Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to rise and speak about a transportation issue that affects four ridings that I can think of in the South Slave and Nahendeh, specifically my riding, the riding of Tu Nedhe, Deh Cho and Nahendeh. This particular transportation concern, if dealt with constructively with a long-term plan will, in fact, allow money to be freed up from maintenance and operations and maintenance costs so that greater work can be done on much needed roads up the valley. What I am referring to, Mr. Speaker, is the need for a long-term thorough plan that will allow the chip sealing of the remaining gravel roads in the South Slave, there is a section in my riding from Fort Smith to Hay River, about 140 kilometres long, I know the other ridings I mentioned as well have gravel roads.
The study that has been done on this particular issue very clearly demonstrates that there is a significant cost saving to be realized and long-term operations and maintenance in terms of the comparison of maintenance costs for chip sealed roads as opposed to gravel roads. There are many gravel roads in the ridings I have talked about that have a good solid base. I believe this would be a wise investment and I would encourage the government and the Minister of Transportation to look at as they do their transportation strategy for the coming years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
--Applause