Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am obviously going to speak in favour of the motion that is before us today, for a variety of reasons. I just wanted to start out by thanking Cabinet. This is a joint initiative, a joint effort on behalf of the government as a whole. I appreciate their efforts. It was very nice hearing my colleague, Mr. McLeod,
and the passion in his voice. I am glad to hear that again, Mr. Speaker.
I want to start out with the cost of living. The cost of living is something that many Members, especially Members from small communities, talk about, and communities located in the Mackenzie Valley. They need some reprieve from these outrageous high costs of goods. They need more surety in the movement of goods. Mr. Jacobson spoke of the quality of life that this would add to residents in those communities. I couldn’t support that any more than supporting this motion today is one step in that, Mr. Speaker, but it is a big issue and something that we need to address.
Also, the fact that it leads to mobility for our residents, brings communities closer together. Many of the communities located in the Mackenzie Valley share many family ties. It would be much easier to get in your truck or vehicle and drive to the closest community to visit your family and friends. That is something I think that isn’t lost on me. I think that is a big aspect of this in bringing communities closer together.
Some Members have already spoken about tourism. A bit of my background is in tourism. Believe me, if you had a newly constructed Mackenzie Valley Highway, people from around the world would want to drive on it. They would want to stay in communities. They would want to stay in parks, in campgrounds. It would certainly add to the economic development activity in smaller communities, looking at gas stations, restaurants, parks, hotels and other service related businesses.
Also, Minister Michael McLeod spoke to the aspect of exploration and development in mining and oil and gas. That is something that we shouldn’t overlook, especially at the price. It is between 1.5 and 2 billion dollars of construction costs. That would mean work for Northerners. That would mean training opportunities and development of our workforce, especially when times are tough and the economy is slumping. I think it is a perfect opportunity now more than ever to take a look at how we can get this highway constructed.
Mr. Speaker, I believe we need a unified approach. We need to understand that there are numerous infrastructure needs across our Territory but, from my time here, Mr. Speaker, what I see oftentimes is we go forward with smaller projects. I am not saying we don’t need those projects. Yes, we do. They are important but I think what we have to do in terms of trying to get this highway built, and I try to put myself in the shoes of the federal government. If I am the federal government or the Prime Minister, I want to look at something that I can put my name on, I could support wholeheartedly. It is a project, like I said earlier, a nation building project, a legacy
project, something that is going to develop this country. Many politicians in this country have used that quote ‘from coast to coast to coast” and we can finally get that highway down the Mackenzie Valley and into Tuktoyaktuk and finally we’ll have a highway system in this country from coast to coast to coast. I think it’s a project of this magnitude that the federal government is looking to put its stamp on. I firmly believe that the federal government is interested in this project. I know the government has helped us get this motion here today. We need to focus. We need to work as a unified northern people here. We need to go to Ottawa with one voice. We have to come up with a plan on how the highway is going to get built, what the involvement of our government is going to be, what the involvement of the federal government is going to be and our partner, the MAC group, as well. These are some of the things, Mr. Speaker, that are important. I’d like to see that move forward.
Certainly we need to also...I know the Premier has come to us recently with a plan to up the stakes in Ottawa. You know, to get our message out, to ramp things up there. I support the Premier 100 percent in that. I support Cabinet in what they’re trying to do in Ottawa, but what we’ve been doing to date, Mr. Speaker, just hasn’t been effective. Like I said, we need to step things up a bit. I’m glad the Premier has come forward with some suggestions on how to do that. I support that wholeheartedly. I think we need to keep our eye on the big prize, Mr. Speaker, and that big prize is the Mackenzie Valley Highway. Now, more than ever, I think we have to support the construction of this highway. Again, it has to be everybody pulling in the same direction in order for it to happen.
Again, I appreciate all of the comments that have come from all the Members and look forward to the others that are coming along. I certainly will be supporting the motion. Thank you.