Michael McLeod

I believe I was the one that informed the Member of this clause that’s in our policies. It is public information already. I’m not sure how much more public she would like to make it, but if that’s not what she’s asking, I’d sure like to sit down with her and seek clarity on her quest.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is an issue that’s been raised by a number of Members in this House. We have committed to do some work in the area of what other jurisdictions are doing, what are some of the situations that we are facing here in the NWT. We’ve compiled some information and we have provided it to committee and we’ve written a letter to committee that requests to have some time to discuss this and get their comments and feedback. This will be a very public issue that will have a lot of discussion and we anticipate as we go forward all this information will be made public. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, there is a fairly large amount of investment that is going to be done in the Member’s riding of Nahendeh. We can give him a complete plan of work that we anticipate will happen this year along with the negotiations that have to happen as we move forward with our PDR discussions. This presentation was made to Deh Cho First Nations. They have recommended that we work with the community. That is also another area that we have to focus on. We will compile the work. We have it all listed out in different kilometres and different culverts that need to be replaced and I will provide that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The highway that the Member has referred to, Highway No. 7, has been posing a lot of challenges, as the Member has raised in this House. There have been sections of the road that have failed as a result of spring runoff and rain. It is a road that is at a point in its lifecycle that it needs to be reconstructed. We certainly heard lots from the Member and communities from the Member’s riding.

We have committed to do roughly $4 million worth of work. It is going to require a lot more. It is going to be a requirement of investment ongoing each year, so we have committed $4...

Mr. Speaker, some of these challenges have been very negative and some of them have been challenges that were translated as being negative, so I am just reaffirming that. We are at work right now to conclude a lot of different issues that have been out there. There is a lot of review that is taking place. We have stepped in as the project developer. We have stepped in as the delivery agent of this project. We are working to conclude a number of things that are still on the drawing board. That includes some of the outstanding claims and other issues such as dealing with the concession agreement...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my position on the Department of Transportation’s project, and that includes the Deh Cho Bridge, is one of transparency. We’ve taken all avenues to provide information to the Members of this House. We continue to look for ways to communicate with the general public. We plan to incorporate a newsletter into our communications on the bridge, we’re also working towards developing a website that will have all information around this project, and we want to have an on-site camera where people can patch into the site and be able to view construction as it...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the mover and seconder for putting this motion on the floor. I think it’s an important issue that has plagued a lot of our residents of our different communities. I come from Fort Providence where we had a residential school for many years and there are still a lot of issues surrounding the facility and many people have returned there seeking closure to issues. I have witnessed firsthand the benefits of programs such as these that are spoken about in the motion, and I’ve seen how it affects people and how people are in real need of a methodology to deal...

Mr. Speaker, if the Members or our staff were not aware of this policy, we certainly would not be able to enforce it. Our supervisors and each department are responsible for providing that information and they’re also responsible for providing discipline in this area. That is public information that the Member’s referring to. It’s on the website, I believe. It’s a policy that is government-wide and it’s public. Thank you.

I was at the NWT Association of Communities meeting. I didn’t vote on this issue. Mr. Speaker, I think we have compiled quite a bit of information. It’s fairly comprehensive. We want to have the ability to have that discussion with the EDI committee and we’re hoping we’ll have some time. In fact, maybe even during this session we’d be able to do that or in the next little while. If we’re going to do anything major, we’d need to have it at least into the House for discussion by next sitting. That’s something that we have been looking at. However, before I make that decision, before I make that...

Mr. Speaker, obviously we have a plan, since the Member is holding it in his hand. Mr. Speaker, I’m not familiar and I can’t say with any certainty what the actual plan for investment in this pit will be. I’d have to look at the situation, talk to my officials, and see where and when reclamation will be looked into and provided for for this pit. If that falls under our responsibility, then that will be part of our plan. Thank you.