Katrina Nokleby

Thank you, Madam Chair. It definitely depends on the different types of risk, so each section of the highway is evaluated for those types of risk. I think I'm going to ask Dr. Dragon to just provide whether or not the Highway No. 1 in that specific area is coming up on our list. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would hope that, when the planning study was done in the former Minister's department, they did, in fact, look at water levels in the Mackenzie, as we have had a couple of years now of truncated shipping or barging seasons because of the low levels. I would assume that has been done as part of the studies when the purchases were made. I think that they are comparable, according to Dr. Dragon, so I don't believe that there should be an issue with the lower water levels. I can commit to coming back to you with a written answer on that. Thank you, Madam Chair.

I would not want to overstep my authority. I only have authority to administer within the parks. If there are issues with things happening on lands, those go under other departments. I believe the Department of Lands would also be involved, or you can call the RCMP, if you're finding that people are not treating things properly.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I believe there were agreements in place that had end dates, and that's why these have ended. I wouldn't be able to tell you what the prior Minister reasoning was of that, but I do commit to coming back to the Member and finding that information and providing it. Thank you.

Yes, the plan is to do the work on the runway this summer. I have not been made aware of any issues regarding COVID-19 impacts to delay this project, so my department will be planning to do so. We have sent a GNWT charter with a mechanic there at this point and parts to fix the issue that we have been having. We are sending the excavator there to fix the issue at this point, to get it so that it's working for now, and then we will take care of the permanent solutions this summer.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are currently working on the drainage issue on the runway in Sachs Harbour. The snow is being removed to clear the packed snow from the edges of the runway. We did experience some maintenance issues and have sent a mechanic and parts to resolve the situation. I am not sure at this time if this work is part of the original plan for the airport or the runway. However, I would say, if this is causing the problem that it's causing right now, it's a good chance that this has been an ongoing issue for years; it would not have just started at this point. I would hope that...

The department is finalizing a processing footprint for the proposed new plant to bring it within budget. Proposed processing volumes have been reduced, and plant size reduced to approximately 10,000 square feet. As the Member will remember, the proposals received were well over the budget of money allocated. The region is working with Infrastructure on this project, and it is hoped that Infrastructure will be finalizing a tender delivery process this summer with an award this fall. I do commit to having a more fulsome discussion and briefing with the Member and anyone else that he would like...

Thank you to the Member for the question. The department of fisheries and oceans is reviewing the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation and how harvesters will have more of an equity stake. The role of FFMC is critical to the Northwest Territories and how this transition to a federated cooperative will impact fishers across Great Slave Lake. It is quite possible that the FFMC becomes a cooperative entity and that the current board would dissolve. The new federated cooperative entity would be represented by fishers; however, in the meantime, until that happens, I do commit to the Member at...

This is a long-term project with many steps ahead of us. Our current focus is to establish the partnership relationships and agreements, finalize the preferred route for the project, and then prepare the regulatory applications. We have the federal funding in support of all of that work. Regulatory applications could be ready as early as next year, pending a complete field season this summer, so there potentially could be some impacts there if we can't get the engagement part done before the summer work starts. Following completion of an environmental assessment and regulatory permitting...

All work on this important project does continue. The COVID-19 situation may impact the nature of engagement around the project, and that is something that we are going to have to figure out as a government as a whole: how do we do engagement at a time when we cannot necessarily meet in person and, if not, we would be in violation of the CPHO? We are just currently working on establishing the appropriate safety protocols and measures so that we can continue with the Indigenous engagement and the stakeholder engagement that we have promised to do. I just wanted to reiterate that I will be...