David Ramsay

Mr. Speaker, the Inuvialuit have significant skin, as the Member calls it, in this game. The road program goes entirely over ISR lands in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. They have significant impact on this. They have a future need and requirement for granular materials. They have every right to charge royalties to people using granular materials from ISR lands. We, again, continue to negotiate with the Inuvialuit. We will get the best price. We’ll get a fair price. Like I said, hopefully the Member will be swayed by that price to support the project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Member would know the answer to that question. He was at the briefing two weeks ago. Again, we are trying to negotiate with the Inuvialuit. We hope to get a discounted rate on the royalties that would enable the Member to be swayed to support the project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It’s a good thing it’s not truth or dare, Mr. Speaker. We have our Premier discussing it with the Inuvialuit. We haven’t got a negotiated settlement on the royalties. When we do have, we fully intend to make all of the information public. The Member was privy to the discussion at committee two weeks ago. As soon as we get a completed deal – we don’t negotiate in public, we don’t do that – we’ll share it with the Members, we’ll share it with the public, and everybody will know exactly what it is we are getting ourselves into. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The granular royalties are part of the Inuvialuit Land Claim. It’s their right to charge granular royalties on that material. Today we continue to try to work with the Inuvialuit on a royalty regime for the Tuk-Inuvik highway and we are trying to negotiate the best deal for both parties. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the program will be piloted at first in Yellowknife and in Hay River. We will start things in those two centres and move the program forward from there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Within the next three months. Thank you.

We’re awaiting approvals from the federal government and word from the federal government on funding. As soon as that happens, we certainly will be moving things along.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our expectation is, should the project move ahead, that work could start there potentially this season, which would mean people would be put to work almost immediately.

Mr. Speaker, we know that impaired driving leads to injuries, death, and millions of dollars in property damage across Canada every year. Statistics Canada recently reported the NWT and Yukon had the highest rates of impaired driving across the country in 2012. Ninety-four NWT residents were convicted for impaired driving last year. That number doesn’t include administrative suspensions where licences were removed temporarily for blowing over the legal limit in roadside breathalyser tests. The Department of Transportation is taking action to turn these dismal statistics around.

Today I’m...

The program will start being piloted in Yellowknife and in Hay River.