David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “NWT Business Development and Investment Corporation 2010-2011 Annual Report.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, please, Mr. Chairman.

My intention and the department’s intention is to get the information out to the public in due course. Once that work is complete, you can rest assured that it will be available to Members and to the public. I think this project has been followed closely by the public and the information should get out there. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate the Member’s concern over the $850,000 for the MVIS replacement. It is a very specialized piece of computer system that you just don’t buy off the shelf. Members will recall other programs, the FIS replacement, other larger-scale government software fixes, and IT infrastructure is very expensive. We’re trying to accomplish the MVIS replacement over two years. It’s $850,000 a year. What I can do today is make a commitment to the Member to get a thorough breakdown of that $1.7 million, and we’ll get the projected contract cost and that information that the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member would be privy to that information as it’s coming up later on in today’s proceedings.

Again, as we continue to move forward, obviously discussions with the federal government are of great importance to us. We thank them for the commitment, the $150 million commitment to the Tuk-Inuvik Highway Project, but we certainly have to come up with what’s next, find a way forward.

We’ve got the next steps with the Mackenzie Valley Highway and I think that’s a project where there’s a great deal of interest in a project like that in Ottawa with the federal government for building the North, this territory, sovereignty and development. There’s a number of issues there that the federal...

Certainly we will take the Member’s concerns seriously. Right now the regulatory process is not in the hands of the Government of the Northwest Territories; it rests with another body. After we conclude negotiations on devolution, responsibility for managing our lands, waters and resources will rest with the Government of the Northwest Territories, at which time we can take every step to ensure that we know what is happening there. I will certainly get back to the Member as to the current disposition of the episode that he is concerned with in Cameron Hills. Thank you.

Madam Chair, again, I thank the Member for raising the concern on the road to Willow River and the gravel source outside of Aklavik. It is in the 20-year needs assessment but I believe there is always, as we move forward – we talked about this before – there is going to be a number of competing projects for those capital dollars.

Obviously this is an issue that is important to the Member, so getting the support of other Members is helpful, and continue to talk about the project and its importance to the people of Aklavik and the Mackenzie Delta is something I look forward to the Member doing.

I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That work is currently underway. I would suspect early in the new year that will in fact take place. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just to answer the Member’s last concern that was with the Tuk-Inuvik highway and how we might mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions on that project, that is going to be, I believe, a difficult task. I think we are going to have to, and it is going to be intensive over a short period of time where the construction of that highway would take place. There is going to be a lot of equipment used. Personally I want to ensure that the benefits accrue to local contractors and businesses in the Northwest Territories who may not have the latest emission standards or equipment...