Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for Transportation regarding the limited amount of dollars we have to maintain our infrastructure. As we heard in the House, some $6 million a year is spent to maintain Highway No. 3.
Yet, they get $2 million a year for the widening project, which has been spread out for some ten years, to upgrade the Dempster Highway. They get $700,000 dollars to maintain the winter roads in the Mackenzie Delta.
Mr. Speaker, we have some 2100 square miles of hard top roads. We also have some 1600 square miles of winter roads. I would like to get some assurances from this government for all of the communities outside of Yellowknife who are not part of Highway No. 3 that the dollars that are in that department will continue to be there to maintain our roads. They will continue to be there to keep the roads safe and avoid the amount of potholes, dust and the accidents on our highways.
I would like to ask the Minister what kinds of assurances can his department give the smaller communities outside of Yellowknife there will be money available for them to continue to maintain roads other than Highway No. 3?