Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am very worried that Hay River does not have a protocol in place to respond to the needs for shelter for transients. Economic growth in the Northwest Territories is almost 10 times greater than the rest of Canada, and our employment rate is higher than the Canadian average. This news is drawing people to the North, our population is expanding and most of the expansion is because of people migrating here from other provinces.
In the NWT, Hay River is the most accessible town from the South. Road traffic is on the rise and there has been a 33 percent increase in highway traffic since 1993. When the Deh Cho Bridge opens in 2006, I believe that road traffic is going to increase further. Everyone in the south has heard about the mining and the pipeline and I believe people are going to be heading to Hay River in search of jobs. Many of them will find employment and many more of them will arrive in Hay River in the dead of winter to find out it's 40 below and they can't afford a place to stay or they can't afford the cost of living.
Young men are the most likely group to travel north looking for work on the pipeline, Mr. Speaker, and when there isn't an appropriate place for them, they have, in the past, looked to the local churches for support. The number of men arriving in Hay River has already increased and some transients that have arrived appear to be chemically-dependant or have other issues that create some instability.
The members of the Ministerial in Hay River have been approached, on average, about once a week by someone needing the basic essentials to survive and they are not equipped or prepared to support these transients. Without an adequate plan to respond to these transients and their needs, there will be a problem in our community. Potentially, crime could increase, disease could increase and, sadly, mental and emotional problems could increase.
Surely, Mr. Speaker, the government would rather be proactive about this situation and have the appropriate facilities to address this issue now rather than pay a higher price down the road.
Mr. Speaker, departments in our government are working together to plan a pipeline and part of that planning should address Hay River's requirement for plans for emergency shelter, in order to deal humanely and appropriately with transients.
Mr. Speaker, later today in question period I will have questions for Minister Miltenberger, with respect to how we, as a government, are going to respond to the needs of transient people arriving in our communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.