Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm happy with the department's recommendations or budget highlights for this year for Nunakput. DOT, the Department of Transportation, represents 8 percent of our total budget. This budget includes $17 million in airport infrastructure improvements and $64 million on funding for highways all across the Northwest Territories, which is good and we really need that. The Nunakput region is receiving much needed infrastructure and investment. Some of the highlights I would like to include are both terminal buildings in Paulatuk and Sachs, $1 million apiece, which we really needed and we're very thankful for. The infrastructure is so depleted and past its years of good service, but when this summer comes around we look forward to opening those buildings up in the communities.

Also for my home community of Tuktoyaktuk is the $1.4 million airport terminal building, which is going to be good. The ‘10-11 budget includes the $667,000 for the road projects in rural and remote communities. To date, thank you to my colleagues here, we started hauling gravel for access road 177 two days ago so that puts about 100 people to work in my home community of Tuktoyaktuk and the surrounding communities.

The federal government and the GNWT have invested $55 million to construct winter roads and the Tuk access road as well as gathering information to build the all-weather road between

Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik. I want to thank the federal and territorial government for finding that $1 million for the PDR from the feds.

The Mackenzie Valley Highway is a major infrastructure project on the horizon. The estimated cost is $1.8 billion to extend the highway from Wrigley to Tuk. Mr. Speaker, is the GNWT developing any further budget projections beyond the project description? In reports, the federal government has provided a portion of the funding for the project.

The department is investing $150,000 to expand the Drive Alive Campaign, which I'm really happy to see. It will put services, transportation, safety campaigns under the single program, you know, transportation safety concerns across the Northwest Territories, particularly among our young people that have their licences. Mr. Speaker, how are the resources for the Drive Alive Program allocated and the second question I have there is what is being done in the Nunakput communities under that program?

I'd just like to thank the Minister and his staff for the hard work he's done for me over this past year and working with my communities that I represent. I look forward to the page-by-page. It's a good day today. Thank you, Mr. Chair.