Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Commercial Vehicle Trip Permit Act is one of two pieces of enabling legislation necessary to implement the government's Highway Investment Strategy. The Commercial Vehicle Trip Permit Act belongs with the Transportation portfolio and, in its simplest terms, authorizes the department to issue permits and collect fees from commercial vehicles carrying cargo over the territorial highway system. This revenue will be used to improve our existing highway system.

The Highway Investment Strategy that proposes to finance the construction with fees paid into a dedicated highway fund has generated a great deal of controversy.

The Department of Transportation receives continuing complaints regarding the condition of our highway system from communities, residents, businesses and travellers; complaints about the quality of gravel, dust, potholes, washboards and narrow width.

There have been allegations that our highways are unsafe, dangerous and a public hazard. The coroner's office implies that highway standards might be a contributing factor in highway accidents. The Highway Investment Strategy will improve the condition of the existing highways in the Northwest Territories.

Investing in Roads for the People and the Economy, a Highway Strategy for the Northwest Territories identified short-term funding needs on the existing highway system of $196 million. Over the long term, the funding needs a total of $630 million.

The Highway Investment Strategy proposes to spend $148 million over four years to catch up to these needs. One hundred million dollars of this amount will be raised through collections from heavy truck traffic on existing highways as proposed by Bill 9.

The benefits to the Highway Investment Strategy are numerous: paved roads, relieved public concerns about highway safety, better roads means less wear and tear on vehicles, better fuel consumption, lower maintenance costs and reduced travelling time. Tourist traffic will increase and visitors to our North will enjoy a pleasant, relaxed driving experience, no longer a challenging endurance test or horror stories to repeat back home about the NWT.

Mr. Chairman, at the public review into the Commercial Vehicle Trip Permit Act, I heard several criticisms of the act, which the government is prepared to consider.

First and foremost, the public wanted assurances that the collection of trip permit fees would not continue indefinitely. The government will also consider a sunset clause that would repeal the Commercial Vehicle Trip Permit Act on March 31, 2007. This change would give the public the confidence that trip permit fees will not become a permanent source of government revenue.

Secondly, the trucking industry and retailers indicated that it did not support basing the permit fee on a truck's axle configuration. The industry indicated that it would prefer a system based on the truck's actual load weight. Mr. Chairman, the government will consider an alternative to enable the permit fees to be determined on the basis of a truck's declared gross vehicle weight.

More importantly, Mr. Chairman, I ask the committee to give its support to the principle behind the Highway Investment Strategy and its specific enabling legislation we are considering before us today. Through all the public hearings, there was solid agreement from all parties on one point; our territorial public highways are in poor shape and are badly in need of improving. Indeed, I think every Member of this House at one time or another has called my attention to the substandard conditions of our highways and asked me to improve them and bring them up to higher standards.

The Members of this House have also approved our main estimates. They know how much money the government has and how it has been appropriated. In speaking to the Department of Transportation's annual appropriations, I have always pointed out that it is not sufficient to keep up with the needs for life cycle capital restoration.

Mr. Chairman, I fear the consequences of not proceeding now will have a negative impact on our economy and northern business community. The Department of Transportation will be forced to review its current and short-term construction programs. Proposed contracts on Highway No. 3, Highway No. 4 and Highway No. 8 would need to be put on hold. The capital program identified in the current main estimates would require significant change.

Highway construction will create northern business opportunities. Highway construction will create meaningful jobs for Northerners. These opportunities will be moved to the future.

In order to protect the existing highway investment, additional measures may be taken to ensure our highways remain safe and will not be damaged by increased resource traffic.

The Highway Investment Strategy recognizes our predicament and proposes a solution. It identifies the highway capital improvements that are long past due and includes the means to pay for them. As the Minister responsible for the state of our highway system, I am afraid that we cannot wait for the federal government to recognize the fundamental inequity of improving new resource developments that assume the use and wearing out of our roads while pocketing all the royalties.

As we wait and complain, the highways keep wearing out and the restoration falls even further behind. The longer we wait, the more expensive it gets. Permit fees are not a happy solution, Mr. Chairman, however, I have heard no short-term alternatives to this initiative. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.