Mr. Gargan.

Last year, there was approval to upgrade the Jean Marie access road. Is that still in the plans or is that scrapped?

Mr. Minister.

Yes, that is still in the plans.

Mr. Gargan.

For what year?

Mr. Minister.

The upgrade is ongoing so there is a little bit done each year.

Mr. Gargan.

Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman, Scott Steel in Edmonton received the contract to build a new ferry. This year the road bans came on much earlier than they normally do, and they were unable to ship the ferry, which has been built in pieces in Edmonton, north to Hay River for welding. It will arrive this year and be welded together later on this year, and so the Camsell Bend ferry will be in operation next season.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to make a general comment on transportation, and it has to dowith the community of Jean Marie River. It is not in this supplementary, but I just wanted to make a point. The community has capital estimates to build a fair weather roadfrom the community to the highway, and they ran into a problem last winter where your project managers, following blueprints, are instructing the community to build a road through a muskeg area and the community is using commonsense and suggesting this road be built on higher ground where the right of way was already cleared previously. But the engineer says this is the way it is on the map so this is the way it is going to go. Could the Minister do something about this situation and work with the community more closely using the common sense approach rather than following a map drawn up by some engineers from Yellowknife? Could the Minister indicate if he is aware of the situation or instruct this department to work more closely with the community to build this fair weather road from Jean Marie to the highway?

Mr. Minister.

Yes, Mr. Chairman,

Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In Arviat, the gravel pit which they are using there at this time, they expect, will run out of the type of grade that is required by government for use in the communities. They expect this to run out at the end of this construction season. Is the Minister aware of this and, if so, will anything be done?

Mr. Minister.

I think that comes under MACA. We will pass on that information to that Minister.

Transportation planning, not previously authorized, $278,000. Agreed? Mr. Gargan.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to bring up a point that last year we had something like $36 million used for reconstruction purposes, but also this year it is one of the worst seasons for floods. The access road on the ferry landing was under about four feet of water, and it went through a lot of erosion before the water finally went down. Also, between Providence and Yellowknife there are a lot of sections of road that have deteriorated. It is over 30 years that the road has been there. There is a situation now where there are all kinds of stretches where the road has eroded to the ground level. So we have a situation in which certainly $36 million helps, but when you commit all that money for certain sections to be reconstructed, then you run into a situation where there are areas where priority would have to be given due to the fact that the roads have been sitting long enough and repairs are required.

Between the Department of Transportation and the federal government, are there any plans to see if we could get more than what we are getting now for the highways? I think the need now is that a lot of the conditions out there require immediate attention.

Mr. Minister.

Those are the kinds of things that Madam Premier has been saying at the premiers' conferences, that good transportation infrastructure, not only roads but ferries, and bridges, and wharves in the Eastern Arctic for shipping are what is required to develop the North. One of the things, and perhaps the Minister of Transportation can expand a little further on it, is that there has been a proposal by the provinces -- and I think the federal government is willing to look very seriously at it -- of linking all the capitals in the NWT, by a decent road, which would mean from Enterprise right through to Yellowknife, and that is being considered by all the Ministers of Transportation throughout the provinces and the federal government. Perhaps Mr. Allooloo might have more information on that.