Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, later this afternoon, at the appropriate time, I intend to table a document entitled Investing in Roads for People and the Economy: A Highway Strategy for the Northwest Territories.
The Northwest Territories transportation system makes possible the movement of people and goods within the Northwest Territories as well as to and from our provincial and territorial neighbours. Transportation mobility is key to the health and well-being of our people and our economy.
The Department of Transportation has worked hard over the past decade to improve our transportation system. Since the department was formed in 1989, new airports, marine facilities, community access roads and extensive highway reconstruction have all been accomplished. These improvements were guided by the strategic objectives and priorities set out in the 1990 Transportation Strategy and the 1994 Transportation Strategy Update.
In 1998, the Department of Transportation began the highway strategy initiative. This initiative earmarked special funding for planning studies on roads in the Northwest Territories. Over the past two years, both technical studies and consultations with stakeholders have been undertaken. The results of this effort were first presented in the Summary Report of the Highway Strategy released in October 1999.
As we move into the 21st century, we must ensure that the transportation system continues to move forward. We must direct its expansion and enhancement so that it will contribute to a more prosperous and healthy northern population. Investing in Roads for People and the Economy: A Highway Strategy for the Northwest Territories is this direction. It presents a vision for roads in the Northwest Territories with a plan of action to achieve that vision.
Investing in Roads is shaped by and consistent with the broad vision for the Northwest Territories as outlined in the 14th Legislative Assembly's report Towards a Better Tomorrow, along with the Economic Strategy Panel's report Common
Ground, and the Government of the Northwest Territories' Non-Renewable Resource Development Strategy in which roads play a prominent role.
The Department of Transportation has taken steps to implement the plan of action proposed in Investing in Roads. With our existing resources, we are actively improving portions of Highway 3 between Rae and Yellowknife, Highway 7 south of Fort Liard, the Dempster Highway and the Ingraham Trail.
We have also begun several new initiatives including determining how to obtain greater control of the Lupin winter road, constructing a public winter road to Colville Lake and constructing bridges on the Mackenzie Valley winter road to extend the operating season. In addition, we have begun the search for new funding, including lobbying for an appropriate share of the federal $600 million allocated to the National Highway System.
Just as the 1990 Transportation Strategy served to focus the department's effort through the past decade, I expect that Investing in Roads will serve as an equally reliable guide for the opening years of the new century. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.