Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister has not given us an indicator whether or not he agrees with the statements that were made in the press. However, I would like to. If the Minister would confirm, given all the information that his department collects, if the Minister would agree that the Mackenzie crossing by far is the busiest of all ferry crossings.

Merci, Monsieur McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if I understand the question correctly, the Member is asking me if the amount of traffic we have there justifies the ferry crossing? I do not understand the question the way the Member phrased it.

Thank you, Minister Steen. That was not the question. The question was if you agreed that it was the busiest crossing. Mr. McLeod, if you would like to ask that same question again for the benefit of the Minister. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I apologize to the Minister if I was not clear. There are five ferry crossings in the Northwest Territories. I am asking the Minister if he would agree that the Mackenzie River crossing is the busiest of those five.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. That is a proper question. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If I understand the question correctly, the Member is asking me if the Providence ferry crossing is the busiest one of the five. I have to agree with that. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Steen. Supplementary question, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In light of his staff's comments in the press indicating the traffic volumes are down, and according to his information, I would like to ask the Minister to confirm that if he agrees that the traffic crossing has been growing. In fact, it has come from 179 in 1993 to 217 in 1999. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Chair is not sure of the question. Please rephrase that.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like the Minister to admit that he disagrees with the comments made by his staff in the media. In fact, the information his department has supplied is quite the opposite. We have seen an increase in the daily traffic crossings from 179 in 1993 to 217 in 1999.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. I will have to rule that out of order because I am not sure whether the Minister should be commenting on what is or is not in the newspaper, as to its accuracy. The Chair will allow you one more opportunity to ask that question.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will try again, Mr. Speaker. The Minister's staff has said that the traffic volumes were down this year. According to the Minister's own information from his department, in fact we can see that the traffic volumes are increasing. We have seen an increase from 179 in 1993 to 217 in 1999. I would like the Minister to confirm this.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for the question. I do not know, Mr. Speaker, what was said in the paper. I do not know what was allotted as my staff was having said. However, there is no doubt that I can agree with the Member that the traffic volumes have increased on our highways, in particular that section of highway. No doubt this is reflected in the increased need for a Providence ferry. The Merv Hardie obviously has to make more trips to respond to this traffic. The Member is correct. There is no doubt that there is in fact an increase in the traffic volume. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. La dernier questions supplementaire, final supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the senior bureaucrats from the Department of Transportation had also stated that the Merv Hardie Ferry operates in cold water and we do not have to worry about rusting. In fact, the bottom of the ferry, from what I could gather, is replaced annually. Can the Minister confirm that the ferry operates in rough ice and the bottom has to be replaced every year?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that the damages to the bottom of the Merv Hardie Ferry are more related to obstructions on the bottom of the river, such as rocks, rather than the fact that they are using the ferry to break ice. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Steen. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

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

Mr. Speaker, that is a question that I do not have a definitive answer for except to say that all of our advice is that because it is a toll that is collected based on vehicles using a particular road, and because the revenues from it are being used for a specific purpose, it will most likely be excluded from a claw-back. I cannot confirm that today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.