Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have gone through the interim appropriation for Transportation. I have read it forwards, backwards and I used black light to see if there is anything hidden in there that I missed. I used lemon juice to see if there is any invisible ink. No matter how many times or how I read it, there was no reference to Highway No. 5. This is the fifth year that I will put my concerns on the record that there is road in the South Slave and specifically for me, the Highway No. 5 component that still sits there. There are some requirements to upgrading. There is the chip seal. There has not been one inch of chip seal from the salt mountain in five years.
Mr. Chairman, we are reasonable people. We do not want the full highways' budget. We do not want millions of dollars of the highways' budget. But we would like a few shekels dedicated towards Highway No. 5, so that we are not totally forgotten. The concern I have is that after five years, there is a growing sense that we have been forgotten. We have very modest expectations and requests. We figure that for $200,000 a year, we could move five to ten kilometres of chip sealing a year. After five years, the level of impatience and frustration is growing. I know that there are demands. I know there is a tremendous pressure to put all the money into Highway No. 3. But the realities are, there are thousands of taxpayers south of the lake as well. Thousands.
I would be remiss if I did not mention my colleague from Tu Nedhe as well, who says Highway No. 6 is in a similar circumstance. I made a Member's statement about this. I want to go on record once again pointing out that there is nothing in here, there is no hint that it will ever be in here. Yet it is something I have to bring up.
I will have to ask the Minister when we can expect to see even the most modest investment in Highway No. 5. Any efficiencies that are recognized in the region, they seem to identify the money through their variance processes and the money is siphoned off somewhere else. There is very little incentive that appears to be efficient and tries to use money within their budget and move it into capital improvements.
For the fifth time, I think it is the fourth Minister of Transportation, I would like to get some indication. This is a new century. We are sitting here in the 21st century still asking for the same thing. Will there be an opportunity here that people can count on where there will be recognition that there is Highway No. 5 in the South Slave that needs some attention as well? Thank you.