Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to talk about the significance of winter roads and how it impacts the residents in my constituency. Yesterday, the Minister of Transportation stated that all winter roads will be officially closing on March 15th. I believe this is a result of the current financial restraints all governments are experiencing. However, Mr. Speaker, one very important factor has been overlooked in the decision to close winter roads early: the people who will be directly affected by this decision.
In my constituency, there are three communities that depend on these winter roads: Nahanni Butte, Jean Marie River and Trout Lake. There are other communities in the Northwest Territories that have winter roads as well. As a result, the residents of these communities have incorporated winter roads into their lifestyle as a normal way of life in small communities. With that in mind, Mr. Speaker, arrangements are made in the communities around the opening and closing of these winter roads. Arrangements such as making one last trip to shop for supplies for the homes, camps and hunting; and, on the community level, the restocking of stores; the resupply of fuel for the schools and government buildings; the transfer in and out of community building materials; heavy equipment for projects; and so forth. So, you see, Mr. Speaker, winter roads are much more than the highway maintenance contracts.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform the House that these communities are victims of circumstance. For example, Jean Marie River; from 1988 to 1994, the closure of these roads were April 5th, April 7th, April 4th, April 1st and April 3rd, respectively. So you see the move to close the roads earlier is going to have a significant impact on these communities.
In Trout Lake, respectively from 1988 to 1994, you have April 5th closure, April 7th, March 30th, April 4th, March 24th, March 24th and March 31st. So you have significant impact on that area.
Mr. Speaker, I am out of time. I would like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.