Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made the commitment in the Mandate to strengthen connections with public and private sector partners to improve critical transportation infrastructure in our territory. Earlier this year, a workshop was held with key stakeholders to discuss how to restore safe and efficient access in the Hay River Harbour.
YELLOWKNIFE (April 27, 2016) – As of May 1, 2016, changes to the Motor Vehicle Act will be coming into effect to address the issue of distracted driving and speeding in the Northwest Territories.
In the past decade, distracted driving has been a major issue in the NWT and across Canada, and the Department of Transportation is continuing to work with enforcement partners to improve safety across the roadway system to reduce collisions, loss of property, and fatalities.
INUVIK (April 19, 2016) - Scientists from Canada and the United States are gathering in Inuvik this week to observe leading-edge research and development installations on the Inuvik Tuktoyaktuk Highway alignment.
The goal of these installations is to assist in the development of new construction techniques for civil engineering projects constructed on frozen ground in the circumpolar world. The Northwest Territories’ unique environment allows the Department of Transportation to assume a leading role in such climate change research.
Hay River (April 13, 2016) – A workshop to develop a long-term strategy for the dredging of the Hay River Harbour was held this week in Hay River.
Key stakeholders including several federal government agencies and private sector companies met in Hay River on April 12 and 13 to discuss an efficient and effective strategy to meet the challenges posed by continuous sediment accumulation in the Hay River Harbor.
April 8, 2016 Inuvik, Northwest Territories
The governments of Canada and the Northwest Territories are pleased to announce the joining of the north and south construction spreads of the Inuvik Tuktoyaktuk Highway, the first public highway to Canada’s Arctic coast. The contractor has successfully joined the two construction spreads with a first layer of embankment material placed on April 7, 2016. Geotextile fabric and additional earthworks to bring the embankment up to grade will be put in place by the end the month.
YELLOWKNIFE (March 3, 2016) – As a result of a successful partnership between the Government of Northwest Territories (GNWT) and the Government of Canada, a new state of the art, self-propelled snowblower is now on site at the Hay River Merlyn Carter Airport.
The new snowblower employs cutting edge technology to increase productivity and decrease time required to clean airport runways, improve worker safety, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Mr. Speaker, through the Petroleum Products Program, the Department of Public Works and Services provides fuel to 16 NWT communities not served by the private sector. The Department supplies fuel to these communities by truck during the winter road season and by barge in the summer. Prices for consumers typically change once or twice each year, in spring and in fall, after a new supply of fuel is delivered to the community.
Mr. Speaker, beginning in 2014, the federal government launched a review of the Canada Transportation Act. The purpose of this review was to look forward 20 to 30 years to identify priorities and potential actions in transportation that would support Canada’s long-term economic well-being, including that of the Northwest Territories, or NWT, and Northern Canada.
YELLOWKNIFE (March 1, 2016) – The report of the Canada Transportation Act (CTA) Review Committee was released on February 25, 2016, and includes multiple recommendations that are beneficial to the Northwest Territories (NWT). The review looks forward 20 to 30 years to identify priorities and potential actions in transportation that will support Canada’s long term economic well-being, including that of the NWT and Northern Canada.
Mr. Speaker, one of the key challenges facing the Northwest Territories’ transportation system today is climate change. In the past years, warming temperatures have led to permafrost degradation causing roadbed and runway instability, and shortened operating seasons for winter roads. But climate change also means lower water levels that are disrupting marine resupply services for remote communities, and forest fires that are causing travel delays and permafrost and infrastructure damage.
