Tom Beaulieu

Thank you. All NWT winter roads are public roads and the Department of Transportation tries to keep the roads open as long as possible. Budgets are a consideration, but if the road can be extended to remain open for an extra week or something at the end of March, then the department will do everything they can to extend that road. But, of course, money is a consideration. This is not a bottomless pit. We have to, at some point, follow the contract. There are provisions in the contract that allow the road to be open as long as possible. Thank you.

Thank you. The maintenance that needs to be done on the winter road is being done. There will sometimes be just putting heavy equipment on the winter roads, such as heavy maintenance equipment, will do more harm than good in shortening the length that the road may be open. So, essentially what is happening is in any areas where they are dark and attractive to the sun, we try to cover it with snow. But the maintenance that needs to be done to extend the road as long as possible will be done. Thank you.

The department would be pleased to, like I said, look at any proposal that may come from MADD on ways that we can work together along with Students Against Drunk Driving to do check stops or other things we have been doing under the Drive Alive! program at the Department of Transportation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation, Member Bromley asked how long the contract was in place for. I had indicated earlier, but just a quick repeat, it is a 35-year deal at $200,000 per year with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation and that was to provide some sort of tourism development, economic development or any type of thing that may have been lost with the fact that when the ferry was there, the traffic was stopping in Providence, coming and going. Now that the people know that they don’t have to, unless they need to gas up, many of them go straight through on their way...

The department would certainly like to continue to support these organizations. There has been one request for funding from the Students Against Drunk Driving from St. Pat’s High School. The department, through the Drive Alive! program, continues to work with organizations like MADD and SADD and look forward to any proposal that may come from those organizations because we consider that to be essential in assisting us to reduce impaired driving across the territory. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The airport road or road from Inuvik Airport into Inuvik is something that we’ve looked at. It’s something that we are looking at in Corridors for Canada III as part of the work that’s needed on the Dempster. At the time we were putting in Corridors for Canada, we had considered that portion of the road as part of the Dempster and the repairs that are needed. That is something we are looking at within that whole area of Corridors for Canada III. The airport sinkhole is something that we are aware of and definitely something that we will be repairing.

The Member talked a...

Mr. Speaker, we would have no problem tabling the survey in the House. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Very quickly, I’ll start off with the ferry, asked by MLA Blake, the Louis Cardinal ferry. The department is conducting a review of what has occurred at the ferry, trying to close the gap completely between the spring season and the winter season so that we’re able to move traffic through there every day. We were not successful in that, but we managed to get the heavy vehicles moving across the Mackenzie at Tsiigehtchic in 30 days as opposed to what was normally about an 80-day shutdown.

This year we have plans to discuss with the community… Some of the people had asked...

Every two years. Thank you. My understanding is they occur every two years. The evaluation is done by the Department of Human Resources, working with the various departments. Thank you.

Yes, Madam Chair, I would.