Wally Schumann

To the 2005 and 2006 discrepancy, I believe 2005 is when the design was done for the bridge. Just to clarify that.

After that was shortly done, there was approximately 3,700 cubic metres of granular that was produced for the bridge near Tulita. That particular product is made for a specific use. It is made for high-strength concrete for when we go ahead and proceed with the building of the Great Bear River Bridge. It is not suitable for road construction or paths or that type of use within the community. I do suggest that the Member get a hold of our superintendent in Fort Simpson and ask him...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories submitted a business case to the federal government under the National Infrastructure Fund and the New Building Canada Plan for $700 million. The federal government reviewed the business case, but it remains temporarily suspended depending on how the long-term plan for infrastructure money is going to be. We look forward to what the federal government has to say on the budget coming forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all, this position still remains in Hay River, and to update the House, actually this job is at Human Resources. It's looking to become filled in the coming weeks, and with consultation on the job description moving forward we want to switch this job to an analyst position where it can look after agriculture and fishing. So this job remains in Hay River and it will look after both strategies.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is exactly what I'm hoping is going to happen with our deliberations with CanNor and Freshwater Marketing Corporation. Things are moving along, and when we make a deal I will announce it in the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all, the project is currently undergoing an environmental assessment by the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board. That was submitted or it was referred to an assessment in, if I remember correctly, end of July of 2016.

As we move forward and it works through that process, the next part of it was that we actually release the request for proposal to get assistance in developing the procurement documents for this project. Moving on from there, the next step will be going out to an RFQ process to see to get qualified bidders who can handle this project, the building of it and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Construction of the Canyon Creek all-season road access, we are expecting it to begin in March of this year, 2017. This is expected to be completed by October of 2018. We are very glad to announce this project. It is going to bring significant employment to the region, and training, as I said in my earlier comments. It is going to bring approximately 50 jobs to the region and help with the training aspect of a number of individuals. We contributed to our mandate working forward. Thank you for that, Mr. Speaker.

The department is working to advance the next priority phase of the project, the Bear River Bridge. In particular, the department is conducting a review of the original design that was done in 2005. What we want to do is make sure it is compliant with current codes and standards in addition to the funding that was received earlier in the new year. We are working on the Canyon Creek project to move that along. This project will bring training and experience gained by the Sahtu residents that will be used towards the next phase of the construction of the Mackenzie Valley Highway.

The one thing that I can say is roundup this year was definitely -- it was cheaper than previous roundups that we have attended. As far as doing a cost-benefit analysis of our attendance versus bringing mining to the Northwest Territories, this is a long process for juniors to become a viable mine in the Northwest Territories. One in 1,000 actually becomes a mine, if you look at the stats in the industry. We will be working towards trying to bring those things forward. It will be when we see some development. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mineral roundup, as I said last week when we were down there, is an important mission for this government in the Northwest Territories. We went down there and engaged with a number of stakeholders, from prospectors, to mining companies, to juniors, to finance companies, and got input on a number of things around the table, many of which my colleagues on my side have helped me discuss with these people in industry. We need to figure out a way to bring new mining people to the Northwest Territories to create new mining opportunities for the residents of the Northwest...

Mr. Speaker, I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Vanthuyne on October 14, 2016, regarding strategic economic investments, specifically the Canadian Federation of Independent Business report and how we are working to improve our score as well as reduce redundancy and improve the frontline services to small businesses.

The 2017 Red Tape Report Card published by the CFIB gives the Northwest Territories a grade "F," stating the next steps for the Government of the Northwest Territories should be to make it a priority to tackle meaningful red tape reduction.

The Department of Industry...