Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I think the Department of Transportation, in the last two years we have attempted to do that, and we will continue to do that. The initiative that the honourable Member mentioned about Jean Marie River is an initiative that the communities have been pursuing for quite a number of years. Within the last four summers, they were able to complete 27 kilometres of all-weather road. It is not designed the way we know the roads connecting us out of Yellowknife, but it is a smaller scale, and they are able to enjoy the highway on all- weather conditions. Therefore, it is substantially less costly than the type of roads than we have been building. Yes, we have done that.
On the winter road system, the last couple of years we were able to, with the help of the Legislative Assembly, have $700,000 a year for improving the winter road system continuing up from Wrigley up into the Sahtu area where we are improving the river crossings and will continue to do that. If we are able to acquire more funding of that nature, we will do more work. Certainly, we are looking at all kinds of avenues on how to pursue some sort of development of infrastructure. I must add that the building of new highways, I am told by the department, is really in the hands of the federal government.
However, the type of funding that we have received has been to improve on what we have. What we have been able to do is improve the winter road system and that helps in that area of development. We will look at other areas. The direction that is given to myself, as Minister of Transportation, is taken seriously and the department, with the resources that we have, we will look at what is possible. Hopefully, with a highway strategy and with the cooperation of the rest of the Cabinet and Legislative Assembly, we may be able to achieve a little more in that area. Thank you.