Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not sure what standards I am required to bring Highway No. 8 up to. It seems as if everyone has a different opinion on the condition of Highway No. 3. I am not clear. What I can say is the department is committed to keeping all of the highways safe and passable.

Mr. Speaker, we do have road reports issued every day which suggest the conditions of each highway and the driving conditions that can be expected on those highways. I have not received any report that says any one of the highways is not safe and passable. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with the number of potholes and rough spots on our highway system, the Dempster Highway is pretty used to that. There have been attempts made by this government to find ways of improving it. I would like to ask the Minister if he is willing to consider the possibility of expanding the program for calcium on all highways in the Northwest Territories, so we can ensure we have smooth highways, less dust, and hopefully less potholes? Will the Minister consider expanding that budget?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct in that calcium does help to improve highway conditions, including the dust conditions on the highway. The department will consider increasing the calcium on our highways, subject to the amount of money we receive, of course. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the concerns, especially from the communities who are outside of Highway No. 3, is we have seen a decrease in the amount of money that has been spent on maintenance of our other highway systems. Because of the Minister's statement, where he says we will do within the budget, right now, the budget is not adequate. I would like to ask the Minister if he would consider looking at increasing the amount of money that is spent on maintenance for the other highway systems? Almost 80 percent of the money is being spent on Highway No. 3.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a major portion of the department's budget was approved through supplementary appropriations earlier in the year. We already have our expenses pretty well laid out for the year, including Highway No. 3 and the other highways as well. If we look at increasing any of our expenditures on the other highways, it would have to be in light of exactly how much funds the Legislative Assembly is appropriating for us to do the job. Unless there are some changes made in this year's budget, it is all laid out for this year. We would have to be looking at future years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in light of the interim appropriation that was passed, we are still dealing with the main estimates. I believe it is in the Minister's discretion to come forth with some recommendations by moving some money around. I would like to ask the Minister, will you consider moving some money around so we can have more money for maintaining the roads outside of Highway No. 3?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department has presented its budget and its business plan to the standing committees. They are not only for this year, but suggested projects for next year as well. I presume the standing committee took some serious looks at these things and came back to us as to what they would like to see us do.

We are responding to that in what was presented to the Legislative Assembly as our plan of business for the next few years. However, there is always room for some adjustments within the plan. Of course, the department is subject to the will of the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Speaker. If the Assembly directs us to change the budget, we will do that. Right now, we have presented the budget and our expenditures based on where we, as a department, feel the expenditures are required. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Finance. In light of some of the questions and responses I have heard this afternoon, they have caused me some concern. There has been much talk about getting more revenues from Ottawa to help us out in the Northwest Territories. From what I am to understand in some of the responses made by Minister Handley to an earlier question, that might not be the situation.

I would like the Minister of Finance to report to us as to whether or not he has heard anything in the area of new finances from Ottawa. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in terms of new finances from Ottawa in the last couple of weeks, we keep hearing a message of excitement and interest in the potential we have in the North. We have not heard anything specific in terms of that kind of investment. I might say the one piece of information we received a few days ago has to do with the physical infrastructure money the federal government has made available, roughly $2.1 billion.

Of that amount of money, Mr. Speaker, we did get a preliminary indication from the president of the Treasury Board indicating what the Northwest Territories share would be. Based on that, Mr. Speaker, it was based on a combination of population, with half of the money distributed on population and the other half distributed based on unemployment levels.

I have written a letter back seeking clarification on a number of areas, but using the scenario that the president of the treasury board presented, that would give us roughly $4 million to $4.5 million, which is not much out of the $2.1 billion infrastructure money. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister inform us as to when he feels we will hear more on the other issues of financing when it comes to developing the Northwest Territories and its resources? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do not have any specific date. We have a commitment from the Minister of Finance and the Minister of DIAND that they are working with other Ministers in the government on this. There is an assistant deputy ministers' committee working on it as well. They will have something for us in the fall. The fall is a pretty big period, and we have not been able to pin down exactly when they will be able to respond directly. The only thing we can count on right now is their interest in the opportunities that are here in the North. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, I do not have any commitment from them on specific dollars that they would invest in the North at this point beyond the money we are getting on a regular basis. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.