Kevin A. Menicoche

I’m pleased that certainly the department is making great strides and hopefully we can accomplish a lot of this work in 2010. In terms of Highway No. 7, Fort Liard residents have seen the B.C. side. They actually chipsealed their road up to the B.C. border, and they’re asking me continuously when are we going to re-chipseal the road from Fort Liard back to the B.C. border once again. They’re also looking to see the completion of the reconstruction that’s occurring there. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Transportation and a follow-up on my Member’s statement. I know that this year we were supposed to have I think it was 70 kilometres of chipseal done from the Providence junction towards Fort Simpson. I know that it was issued later in the year. I just want to ask the Minister again, what are the current plans the department has to complete this work and how soon? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The Minister, as the guardian of our education here in the Northwest Territories, I believe that he should take the lead role in trying to talk with our DEAs, DECs, and find some flexibility around these guidelines, because we should not be failing our students, Mr. Speaker. So I would like the Minister to commit to talk with the DEAs and DECs to see if there is a way that we can prevent this in the future, because I certainly would not like to see this happen again. Thank you.

Absolutely, there are going to have to be some changes made. I think when I brought it up a couple weeks ago I was trying to make the case that we are responsible for aboriginal education here in the Northwest Territories, the Government of the Northwest Territories is, and it’s got to be the same, like a hunting right. Aboriginals can hunt anywhere and I believe that same right should extend to education, if anything else, and that’s the kind of flexibility that I was asking the Minister at that time, because even though the parents had left, the young lady was still here for about 11 months...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Is the Minister of Transportation prepared to see that the chipseal will return to the residents of Fort Liard as they travel to B.C.? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I believe I have provided my general comments. We’re still on general comments, Mr. Chair, so I’ll just free up the mic for any other general comments from Committee of the Whole members. Thank you very much.

I know that the cost factors are also an integral part of any capital planning process, but I would just like to say again that this is necessary public infrastructure and must be there. The safety of residents, safety for the travelling public, not only government travel, there’s a lot of other reasons people land in these communities in the evenings, et cetera. So I would like to once again, on behalf of my communities, ask the Minister to have a serious look at and support this need to install this runway lighting in each of these communities and I’d like to have the department have a good...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation follow-up questions on my Member’s statement. I’ve been working with the department and talking with them for more than a year -- for about six years -- and trying to answer the question about getting runway lighting for Jean Marie and new runway lighting for Nahanni Butte. I’d like to ask the Minister what existing plans does the department have to address the need for runway lighting in these communities. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that this committee acknowledges the tremendous amount of time, effort and care that has gone into the Government Operations committee’s Final Report on the Review of the Official Languages Act, 2008-2009; and further, that this committee wishes to express its support in principle for the findings and recommendations identified in the final report. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Once again, flare pots are like a creation from the 1940s, Mr. Speaker, and that’s something that my communities are not willing to accept any longer and I’d seriously like to ask the Minister to begin the process. We’ve got a capital planning process coming up here in July and August. We’d like to work towards getting that on the capital plan. Will the Minister commit to having a serious look at the needs of these communities and work towards getting them in the capital planning process? Thank you.