Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I find it ironic that you do not have money for paving streets, but a couple of years ago, I had a big debate in this House with the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services with regard to the paving that has taken place in the large regional centres, yet there are no initiatives to improve the streets in rural and small communities. If there is a will, there is a way. I think there is no will.

As a government, we have a responsibility to ensure we have infrastructure in our communities, so it is not only safe for people to walk or be able to operate equipment on, but also to ensure the public health is considered, with regard to the dust and what not that people are breathing in day in and day out. It is a health hazard in most cases. I think we should list these types of things as a priority of this government. There is the public health and public safety, yet it seems like there is an imbalance. You can come to Yellowknife, walk up and down the streets, even here around the Legislature, it is all paved.

Is there a third world aspect here that if you live in regional centres or the city of Yellowknife, you have a certain standard and people who live in small communities will have dust and potholes, because that is what makes us unique, I guess?

I think the day and age has come where the government has to do something, and I think that is a good place to start. As a government, there are initiatives that are being undertaken by Transportation to start accessing roads into communities to connect them to highways. It is over a million-dollar project. Why, as a government, is this project such a major headache that they cannot really look at it?

We brought this up when we first got here, in our meetings in Fort Providence and places like that, going on over two years ago, yet it does not seem to fit with the agenda of the government. What will it take to convince this government to do something?