Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Pudlat on February 21, 1992, with respect to upgrading of the Lake Harbour airstrip. On Friday, February 21, the Member from Baffin South asked me if the improvements to the Lake Harbour airport he asked about in December were included in the department's capital plan for next year. In my answer to the Member's question in December, I recognized that the Lake Harbour airport was built on uneven ground. At the same time, I pointed out that Transport Canada has certified and licensed the airport for visual flight rules, day and night operations. The slope in the runway is not a danger to safe air carrier service.
In the "Northwest Territories' Transportation Strategy" there is a table on page 54 which outlines a proposed capital spending program for the community airports in the Northwest Territories. The strategy proposes, first of all, to bring all community airports up to a condition where they can meet Transport Canada's licensing requirements for airport certification. Next, the strategy proposes that the Department of Transportation should improve the airports that are certified but below standard for the type of aircraft and the amount of traffic the airport serves. Finally, the strategy identifies the communities that require new airports because the existing airport interferes with the community's safe and orderly growth.
The Lake Harbour airport is included in this last group of airports. The community has a licensed airport that meets its air traffic demand. I agree with the Member that the airport is in a poor location and takes up land that the community could put to much better use. However, the department's efforts must be concentrated on the communities with the most urgent airport needs.
The answer to the Member's question is that improvements to the Lake Harbour airport are not in the Department of Transportation's capital plan for the next year. Thank you.