Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The access road would go right through the land that was granted access to to Deton'Cho Corporation by the Minister in January. Does the Minister agree that an access road into an industrial park answers the issue of public safety currently at play here in the city of Yellowknife with truck traffic on roads in residential areas? If a residential housing development is put in at the sandpits, that access road would go right through it with truck traffic. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, I think the Member has indicated that this road would go through the area that the Deton'Cho has applied for. Again, I have not seen an application from Deton'Cho Corporation or the Yellowknives Dene. Our plans are for an access road to the west side of the airport. The city has indicated their interest in the bypass road. We are having discussions and we have just recently seen the city's development plan. We have recently concluded our development plan. We're looking at combining and comparing them right now and this road does not -- once again -- does not go through the area that the Yellowknives Dene have asked for permission to access. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm concerned that the Minister has a bunch of different conflicting interests at play with that parcel of land. On the one hand, as the Minister of Transportation, he's got the airport to be concerned about, he's got this access road to be concerned about; but then, with his other hat on as Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, he can grant access to Deton'Cho Corporation to that parcel of land for a housing development. I am wondering where his responsibility lies. Where is it? Is it with Deton'Cho Corporation? Is it with this access road? Is if for future airport expansion? Where is his responsibility? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the quick answer is all of the above. I am responsible, as the Minister of Transportation, for the airport development plan; I'm responsible, as the Minister of MACA, to deal with the city on the bypass road, there's no legislative requirement. There's an interest that makes good sense, we want to talk to them, we want to be able to include it in our plans. We are planning to do an assessment of the costs. We are planning to work out who would pay for it. We are starting to look at the needs in terms of engineering. We are working with the Yellowknives Dene where the request came from to look at doing some soil sampling. There is the scientific reserve that's in the area. There are a number of issues that we're dealing with. There are applications from the city for some land in the Kam Lake area. We are trying to do all of those things and make them all fit, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. How will the Department of Transportation, who is currently trying to work with the city on an MOU to pay for this road and to build this access road -- and that's a known fact, that's currently at play -- but then the Minister grants access to Deton'Cho Corporation to look at a housing development in that area. Is it an access road or is it a housing development, Mr. Speaker? That's a legitimate question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, it's certainly a legitimate question, but I think I've answered it three times. There are no plans for an access road at this point. There is discussion. We're going to do an assessment. The access road concept is not in the area that Deton'Cho has shown interest. It's an area where their airport development plan has been identified and applied for. So it's a different area. I don't know how many times I'm going to say that, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to try this question again, but I'm trying to understand how a government could be working on an MOU for one area in one department and then in the other department is granting access to build a housing development. How does that happen and the Minister is responsible for both of them? Really, I haven't heard a really solid answer as to what's going on out there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's not a new situation. The government has to deal with a number of different issues. In this case, the Department of Transportation is working with the city to look at the concept of a bypass road. We've done some early cost estimates. The city has done some cost estimating. We have to do some engineering, we have to do some costing together. We have to look at who is going to pay for it, how we are going to pay for it. So we're working with the city on that as the Department of Transportation. The city is dealing with the application for land requests by the Deton'Cho Corporation. I think it's pretty clear. Mr. Speaker, they are in the same general area, but two different projects. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs some continued questions on the potential development at the sandpits in relation to the housing approach.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, affordable housing in any community is something that I welcome. I champion this initiative.

---Applause

But I also look for sustainable long-term compatible development. In this sense, Mr. Speaker, I wanted to ask the Minister if we're looking at what has been suggested would be, say, a 400-unit, actually a satellite community perhaps, what obligations would MACA have in terms of funding the infrastructure for such a community development? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, that's a very, in my opinion, hypothetical question. There is no detail provided to the Member, I don't believe, on any plans for a housing development. Right now, the request has come to us to do some seismic work. There is an interest potentially for housing. We have not gone as far as deciding who will pay for what and deciding what our responsibilities are going to be in that area. If it is something the city approves, there will be a requirement for services. They will have to work with the city on that issue. Right now, there are costs for providing services in the airport area that I can share with the Member; that is, trucked services. I'm assuming that would be the same. If there was a requirement for piped water or a piped system, the cost would be borne by I'm not sure who at this point. It's going to be very costly in any event. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that costs would more or less be at the expense of the developer and then, of course, the occupants or the customers, but surely there are purely public infrastructure costs. Would we be potentially looking at, say, the need for a new fire hall or schools or parks or recreation? These are very distinct responsibilities at the territorial level. So I just want to get a sense, Mr. Speaker, what kind of obligations would we be looking ahead to, to perhaps enable this to happen? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, once again I think these questions are very premature. We have no plans for putting any infrastructure there. There seems to be an assumption that there is a new community being developed and we're going to start putting in fire halls and everything else. No, we have no plans to provide any infrastructure at this point. We haven't even seen an application. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.