Adam Johnson
Northern News Services
Published Monday, December 3, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - As the work of the 16th legislative assembly began in Yellowknife Nov. 27, Premier Floyd Roland made his goals known in his sessional statement - focusing on prosperity and sustainability.

While he emphasized the importance of working together and maintaining the North's natural wonders, the premier (who also serves as finance minister) emphasized economic concerns.

"The reality is we are spending over a billion dollars a year and we need to assure people across the territory that we are spending those dollars on the right priorities and achieving the best possible results," he told the assembly.

"It's an exciting time to be a member of this assembly. It is an exciting time to raise a family, create a business, seize an opportunity and build a better future for our territory."

All members of the assembly were given the chance to respond to Roland's address when it was considered by Committee of the Whole, where it was eventually accepted.

Highways, highways, highways

In Thursday's session, several MLAs tackled the issue of Northern highways, on a route that travelled from one end of the NWT to the other.

Starting in the Beaufort Delta, both Mackenzie Delta MLA David Krutko and Inuvik Twin Lakes MLA Robert McLeod took on the Dempster Highway and the changing conditions on the route from Inuvik to Whitehorse.

"We have a fundamental challenge in global warming," said Krutko, referring to melting permafrost and increasing rain in the region.

He called on the Department of Transportation to chipseal the entire portion of the NWT route, and to institute a plan to seal and perhaps pave roads throughout the North.

Moving south, Nahendeh MLA Kevin Menicoche questioned the conditions of roads and highways through the Deh Cho, while Tu Nedhe MLA Tom Beaulieu commented on the "deplorable conditions" of Highway 6 to Fort Resolution.

"It is called Highway 6, that means it should be a highway, not a trail," he said.

"We need to do something about that highway before it disappears into the muskeg or worse."

Norman Yakeleya, Sahtu MLA and Minster of Transportation said his department had yet to set priorities for this term, and that future plans were a matter of available funds.

"We talk about bad roads, but we have some communities with no roads," he said, such as in the Sahtu.

Planning for the next four years

Before the 16th legislative assembly got underway MLAs were already working away on a strategic plan, according to an official release.

"In past assemblies, the strategic plan was not completed until after the first budget was in place," said Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro, who chairs a caucus of all 19 members dedicated to this end. "We have only four short years to get our work done and we can't afford to lose one of those years to planning."

A strategic plan would outline what the legislative assembly wants to achieve in its four-year life span; its goals, priorities and overall vision.

According to an official release, these general priorities will be released to the public by mid-December. This document will lead to the creation of an official strategic plan for the government as a whole, and drive development of its first budget and a four-year business plan.