Today I want to go back to something I raised last June in this House: the need for runway lights in Jean Marie River and Nahanni Butte. Both these communities have a very good airport runway, but they have raised the concern that the lack of runway lights can seriously compromise the safety of residents.

Most community airports across the NWT are equipped with basic infrastructure such as adequate runways, navigational aids, and runway lighting. This ensures that communities can safely be accessed by air 24 hours a day, particularly in the winter months.

The lack of runway lights makes it very difficult for essential services such as medevacs to travel to Jean Marie River and Nahanni Butte at night or during inclement weather. This is a serious disadvantage and can compromise the health and public safety of the residents in these communities. The ability to react quickly to medical emergency and/or policing situations is the biggest concern. The Minister of Transportation has stated that public safety is the number one priority of his department. I urge the Minister to extend his commitment to public safety to the residents of Jean Marie River and Nahanni Butte and make sure that these airports have the necessary infrastructure to operate at night.

I also ask the Minister to make a commitment to include airport runway lights for Jean Marie and Nahanni Butte in the 2010-2011 capital plan of his department. Mahsi cho.