Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to speak on the concerns this afternoon that I have about the state of Highway No. 3 between Rae Edzo and Yellowknife. I wish to also advise you, Mr. Speaker, that these are concerns I share with a number of other Members in this House from Yellowknife, as well as North Slave and Deh Cho.
Mr. Speaker, the reportings in the media this morning are yet another heap on the mounting evidence that the current state of this stretch of highway is simply hazardous to our health, our environment, and our economy. A man is in the local hospital as we speak due to the injuries he suffered from an accident on this road. The tractor trailer he was driving, fully loaded with diesel fuel, rolled several times because he was unable to negotiate one of the many treacherous corners on that road, not to mention the very narrow shoulders.
Mr. Speaker, this road is a fatality waiting to happen, and this government has to do more to address this danger. How many more injuries and fatalities do we need to see before something is done about it? How much more fuel do we need to pour onto the road and even the surrounding lakes before we see the reconstruction of this road?
The road also is endangering our economic activities, Mr. Speaker. We are already well aware that it is a highly negative factor for the tourism industry, but we are suffering from more immediate economic impacts of these road conditions.
I also learned this morning that the Department of Transportation is systematically delaying the traffic heading to the mines by restricting the traffic. This is because oversize trucks cannot travel during busy morning and evening hours and also during the day on the weekends.
Mr. Speaker, this is another obstacle to the resource industry, which is already operating under a tight winter road schedule. I appreciate the need to control the traffic of these oversize trucks, but it is clear that this is one more indication of the additional demands being placed on this very fragile road system.
Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is this. We need this road reconstructed now, not five years from now, and certainly not ten years from now. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude this statement.
