Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to inform this House that despite the lack of support from this government the Dogrib Rae Band has continued the construction of the Rae-Edzo airport. Mr. Speaker, with very limited resources the Dogrib Rae Band is training 20 people in the use of heavy equipment operation. Aurora college and 20 other government agencies have refused to provide support for a project which is probably more successful in training operators than many courses offered by the college. These young people are being trained to work in the construction industry by working long hours, six days a week. I am very proud of the work that has been done by these trainees. Mr. Speaker, unless the airstrip is completed and employees working at the mines are flown directly to their home community of Rae-Edzo, it will continue to be difficult to retain all these people who have to travel through Yellowknife before they get home. Experience has shown that unless employees are flown directly to their home community, social problems will increase. Mr. Speaker, the airstrip being built in Rae-Edzo will bring business opportunities to the community. It is not the intent of this project to compete with the capital city, as honourable Members from Yellowknife have expressed. Rae-Edzo has an unemployment rate of approximately 43 percent and my constituents feel that the residents of Yellowknife will also benefit from the airstrip. Studies have shown that 80 percent of the incomes earned in Rae-Edzo are spent in Yellowknife.
Mr. Speaker, the work completed on this project has already
saved this government a significant amount of money. The Dogrib Rae Band is prepared to arrange the funding for this project if it can obtain a commitment from this government to include the airstrip in its capital plan. Mr. Speaker, unless funding can be found to stockpile material and complete the design work this winter, the project will be unable to continue next year. Will the Department of Transportation provide interim funding for this work? When will the project be included in this government's capital plan? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
--Applause