Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I would like to pick up where Mr. Krutko left off, on the issue of community infrastructure, specifically dealing with dust control and the request time and time again from communities that they need dust control, preferably through the paving of roads and sidewalks in the communities. I would like to know from the Minister if he is keeping tabs on the requests and the number of times this issue is raised in the House, in committees and in committee of the whole? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I was just asking that because I am wondering if the Minister is getting tired of hearing this issue raised time and time again, or if he is not hearing it at all. This issue is a major issue. It is a concern for me and a concern for all Members representing small communities. It is a concern for half the population of the Northwest Territories.

I would like to know, if it is priorities, Mr. Chairman, why is the city of Yellowknife paved, has the best education, has the best health facilities and professionals? What is the difference between Yellowknife and Lutselk'e or Fort Resolution? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate that answer. We do not have the population base in the small communities to have a tax base, therefore, we are suffering because we do not have a tax base and we cannot pave our roads. We cannot build the infrastructure needed to even keep our people there. The housing crunch in Yellowknife and Inuvik is becoming a big issue. Most of the problem is people coming from our small communities into these centres because that is where the infrastructure is. That is where the people are getting fed the bigger portion of meals, et cetera, on all issues. That is just a metaphor, Mr. Chairman.

You know, BHP is starting to pay royalties. Diavik will start paying royalties, and royalties will be paid by other industries in the Northwest Territories. These are royalties that aboriginal people living in these small communities believe are their royalties, their resources. Therefore, they should not have to pay taxes to get the kind of quality, services and infrastructure in the communities.

The Minister indicated that the department does not have a program to pave community streets. He is talking about O and M on maintenance. I would suggest that once you pave the streets, the O and M costs will be dramatically reduced on a year-to-year basis, and in the long run, probably provide a savings to the department.

I would like to know if the Minister, working with his Cabinet colleagues, in lieu of the fact that royalties are becoming a reality in the Northwest Territories that is far more than what we get in transfer payments, that the department come up with a program that will see every community in the Northwest Territories paved to have dust control. It is a health issue as well, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. When I was referring to royalties coming out, I am not referring that the GNWT should be collecting. I do not agree that we have to wait until then. What I am saying is there are royalties coming out already. I know the federal government is taking that in lieu of transfer payments, but those royalties are what aboriginal people believe is theirs. If we are taking revenues from the federal government, a good percentage of that are for people in all communities. Paving the streets in every community would be a worthwhile investment, not only for the health reasons, but for optical reasons, to get away from the stigma of a third world environment. We are in Canada, for God's sake. Canada is supposed to be the best place to live in the world, yet in our communities, we are still living in third world conditions. There is something wrong with that, Mr. Chairman.

If our government and our Minister, who is responsible for that optical look, is not willing to even develop a program for consideration, and saying that we have to have priorities, then I am not too encouraged. I would like to see a Minister who knows that there are significant concerns, not only from Members of the House but the people they represent.

When people come to them on a regular occasion with the same concern, then he should be responsible enough to take the initiative to respond to those concerns. You know, we have seen snowmobile accidents far too often in communities. If these roads were paved, then maybe snowmobiles would not be on the streets. If these roads were paved with proper stop signs, et cetera, maybe we could avoid some of these accidents. If these streets were paved, maybe we could avoid some of the health problems in terms of lung cancer, which we always blame on cigarettes. We never did a study or never proved either way that dust has nothing contributing to the number of people who are sick, who have died.

When recovering from any kind of illness, whether it is physical or mental, what you see and how you feel about what you see is so important to the recovery process. I think this one area of responsibility under this department would do a lot of good for the social development of the people of the Northwest Territories in our small communities, and may reduce the exodus of people from smaller communities to the larger centres, which is threatening the survival of those communities. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My general comments are relating to small communities, the unfairness in how they are being funded for municipal roads. We see hidden funds given to larger communities, tax-based communities by using highways, transportation capital for paving roads. For instance, Yellowknife, Hay River, Inuvik, Fort Smith, the Fort Simpson main street...you see all of these examples. I would like to say that those roads within municipal boundaries should be funded under a formula basis, not through Transportation.

I had asked a former Minister of Transportation to look at that. He did not get back to me. Also, the current Transportation Minister was going to go to the city and talk to them to see if they wanted to take it over under a formula base, which I have still not received any information on.

I think it is time this government started treating everybody fairly and not using other budgets to subsidize the tax-based communities.

This is just general comments. This is what I see. I see a flaw in how this government is funding communities and using other departments to subsidize the larger communities. I think it is time that we start making changes and treating everybody equally. If you are going to be funded by culverts, the width of the road, the streetlights in the smaller communities, let's do it right across the board. Let's treat the larger communities the same way. We fund them by the width of the road, the culverts and streetlights, and everybody in the smaller communities is getting treated like that. They do not have any roads in some of the communities. You cannot piggyback on Transportation. It is not fair to the smaller communities.

I do not expect an answer from this. I expect results. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Agreed.