Tom Beaulieu

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We are maintaining Highway No. 7. We’re hoping that all of the areas that were identified as very bad spots are going to be attended to sooner rather than later, although our concentration is going to be in around fixing that highway and finishing the chipseal to Liard from BC, from Liard over to Nahanni, and there will be lots of BCP money going in there.

Other areas where there are soft spots – and it was a major concern when we were in Fort Liard, where it’s very bad and we’re aware of it – the guys and the department from Simpson seem very aware of it so we will be...

As I indicated, as soon as it’s identified that this is a problem lease, having issues with collecting lease payments, then any department, Transportation in this case, would then have the Department of Finance start collection procedures. As immediately as it’s identified as a problem we would then go for collections.

Usually it’s not an issue; people pay their leases. If a company was to fall into arrears, then as soon as the department identifies that as an arrears problem, then we would contact the company immediately and start taking action to recover our lease payments. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Business between the government and the proprietors out at Airport Road is a relationship that probably shouldn’t be brought to the floor of the Legislative Assembly. I will check on that information and can advise the Member as to what the results of that are. Thank you.

If the proposal that the Member speaks of, the Canyon Creek proposal, that is to bring the very first access to gravel for the beginning of the Mackenzie Valley Highway coming from the north south, so if that does get funded – it is a substantive proposal – that would certainly be work enough in the Sahtu for a position to be in the Sahtu. However, at this time there is a little bit of planning money that’s been approved to start looking at that, and that’s a positive sign, but at this time we don’t have approval for the whole proposal. It would be kind of hypothetical for me to commit to...

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. The department has reviewed the possibility of placing a regional office in the Sahtu. However, at this time, at the point of the last review it was determined that considering that there were not a lot of positions at airports that it was most feasible economically to keep that under the regional office in Inuvik and that there was no all-season road/highway activity in Norman Wells. The winter road season was only, well, as long as winter is, a couple of months, three months in some seasons, so we thought that it would be better to continue out of Simpson at this time...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Today with me to my immediate right is Russell Neudorf, deputy minister, Department of Transportation; to my far right, Jim Martin, director of corporate services; to my left, Daniel Auger, assistant deputy minister, Department of Transportation. Daniel will be retiring in May so this will be his last appearance for the main estimates.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to present the 2015-2016 Main Estimates for the Department of Transportation. These estimates propose an operating budget of $119.5 million for 2015-2016, a decrease of $6.7 million, or 5.3 percent, from the 2014-2015 Main Estimates. Although, this includes budget reductions of almost $1.2 million, the reductions proposed have been selected to minimize the impact on the transportation system while maintaining safety and service levels that communities and industry rely on.

The department operates the NWT public transportation system to provide for the safe...

If it was viewed by the government that lease payments were not being made, then it becomes a problem lease. Then any of the departments would then go to the Finance department and have the Finance department’s collection division deal with it. So as soon as it’s identified as a problem lease, we would then move the file to Finance for collections.

I cannot confirm here whether or not the company that the Member refers to has lease arrears with the Department of Transportation. Thank you.