Delivered on March 2, 2017

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in its mandate to increase online accessibility to driver and motor vehicle services as well as commercial permitting services. I’d like to tell Members today about work the Department of Transportation has done to fulfill that commitment.

Delivered on March 1, 2017

Mr. Speaker, the NWT economy needs a boost right now and the Yellowknife Airport is an important instrument of economic diversity. Finding new, proven ways to support and fund improvements and growth at the Airport will help strengthen and diversify the NWT economy and create benefits for all travellers and business that use the Airport.

Mr. Speaker, last December, the Department of Public Works and Services took measures to secure the core assets of the Northern Transportation Company Limited, or NTCL a company that went into receivership after serving the Northwest Territories through more than 80 years of operation.

NTCL was the largest marine transportation services provider in the Northwest Territories, delivering essential petroleum products and cargo, including consumer goods and construction materials, to communities along the Mackenzie River and across the Western Arctic.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in its mandate to capture opportunities for investment in transportation infrastructure by working to secure funding to improve access into the Slave Geological Province. Today I would like to provide an update on the Department’s progress on this project. 

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Transportation is committed to working with our public sector partners to maintain a safe and efficient multi-modal transportation system.  

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Transportation has made a commitment in its mandate to restore safe operating conditions in the Port of Hay River by strengthening connections with public and private sectors partners.  

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories Energy Strategy will support the transition to a lower carbon economy in the NWT in the transportation, heating, electricity and industrial sectors by supporting efficiency as well as renewable and alternative energy solutions.

Mr. Speaker, investments in our transportation system are critical for creating economic and social opportunities for northerners. The Department of Transportation’s commitment to securing federal funding to advance the Mackenzie Valley Highway under the mandate of the 18^th Legislative Assembly is intended to capture these kinds of opportunities.

Mr. Speaker, early in the New Year, an important milestone was achieved with the announcement of conditional federal funding to construct the Tłı̨chǫ All-season Road. This represents a critical step towards fulfilling the mandate of the 18^th Legislative Assembly to capture opportunities for investment in transportation infrastructure in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that the Department of Transportation’s contractor has started its fourth and final winter of construction on the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway. As we come nearer to completing construction, I want to talk about the significance of this project to the communities of Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk and residents of the Beaufort Delta.