I think it is important to point out that these claimant groups are also doing their own negotiating. I know, for example, that the Kitikmeot Inuit Association is involved with the Inuit IIBA in an Inuit economic agreement. I know that Mr. Blondin who sits on our committee is also having his own independent discussions with respect to where the developments should take place.

The responsibility I have as Minister of Transportation is to determine where we fit if we're asked what it's going to cost, and what conditions we would set if we were going to commit public funds to public infrastructure. I want to say again for the public record, my position is clear. Unless there are significant benefits accrued to northern people, in the broadest context, I've said publicly and I'll say it again, that public infrastructure money shouldn't be used.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We're talking about our revised transportation strategy, and Gordon Wray did this study for the department. In the departmental overview, the Government of the Northwest Territories transportation strategy identifies the need to complete the Mackenzie Highway from Wrigley along the Mackenzie River to the Dempster Highway. Later on it talks about the mining properties and mentions Coronation Gulf potential for a new road. Was Mr. Wray's contract, or whatever type of work he had, was it his responsibility to priorize one or the other? These new roads come from federal funds and you're developing a strategy to approach the federal government on this. If you are successful the federal government has only a certain amount of money. Which road would you choose first?

It's a difficult question. I don't think my job is to choose. What I asked Mr. Wray to do -- and I think you'll see this when we table the document -- was to get a clear reflection from the political leadership. It wasn't a big, grandiose study, it was to bring up to date what you, as MLAs, saw as priorities. That's specifically what I asked him to do. I think, hopefully, when you see it, it will reflect what you've told him, and certainly reflect what I feel are the priorities.

To me, the Mackenzie Highway is a public initiative that was created by the former federal government a way back with the territorial government. I want to assure you it's still a priority. We intend to pursue that fairly aggressively.

The Izok Lake project is somewhat different because it's tied into a major mineral development and it's more industry driven, rather than public government driven. It's not a question of choosing, it's a question of approaching both differently. The way I see the Izok Lake project is, should the industry request our assistance and should there be some safe guards for economic involvement of northerners, then we would be working more as a leverage for this project, rather than committing all our funds. The corporate entity is driving the Izok Lake project.

Originally, the public entity -- in a sense -- drove the Mackenzie Highway and will continue to drive it. It's certainly my intent to move as quickly as I can in the new year to see if there is some empathy out there at the federal level -- in conjunction with our two MPs, Ethel Blondin and Jack Anawak -- to see if we can negotiate a cost-sharing agreement to bring some of this infrastructure into place over a period of time. We did have some discussions -- just to assure Mr. Antoine -- with some people earlier in the year about possibly looking at revisiting the old hire north approach which took place many years ago. We're looking at that right now.

I said on the very front end, there's a limitation to the dollars that I'm given. I'm trying, to the best of my ability, to allocate them in a fair and equitable way. You can never satisfy everybody, but we've endeavoured to do that. I believe that to do the Mackenzie Highway requires extraordinary funding through a joint initiative with the feds and I intend to pursue it as aggressively as I can. Thank you.

Agreed.

---Agreed

Agreed.

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Agreed.

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Agreed.

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Agreed.

---Agreed

Highway Operations

Agreed.

---Agreed

Agreed.

---Agreed

Agreed.

---Agreed

Agreed.

---Agreed