speaker, what we heard resoundingly in both southeastern Saskatchewan and North Dakota is that if people could do it all over again, they have the ability to plan and get ready for the development. That is what we have here. We have an opportunity. We have some time on our side. There is an application here to hopefully drill and frack two wells this coming winter here in the Northwest Territories.

I believe we can balance protecting the environment with advancing the economy here in the Northwest Territories and getting people the jobs and opportunities that they require. We have to have...

The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment would have helped communities fund these workshops that have been much anticipated in the Sahtu. For a detailed breakdown of costs and who is paying for what, I will make a commitment today to get the Member that information. Certainly, we have been looking for partners to help pay for these workshops. That is how we have gone about this, is partnerships, and if that’s with industry and communities, that’s how we are going to continue to pursue getting people the education that they need when it comes to making an informed decision about...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to hydraulic fracturing, and the Northwest Territories is no different.

It has been suggested many times that we do more community meetings and workshops when it comes to hydraulic fracturing. At the suggestion of the community of Fort Good Hope, who wanted a third-party workshop to be set up in the communities in the Sahtu – the Member mentioned the communities of Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope – this week. We are also hoping to have meetings take place in Deline and also Tulita. The meeting in Fort Good Hope...