I am sorry, Mr. Ootes, your time is up.

The Member for Yellowknife Centre is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do we have any nays? There are no nays. Conclude your statement, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. (Translation) Today is the last day of our session. Before we prorogue, I would like to say something. We have been sitting for quite a while now and we have covered many different areas. There are a lot of important bills that were passed. Because of that, we are here negotiating bills and working on various matters, all concerning our constituencies.

Whoever elected me to be in this House, I would like them to hear me in their language. There are many people in my constituency who speak their own language. I seldom talk in my own language because the funding for languages have been cut. We are limited on the amount of time we can use language services. This is the reason I wanted to say a short message to my constituents in my own language. There are many things we have worked on here.

In my constituency, I have eight communities. I seldom go to these communities. But when I do get a chance, I will make sure and visit all the communities in my constituency. Ever since I became a Minister, my time has been very limited, but now that we are taking a break, I will take the time to go back to my constituency and visit the communities. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek consent to return to item 2, Ministers' statements. Thank you.

unanimous consent to return to item 2, Ministers' statements. Do we have any nays? There are no nays. Go ahead, Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and honourable colleagues. Mr. Speaker, it is well known through the NWT that RCMP members are among the most active of volunteers contributing to the development of amateur sport in the North. They volunteer as coaches, officials and as organizers of special clinics and courses for coaches and players. They also participate as players in the various sports.

Not just the members, but their families, too, are important participants and volunteers in amateur sport.

I wish to congratulate the RCMP and to express my gratitude to Sport North for giving this much deserved recognition. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Friday, May 31st, is World No-Tobacco Day. The World Health Organization theme for this year is "Sport and the Arts Without Tobacco: Play it Tobacco Free."

Our youth in the North are continually bombarded with media from the South; tobacco companies send many unhealthy messages to our youth as they view arts and sports events.

Cancer deaths in the NWT are rising. One of the major causes is tobacco use. Secondhand smoke is a major pollutant in northern homes and communities and is very dangerous to people exposed to it. Every person in the NWT can do something, right now, to prevent death and disease. Smoke-free homes and public places are a start.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see partnerships in community based health promotion initiatives like this. All of us must work together towards healthy people, families and communities. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Ootes.

Point of order. Mr. Krutko.

Point Of Order

Mr. Krutko, you do have a point of order. Again to remind the Members, the rule is quite specific with regard to recognizing people in the gallery. The purpose is for visitors, dignitaries and whoever wish to be recognized, to seat themselves in the gallery to be recognized. So that's just a friendly reminder.

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Rabesca.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, ... (English not provided) ...

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for allowing me to take some time for me to do a short announcement in Dogrib, to recognize a very important and respected elder from my constituency. He happens to be my brother-in-law, foremost. As a former chief of the Dogrib Nation, he's in the gallery. His name is Joe Migwi and he's with his wife, Dora. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Mahsi. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Roland.

Minister of Transportation, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the request by the residents of Inuvik and the community of Tuktoyaktuk was to have an eventual highway connecting the two communities; as a result of that -- as in the question from the honourable Member for Inuvik -- is that highway.

There have been plans put in place from the studies done in the 1990 report. At that time, the type of road that was contemplated, if it was ever to go ahead, was categorized as a collector. There are different classes of highways and roads important to the Department of Transportation.

The class of arterial is a type of road such as we have on Highways I and 3, leading out of Yellowknife down into the South, where you have an inter-urban type of highway system which is probably the highest class of highways we have in the North. A collector class is the type that will allow access to land and to urban areas, and also has a connection to the arterial class. For example, people know that, in the southern part of the NWT, it would be similar to Highway 6 that connects Fort Resolution to Highway 1.

Finally, we have a local class of highways and roads which is land access, recreation access. An example would be an access road connecting the Paradise Gardens in Hay River and Sandy Lake access. These are the types of classes that the Department of Transportation has. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.