David Ramsay

The timing of the Member’s questions is good. We’re currently putting together a terms of reference for review of the BDIC and the programs that are there. The hope is that those terms of reference will be established sometime this summer so that the review – and it’s being conducted by the program review office of the GNWT – will be underway this fall. I certainly look forward to working with the Regular Members as that program review plays itself out. Certainly, the limit on lending at $2 million is something that will be in the mix.

Mr. Speaker, on a national level, as the Minister of Transportation I have yet to attend an FPT on road safety or get together with my counterparts from across the country on that, but certainly, when you have zero fatalities on your roads and waterways in 15 months, other jurisdictions will pay attention to that and the public awareness campaigns the GNWT have had have been first rate.

Certainly it is a message we are proud of. It is a story that we are proud of and we continue to get that message out there. We need to ensure that it is summer and people are using lifejackets. If you look in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I really appreciate the Member’s support for the Drive Alive program and other initiatives by the Department of Transportation. We had an excellent safety record in the past 15 months. We look to continue that.

The department views safety as the number one priority. To the Member’s questions, the public awareness campaign distributes safety information through the Internet, through newspapers, radio, television, printed material, audiovisual resources and community activities across the Northwest Territories and will continue to do those types of initiatives so that the...

I don’t have that exact figure but I would be more than happy to get that for the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Currently, the total credit facility portfolio for the BDIC is just under $50 million at $49.6 million. Approximately $7.6 million approved in credit facilities and $257,000 approved in contributions for this past fiscal year.

Mr. Speaker, that is something that we could look at doing. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, DOT coordinates the awareness campaign related to drowning prevention, helmet use and child occupant restraints to support injury prevention. That is our component of the Healthy Choices framework, so we continue to work with communities on establishing those resources. If there are community organizations that want to take part in this and help us spread the message of safety first, we would be more than happy to discuss their participation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Northwest Territories parks and campgrounds attract thousands of visitors to our territory every summer. They are a vital element of our tourism sector, and one we continue to invest in heavily by ensuring they are maintained, improved and made more accessible to visitors. These facilities are also enjoyed by our own residents and contribute enormously to the quality of life that we enjoy here in Canada’s North.

The 2012 parks season formally opened on May 15th and two new initiatives from the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment are making it easier than ever...

We’re still in the early days. There was a great deal of activity there last winter. There’s some activity there this summer and for the foreseeable future there will be a great deal of activity taking place in the Sahtu. There were two wells drilled there last year and there will be a number more proposed to be drilled this coming winter.

As the resource is better known and we get a better indication from industry and the residents in the Sahtu on what is there, I think then we really need to take stock of programs and services that we have on the ground in the Sahtu, and if there’s a need to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government is still very optimistic that the Mackenzie Gas Project will be constructed at some point in time. I have recently met with proponents of the gas project who share that optimism. At some point in time that gas project will see the light of day.

We continue to be optimistic that that will happen, but we also have to be cognizant of other opportunities that are presenting themselves in the territory. Of course, the resource play that is currently underway in the Sahtu is very important and very exciting and has the potential to turn the central Mackenzie...