Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, following up on my Member's statement regarding the Inuvik airport runway extension project, again the great work that's been done so far, I'd like to ask the Minister of Infrastructure if he can give an explanation of the -- or a breakdown I guess, I shouldn't say explanation -- of the commitment going forward and timelines to get this project finished, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, so the Department of Infrastructure has been working closely with their partners to complete this project at the Inuvik airport. This is a strategic airport, as the Member stated, for the Northwest Territories for numerous reasons, and also the interest of DND. So, yeah, we continue to work on the runway extension and work with our partners to the interests of the area, and we'll continue to work with them to complete this project as it is an important project for the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand originally in the original plan that the paving of the runway, which has now been complete -- the runway itself is constructed. I know there's some ditching required to be done still. Paving was originally scheduled for 2026. I understand that that paving now has been delayed to 2027, possibly later. Can the Minister speak to why there's delay in the paving project? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, so there is some delay to the previous commitment of paving. However, as the Member's probably aware, the ground in the area is built on permafrost and so is that runway. So what the department is actually waiting for is an opportunity for that ground to settle as much as it can before they start doing a lot of the paving. The problem is, is right now it's moved actually quite a bit in certain areas. In the last -- from last fall until now, there's been some area of movement of up to a foot. So in order to bring that up to grade, they would have to fill that in and, you know, with the pavement and everything like that, there is a considerable amount of weight with pavement that's going to be placed on this. So if we don't allow this to settle and pack down first before we put the asphalt down, it could cause a lot more issues. So the biggest issue is waiting for the ground to settle before we start doing the final phase of putting the asphalt on the ground there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Final supplementary. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister. Certainly, yes, we are aware of everchanging times with settling, and likely that runway will be settling for many years to come as many of the roads and infrastructure are in my region.
Given that, Mr. Speaker, and these delays, can the Minister speak to the communication between both the contractor, the Indigenous governments, and all the proponents, including the town of Inuvik for information purposes on these delays and having that communication open with them as well so they're aware what's happening as the project moves forward. Thank you.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. We continually work with partners, including DND in communicating the status of the project. I'm quite certain they're aware of the issues with the ground and the problems that we're having with that, just to settle it. So, yeah, the department works with the Department of National Defence and communicates with them the status of this project and, you know, the path forward. With regards to the town of Inuvik, I'll have to find out from the department of what communication has been sent to the town of Inuvik in regards to that. I'm not 100 percent sure on that form of communication. But, yeah, we have a good working relationship with the contractors. The contractors have done some great work there, and we continue working with them to improve the Inuvik airport for the area. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Oral questions. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
