Michael McLeod

With me on my right I have Mr. Russell Neudorf, the deputy minister of Transportation. On my left I have Mr. Daniel Auger, the assistant deputy minister of Transportation.

Mr. Chairman, I think for mobile equipment to go into Paulatuk, we would need more than just an MLA’s invitation. We probably would require the community to work with us to at least ensure that we have more than one or two people to deal with. As to having permanent units in the community, that is something that we had tried on a number of occasions to put out to contract. We need to have staff, of course, that are trained. If there is a recommendation or consideration, we would certainly be open to discussing how we can provide the service in the communities. We are finding in a lot of the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will certainly accept a pat on the back. I have to agree, there has been a real decline in the number of concerns that have come forward. The waiting room is a little more accommodating and things seem to be going a lot smoother and people are moving through the system a lot faster. Thank you.

Agreed, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, the dredging issue really doesn’t fall under our mandate as the department. However, having said that, we have concerns in this area as it has impacts to many areas of different sectors of the North. We have the marine traffic and the fishermen that are voicing concern. There’s also the issue with the municipality on some concerns that the island that’s being created in the middle of the river is causing or is certainly not helping with the flooding issues that are happening on the Hay River and to the municipality of Hay River and also to the Hay River Reserve.

We have engaged...

I apologize for missing the question. I wasn’t clear on that area of questioning. Mr. Chairman, we have undertaken to access some dollars from the federal government through the P3 Canada Program to do an assessment and a study of a portion of the winter road for consideration for realignment. That process is already underway and we are in the position where we’ve put out an RFP to do a study on this section of road.

Mr. Chairman, the concept of having the Deh Cho loop is a good one and certainly something that we support. The road is a part of our Territory that is very scenic. There is a lot of wildlife in the area and it’s still virtually very pristine. However, during the spring months, during the spring thaw we have many challenges as the road becomes very wet. There are issues with drainage and we have a very poor sub-grade. It was a road that was built many years ago and it’s at a point in its life where it needs to be reconstructed and we have undertaken to start that process. We’re on our third...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is an issue that has been discussed a number of times over the years. We have also continued to engage on those discussions with different agencies, including our tourism folks in NWT. We have identified this as a potential project in our Airport Development Plan that we have for the long-term strategy. Right now we still haven’t put together a business case that would warrant an extension. Of course, we are interested. We just don’t have it ready to be brought forward at this point. It would still require a lot of discussion and being able to demonstrate it is...

Mr. Chairman, with me today on my right I have Mr. Russell Neudorf, deputy minister of Transportation. On my left I have Mr. Daniel Auger, the assistant deputy minister of Transportation.

Mr. Chairman and Committee of the Whole, I would like to present for your review the Department of Transportation’s main estimates for 2011-12.

The main estimates before you detail the funding requirements to carry out the plans outlined within the department’s 2011-12 business plan. This plan will ensure the protection and enhancement of the Territory’s transportation infrastructure and supports our primary mission of proving for the safe, secure, accessible and reliable movement of people and goods, while looking towards the future at the needs of individuals and businesses.

For 2011-12, we...