Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take the question as notice. It is a question that requires detail and I'll be prepared to answer the Member appropriately.

The question has been taken as notice. Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Transportation. There has been considerable discussion regarding a road north of Yellowknife into the Arctic coast area. We all know that a road of this magnitude would be very expensive to build and maintain. However, from the other side, we always hear of the great benefits that such a road would bring. So, I would like to get some clarification as to what the real purpose of this road would be? Some Members have been told by people in the mining community that they think the road would be nice, but they don't intend to use it. Other groups say they want the road, but just access to the Arctic coast so they can put all the freight and minerals on ships and ship them out.

My question to the Minister is, what is the real purpose of the road to the arctic coast that people have been talking about?

Minister Todd.

Well, there is considerable discussion about the need for public infrastructure to support mineral exploration not just to the Arctic Coast, but also to the Lac de Gras diamonds. Right now, given the current fiscal condition of the federal government, in the discussions I've had with them, there certainly isn't half a billion dollars out there of public money to build this road. So, what we are doing at the present time in discussions with the federal government and industry, is trying to determine an appropriate approach to building this public infrastructure. That might be through some, what I like to call, corporate leverage.

In other words, maybe there is some seed money governments can provide and, in fact, this road could be self-sufficient. In other words, there could be a toll type of approach to it, where the mining industry, whether it is diamonds or lead and zinc, would pay a fee, based on tonnage and financial return. The road, itself, is an instrument of development. It is a means in which to encourage other developments in the area. I am of the belief that we have to be able to demonstrate, if these kinds of dollars are going to be spent, that it has a return on its investment.

We are currently working with the Conference Board of Canada in punching the numbers, if you want, trying to determine what the impact is of infrastructure of this kind, and how it could be self-financed with minimum government input. This is a new approach that we've taken in the last 90 days. As well, we have to determine what the economic impact is going to be on Canada, change in the GDP, the jobs that are going to be accrued in Alberta and BC, the impact on GNWT as it relates to royalties, our less dependence on transfer payments, et cetera.

I could go on for an hour about the benefits and difficulties with respect to this enormous infrastructure. But, at this time, in simple language, we are taking a corporate leverage approach to the road. We are trying to see if it is self-financing. And, in discussions with industry, see if they are prepared to support that approach. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Taking this corporate leverage approach, what has been the extent of consultation that you, or your officials, have had with the people in the mining industry?

Mr. Todd.

We have a small steering committee that I'm working with, made up of representation from the NWT Chamber of Mines, the NWT Chamber of Commerce, the Dogrib people who are directly affected by the Lac de Gras developments, the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, the federal government and ourselves. I think that is it. It is a small working group that is trying to develop an approach. We've tried to involve all the stakeholders directly involved in these developments. The industry is represented through Mr. Hoefer, the Executive Director of the NWT Chamber of Mines.

We've had two meetings. I am going to be extending an invitation to all the presidents of the mining groups in early January to come to a meeting in Yellowknife. We're trying to define, as a department, and I'm trying to define, as a politician, what approach we should be taking in terms of convincing the corporate world, the banking world and the bureaucratic world how we're going to finance this exciting and phenomenal development in mineral exploration, particularly as it relates to the diamonds. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. On December 3, the Government Leader told this House that, led by herself, Mr. Minister, the government had devoted considerable effort to raising awareness of, and support for, construction of a road through the area north of Yellowknife and Rae. Can the Minister indicate as to what specific activities have taken place in this regard?

Mr. Todd.

That was the development of a road? Was that the question? Sorry, I'm deaf.

If you would like to, perhaps, clarify your question, Mr. Koe.

There was there some effort to raising awareness and raising support for the construction of a road. I want to know what specific activities have taken place in doing that?

Mr. Todd.

Significant discussion has been going on about the development of a road and the development of mineral exploration. I've been meeting with the stakeholder groups, as I indicated, discussing the possibilities of it. As I said earlier, we have to look at creative ways in which to fund this, if it's going to become a reality. A lot of our energy, at this early stage, has been trying to look at different ways of funding it, rather than going to the public trough and asking for $300 million or $85 million dollars or whatever. What I've done, as the Minister of Transportation, is worked closely with the stakeholder groups directly affected by this development, with the Kitikmeot Inuit Association and the Dogrib people, Mr. Ted Blondin, who represents their interests.

This is an enormous project and it has far-reaching implications for the Northwest Territories. It's going to take considerable discussion and we're going to have to expand the involvement of others. At this stage of the game, I've been dealing with the steering committee in trying to develop a position as to how we're going to approach it with the federal government and the industry because we want to be successful. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My final supplementary. As the Minister indicated, there is going to be far reaching implications and impacts on the provinces, on the territories and on Canada. My supplementary question is, has this government approached any of the provinces who will reap, probably, a majority of the benefits? Have you worked with any of the provinces in looking at the development of the Slave corridor?

Minister Todd.

There are two things we're doing. We're working closely with the Conference Board of Canada to give our analysis some credibility. They've done some good work for us. We're trying to tighten that up a little more as to what we think the costs are going to be, what the net benefits are going to be for Canada, how it changes the GDP, what kind of jobs are available, and where the economic impact is going to be. We're doing that right now with the Conference Board of Canada. The Member is absolutely correct in that the provincial jurisdictions, if you taken an initial look at this project, it's going to have a significant impact in Alberta, BC, and possibly in Ontario, where we have the manufacturing. I have initiated, through the Premier's office, discussions with my counterparts in Alberta, in BC, and I had an interesting discussion with our Ontario people, as Mr. Pollard I'm sure will tell you, when I was in Halifax last week. Needless to say, they certainly know where the NWT is now, if they didn't before.

We are initiating discussions and seeking provincial support for this project because it is going to require -- whether it's corporate leverage or public funds -- some political muscle, if you want, to convince the federal government they should be a partner in this particular venture. As part of our strategy, we felt it was important to liaise with the provinces that will reap some benefit and try to get them onside with our initiative. Thank you.

Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Ms. Cournoyea.