Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My constituency is fortunate to have one of the highways available to them. Our highway has been in place for well over 20 years, and even though I recognize it is a fairly good gravelled highway, I believe it has been overlooked by the Department of Transportation in their planning. We have
recognized that many highways, particularly from the border into Hay River, into Pine Point, have all had the opportunity of paving. The highway to Providence and along into Yellowknife is getting the opportunity of being totally reconstructed and paved, in order to formulate a good baseline. The Highway No. 5 that I am speaking of, in respect to the Pine Point junction, Buffalo River junction where there is a highway camp there, into Fort Smith, has had some pavement, very little pavement. However there is gravel from Sandy Lake into Fort Smith.
In question period in this House I have asked the Minister about Highway No. 5. It been a gravel highway with some hard-top pavement from Bell Rock to Fort Smith, which is only about eight miles out of the community. I asked if there was any intention to further pave the highway because they have paved in all other parts of the Territories.
I think the concern I have here -- and I recognize the fiscal dilemma and the environment we are in -- however, at the same time there are many highways being paved with no actual plan by the department. I believe the department is basically saying they are being paved because of the demand. Well, you can argue that point because generally a paved highway will warrant more usage, would like more usage, but it appears that this is being overlooked. There arena plans in the department's budget, except for $900,000 which states Highway No. 5, kilometre zero to 60 for actual overlay on the cold mix or hard-top that they have now. But that is not even toward the Fort Smith highway, it is from Hay River to the Pine Point junction. And there are no future plans for addressing this particular highway from the Buffalo River junction to Fort Smith.
I am concerned that not only are there no plans to address this particular highway with hard-top paving, but I am also concerned whether or not the maintenance of that particular highway and possibly even the highway from Pine Point into Resolution will even be maintained in future years.
So I would like to know, in respect to the department's plans, whether they have reconsidered at all whether or not they can address the concern on Highway No. 5, from the Pine Point junction into Fort Smith.