Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Department of Transportation in trying to help out in the deficit situation was cut quite a bit, about 25 percent of our total budget was cut. Therefore it reduced a lot of the capital infrastructure that this department was providing. Therefore, in turn, even though we have permanent employees in this department, by the number of contracts we used to issue per year, we are able to generate the spin off of creating employment in the communities and the honourable
Member is correct in that regard. With the cut backs it has had quite a drastic effect on that. Developing our infrastructure in the Northwest Territories by looking at the highway strategy, we have to look at the training and job creation in that regard. The strategy, as I said earlier, is not really complete; we are working on it. We pretty well have to finalize and fine tune it. However, we look at some of the major areas where joint private/public venture could be contemplated. There again this government is looking at how other jurisdictions have done it.
Currently we do not have anything that is really earmarked to go that route. We are still looking at what the possibilities are. I think an attempt by this government to change the way the financial arrangements are handled in this government might open the doors to that type of possibility as well. The areas that I mentioned to the honourable Member for Inuvik, is that the highway system between here and Rae has possibilities, and if we secure partnerships and funding, perhaps we would be looking at the road into the Slave Geologic Province, those are the possibilities as well as the road down the Mackenzie Valley. These are areas where those type of arrangements could be looked at. However, that is still subject to securing funding for those types of projects. Thank you.