David Ramsay

I see it much differently than the Member, obviously. I don’t see cannibalism. I see capacity building for an Aboriginal development corporation that is going to supply opportunities for jobs, training and development of the workforce there.

I believe that going forward, as I mentioned in response to the previous question, we will be tendering future roadwork in the Yellowknife area. Because this money is coming from the Giant Mine Remediation Funds, this is at the very doorstep of Chief Drygeese territory and nobody asked the Yellowknives Dene for 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide to be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There were two other companies that had expressed interest and the Department of Transportation had written to both of those companies. I believe the Member was copied on both of those letters.

Yes, and I think again as things progress in the Sahtu, government has to realize that we’re going to have to look at capacity there. Not just in transportation but in business development and tourism and other things that are just going to be natural for us to be looking at should the population expand there, should the infrastructure expand there, and opportunities are there. We will have to certainly pay attention to that, and again, on the transportation and having an office in the Sahtu, that is something that we will consider.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As things progress in the Sahtu – and we’re very excited about the prospects that are there – it certainly is something I think that would be in the mix as we look at the opportunities that are there. It’s something that the government certainly should take into consideration and we will do just that.

Mr. Speaker, much like the Member’s press release, I don’t really understand the Member’s question. Thank you.

Certainly, I talked about the employment opportunities that came as a result of the $6 million negotiated contract between the government and Det’on Cho on the Detah access road. We have to identify further funds to allow that project to continue, and we will be continuing to look for further funding opportunities to continue the work on the Detah access road.

But specific to opportunities, I know Det’on Cho provided a great deal of training in partnership with Flemming College, and also with the Mine Training Society here in the NWT. The quarry was used for field training, drilling and...

I think the legislation as it pertains to distracted driving is another tool that keeps our roads safe. There have been a number of tickets issued for folks driving with cell phones and things like that. We’re encouraged that people are putting their phones away when they’re driving. I know me personally, before the new legislation came in, I was guilty of using my cell phone, but now that the new legislation is in place, I, too, leave the phone alone when I’m driving and I encourage anybody else out there to do the same.

We’ve got a number of initiatives that we’re looking at for next year, and certainly incorporating something like a lifejacket borrowing system is something that I believe we can look at. I do appreciate the Member bringing that issue up today.

Again, I appreciate the Member’s passion for Highway No. 7 and the need to get those capital dollars that are required for the reconstruction of that highway. I will continue to work with the Member to see that that happens. Again, we are going to have to pursue capital dollars wherever we can find them. Thank you.

If we are going to grow our resources and our economy here in the Northwest Territories, an integral part of that is having a transportation system and infrastructure built here in the territory that is going to support the growth of our economy and lead us in that direction. We’ve been stressing this point to the federal government for a number of years and will continue to stress the importance of our transportation infrastructure to the federal government any chance we get. Thank you.