Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Maybe the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs should have a serious look at purchasing the equipment necessary since this is a health issue. I am not sure what kind of communications there are between the Department of Transportation and the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. If there is any kind of communication, they would have known that the highway has been chipsealed to Fort Resolution on Highway No. 6. What does it take? Do you have to wait until they pave the road right to the community and only then is it feasible to bring the chipsealing to that community? Does it make sense just to drive the one hour down the road and there is Fort Resolution and there is the chipsealing equipment? What kind of communication is there if they can't even realize that? There is an arena being built in Lutselk'e and there is a requirement for crushed rock. Why not kill two birds with one stone, Mr. Chairman. Sometimes I question the thinking by departments. This is one area and one time I do have to question it. Is it politics? Yes, it is politics. Obviously, it's politics. Why do you think we are chipsealing Tuktoyaktuk first? If you are trying to exclude politics from this, then we are fooling ourselves.

In fact, Mr. Chairman, why are we even discussing this? This chipsealing should have been done years ago. The only reason it's done now is we are pushing it from this side of the House using the health issue. I do recommend and strongly suggest that the department get together with the Department of Transportation and see so that the left hand knows what the right hand is doing in this matter. I do agree with the Minister, the money is short and maybe we do need more money in this program. This is one of the areas also, Mr. Chairman, that by chipsealing community roads, putting in decent sidewalks, reinforces the positive psyche of people in the communities leading to healthier lives. This is part of the For a Better Tomorrow program. I am not agreeable to the Minister's answers. In fact, I am a little peeved at them. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Minister Steen.

Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Has the department considered using the private sector to do the job? Here's an opportunity for a business person or a community development corporation to take on this challenge. What's to stop a community corporation or a business person from purchasing chipsealing equipment, and being contracted from the government to do the chipseals in the communities? I would like to get a cost breakdown for Lutselk'e. It's a one-day barge ride from Hay River to Lutselk'e, to bring up the chipseal equipment. If the chipsealing program on Highway No. 6 is any indication, you could do it within a week. There is a guy named Dave Smith that travels out of here doing barging services. He does it on contract for supplies. He goes there five or six times in the summer season. So the transportation issue is not an issue for me. We put chipseal into Fort Good Hope first before Lutselk'e, before Fort Res. You are saying it's not politics. Give me a break, Mr. Chairman. The question is will the department consider using the private sector to do chipsealing communities or does the department only have to rely on the Department of Transportation? I sometimes wonder if I have to wait for government, I will be grey by the time I see chipsealing in my communities. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Minister Steen.

Mr. Nitah.

Mr. Chairman, maybe the Minister has the information that I don't. Is there only one piece of chipsealing equipment and one crusher in this whole territory or country? Thank you.

Minister Steen.

Thank you. Ms. DeLancey.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am not an expert on this, but in our discussions with the Department of Transportation, I understand that the department only owns one crusher and that they do generally use private sector crushing equipment where it's readily available and this crusher is kept to go into communities where there is not easy access to private sector crushing. More detailed than that, we would have to refer back to Transportation and get back to the committee. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. I think the Member did ask about the chipsealing machine and not only the crusher. Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think the deputy did answer my question. The department does use private industry to do the chipsealing where the department can't put in their chipsealing equipment. So to me, that means there are people who do this for a living. I know there are people who do this for a living, but by the response from the Minister is it seems that there is only one piece of chipsealing equipment and it's owned by the Department of Transportation and for the first ten years of this program, it's going to be coming down the Mackenzie River. I may be exaggerating a little bit, but just to give you the gist of how I am feeling right now. The Minister indicated that there is no crushed gravel in Fort Resolution. I believe they are doing some extensive crushing in the old Pine Point site. I would appreciate it if the Minister could ask that question of the Minister of Transportation or his department to confirm that, but I strongly believe there is crushed gravel material on Highway No. 6. What does it take to get some of that material into Fort Resolution, Mr. Chairman?

Thank you, Minister Steen.

Thank you. Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. What is this schedule based on? Is it based on availability of the crusher? That's it?

Thank you. Minister Steen.

Thank you. Mr. Nitah.

The Minister suggested maybe we should consider population, there again. Let's represent those communities that have a population. When we heard before that, we don't deal with communities based on population, that's another issue. What happened to the health issue? Shouldn't we do some tests to determine the dust levels of communities and plan accordingly? If we looked at the population and number of vehicles, Fort Resolution has a lot more vehicles than Tuktoyaktuk. It has a lot more vehicle traffic than Fort Good Hope. There's a highway there. Almost every member of every household has a vehicle or two. That's 1,000 vehicles almost, not to mention the resupply vehicles such as fuel trucks and grocery trucks, logging trucks, tourism. So if it's a health issue and it's a need issue, why are we basing our schedule on availability of equipment? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Minister Steen.