Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As many are aware and other Members have brought up, the situation in the Mackenzie Delta, as well as the rest of the territories when it comes to roads and transportation initiatives. We have heard many times that we cannot secure the funding to the amount those projects spell out. Though, I am happy to hear the Minister say he would be looking at different ways of trying to address the issue in a much slower way in looking at different initiatives of trying to get something moving in this area. Specifically in Inuvik, the Inuvik/Tuktoyaktuk highway section was, I believe the amount initially showed a $160 million plan and a joint committee of the town of Inuvik and the Tuktoyaktuk council, along with their consultant, looked at the plan. Their report states they can do this in the area of $40 million. That is the level of a service road, not to the level of the Dempster Highway, for example, knowing that this government is hopefully looking new initiatives and new ways of driving these projects.

As I said earlier, if we can put people to work, we would end up lowering the impact on the government when it comes to social programs. I see highways and the building of highways as a good initiative that would drop the costs related to this government in other areas, as well as bringing in new dollars in the area of tourism. This is an initiative that we need to focus on and look at. I am sure there are many reports done by this government in other communities and so on when it comes to, as we call, the tire traffic or the tourists coming up and down the highways of the Northwest Territories. Although, in some cases there is the economic weighing of these projects seems low, we need to be looking at the other affects of putting people to work and creating employment and creating a tax base from people being at work instead of being on income support, as well as in the area of reducing the demand for, as I said earlier, government assistance or social assistance. There are many initiatives and ways to look at these projects. If we could learn a lesson out of the pages from the eastern and maritime provinces and how they work and set up their projects. Not all people are in favour of those programs, but I think that is an initiative which can be looked at. If there was some success in it, it would definitely reduce the impact on our budget if we can work those models into our transportation strategy.

Many people in the territories have heard this discussion. This has gone on and on for many years and the possibility of going on for many more. Until we actually start putting some plans into action, we will continue to speak about it, but hopefully with the commitment from the department and the Minister, we can actually start putting some plans together and start seeing some initiatives happen in the near future. I would encourage the department to continue looking at these initiatives and new ways of doing these programs and trying to put people to work. We have the labour force available and we have a lot of people willing to invest in some of these ways of doing things, whether it is training or equipment. If they know this government would commit to a process, whether it is 5, 10, 15, 20 or more years. As I said in one of my Members' statements that I believe this is an area where it can be looked at as a job strategy. I believe many people would look at this as a positive venture.

I can recall in the days of the Dempster Highway, even though it was not complete, many people used to drive to the end of where the highway was just to say they were there. I can remember as a young child going with my parents from Inuvik out on the Dempster to where the road ended and we would have a picnic there. Although many people look at something as not being valuable until it is complete, I think this, as an initiative, would draw more people in the area of tourism and interest amongst northerners.

I would support the Minister and whatever I could do to try to help out and create some sort of initiative to proceed with this. I think it is a good thing. Just a simple way of putting things, I think we heard the amount the Premier, when he responded to me in the area of $900 million, but that is an extreme number when you look at it, especially when our yearly budget is just over a billion dollars. If you spread it out over more years, it becomes achievable when you break it down to many more. Although my counterpart from Thebacha figures we can do a million dollars a year, I think we could probably do more than that. It is an initiative which needs to be focused on. Although, he says, $9 million a year, it would be 100 years. We can do better than that. For example, in the Fort Smith region there is something in the area of $16 million. If we can keep a number like that on the books on a yearly basis and work up the value or start from each community along the way, we would put people to work and take them off income support lines. If they had enough time, maybe the federal government would be paying for their off season, so to speak. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.