Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions this morning are for Mr. Menicoche, the Minister of Transportation, about the urgent fuel situation at the Yellowknife Airport. Mr. Speaker, I have been advised by some of our airline carriers, one which supplies fixed wing scheduled charter service, that his company is now on rationing. He has been reduced from normal fuel consumption of about 24,000 litres a day to 7,600. He has been cut back by two-thirds. One helicopter company is rationed to only 400 litres of fuel a day. Mr. Speaker, I am advised that one of the two fuel suppliers at the Yellowknife Airport will by dry by Sunday morning. In fact, some companies are using fuel caches owned by their own customers to try to stay flying.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister yesterday advised the Assembly that the only contingency plan that he had in place was for companies to fly to Hay River, a 250 mile detour to fuel up. I talked to one of the mines, a representative of one of the mines this morning. This is costing them thousands of dollars a day, let alone the inconvenience. Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the Minister really realizes the significance and the urgency of the situation. What steps is the department taking, Mr. Speaker, to ensure adequate fuel supplies are available in Yellowknife in this urgent and crisis situation?