Evidence of meeting #34 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 40th Parliament, 2nd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was north.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bruce Stanton
We're just about wrapped up. You may have a very short question.
Conservative
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bruce Stanton
Okay. Now we'll go to Mr. Bevington for five minutes. Go ahead, Mr. Bevington.
NDP
Dennis Bevington NDP Western Arctic, NT
I want to touch on the same issue, because I think it's very valuable. Many northern communities are the same. It used to be represented in the natural resources department through the remote communities program. Is that program still running today?
Director General, Central and Northern Canada Branch, Geological Survey of Canada, Department of Natural Resources
I'm not exactly sure which program you're referring to. We have activity about northern communities, but it's in an area that I'm not responsible for.
NDP
Dennis Bevington NDP Western Arctic, NT
Perhaps we should bring that forward to this committee, because it actually deals in a consistent fashion with all the communities right across the north in terms of their energy and their isolated nature. Whether you're in Newfoundland or northern Ontario or any other part of northern Canada, there is a similarity between the communities that was very well expressed in Natural Resources Canada. I think we probably need to bring a witness forward to talk about these issues.
I'll come back to the northern transportation assessment. You're going to project forward a transportation strategy for 20 years. If the price of oil gets back up to $150 a barrel, we're not going to be able to afford to live up there, so we have to have a transportation strategy that actually looks at how we're going to deliver energy, and I just caution you on this. You can design a transportation strategy today that's based on fuel oil for all these northern communities, and 20 years from now it will not allow them to be sustainable. I really would urge that this strategy for northern transportation assessment be more than simply taking the status quo today and applying it to 20 years from now for where we need to go.
Perhaps you could comment on that.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy, Department of Transport
It really is an assessment; it's not a strategy. The reason we thought we should have such an assessment is that, as I mentioned, we know the transportation system that exists right now, but in the context of the northern strategy, we want to look forward.
I take your point. I think it's going to be a challenging task for the consultant we work with. It's looking forward at what the development could be, at what the resupply potentials or challenges are, and seeing the demands in terms of transportation.
NDP
Dennis Bevington NDP Western Arctic, NT
I can give you a couple of examples. There's the potential to ship electricity north from the Manitoba grid into the Keewatin district. There's also the debate over the Bathurst Inlet port road, which could completely change by having transmission lines from hydroelectric facilities into the Slave geological province.
These are a couple of examples of the importance of actually examining where you want the society to be before you make the decisions on transportation infrastructure. That's the kind of challenge that I think, if you're going to do an assessment, you have to stand up to.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bruce Stanton
Thank you, Mr. Bevington.
I think Mr. Bagnell has a short question.
Liberal
Larry Bagnell Liberal Yukon, YT
I just have one short question for the transport and infrastructure people.
A couple of years ago the Prime Minister made a great announcement that he was going to build a port for Iqaluit. I would like to know how that project is coming along.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy, Department of Transport
We're looking at each other.
I think the territories are looking at what they will do in Iqaluit concerning their port. To my knowledge, they were looking at studying what they need at the port.
I don't know whether the territories have expressed a view of what type of port they want in Iqaluit. I don't know whether they raised that with Infrastructure Canada.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy and Priorities Directorate, Infrastructure Canada
It's not an Infrastructure Canada project. I believe it might be DFO. I can follow up on that for you.
Liberal
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bruce Stanton
Thank you, Mr. Bagnell.
Thank you to all of our presenters here. If you would, just hang in for a second. We're going to take a suspension here in a few minutes.
Before we do that, I want to first let members know that in your trip binder for our tours to the north, there will be a section included with respect to some of the projects of Infrastructure Canada in particular.
I would also, for the benefit of our witnesses here today, ask that after the meeting you look at the blues. If there are statements that might compel you to respond on some of the commitments you undertook to get back to us on today, it would be extremely helpful that you review them.
There are a couple of items I want to add to that list.
This is for Mr. Boerner. In your deck you mentioned that 65 communities were visited in 2009. If you could give some examples of those communities, that would be great.
Also, Mr. Sarantakis referred to the Top of the World Highway. Is it in Yukon?
Okay. That was just to be sure.
Going back to Mr. Boerner, you mentioned four projects for engaging northern economic development specifically. I wonder whether you could get back to us concerning those. If you have a question, we can clarify it when we're on our very short break here.
Finally, I want to let members know—you have received information on this in advance—that some of the representatives are still in the gallery with us today from the Aboriginal People's Circle of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. They were on the Hill today, and I think some were in the gallery with us.
What we're going to do is take a five-minute recess. We're going to suspend the meeting for five minutes. After that, we must go in camera. So if you wish to, you can say hello to some of the folks who are here today as well as say goodbye to our presenters.
We really appreciate your input and your responses. The testimony will be very helpful in our report.
We will suspend for five minutes.
[Proceedings continue in camera]
