Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, I spoke about the region of the Sahtu and the communities, and I talked about the each of the communities. Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk today about the importance of connecting the Sahtu region by road before connecting to the southern part of the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, everyone is familiar with the Buy North slogan asking northerners to shop locally. Even the
federal government encourages communities to travel local before they vacation elsewhere. The dollars spent local, stay local. Well, this is what I want for my region, Mr. Speaker. I want us to "Shop Sahtu." As noted in the government publication Common Ground, small business is the cornerstone of economics. Small community-based businesses provide services and supplies to development and to community members. I want people in the Sahtu to be able to meet with each other, have face-to-face business meetings and discuss other important issues.
We need affordable access to each other to keep these lines of communication open and to plan for the Sahtu in the Sahtu.
The Department of Transportation's report Investing in Roads for People and the Economy recognizes this fact. Part of the action plan in this report was to investigate the possibility of starting construction on a small-scale community-based construction program. The department was thinking of providing small contributions to each local community and begin a number of small-scale construction projects. The community will get experience in heavy equipment operating and also some employment opportunities. The Mackenzie Valley road will be built by the people in the Northwest Territories in the communities.
The Sahtu needs to strengthen our regional economy and build at our own capacity. By all means, Mr. Speaker, this government should build that all-weather road to the South, but first they need help to build our communities in the Sahtu, support our local economies and do what's right for this government. Thank you.
---Applause