Thank you, Madam Chair. Again, I do appreciate the Member’s concerns in regard to Highway No. 7. On the $1.3 million that
we do have for this coming season, as I mentioned earlier, that money undoubtedly will be spent early in the season and if the Member wants a commitment that that will happen, I would be more than happy to get the department to get a letter together indicating that the $1.3 million earmarked for Highway No. 7 will indeed go into work on that highway as soon as possible in the season and not in July and August. So that’s something I believe that the department and I can make a commitment to the Member on.
What we can’t obviously commit to is future capital dollars that we just don’t have today. I wish I could make a commitment like that to the Member. All I can say is should more capital dollars free up, Highway No. 7 should be given priority for a number of reasons, and that’s something, again, I look forward to working with the Member on. It has far-reaching effects if we’re shutting that road down for extended periods of time and it’s unsafe and has to be closed down. Those are things we take seriously.
Again, we need to come up with a long-term plan, a reconstruction of that highway and it’s going to require a substantial amount of capital dollars that today we just do not have. Again, we need to work towards that. I agree with the Member.
We do have eight highways here in the Northwest Territories. We’re in the process of looking at the construction of a new highway between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk and I don’t want the Member or any other Members of this House thinking that just because we’re pursuing that means we’re taking our eye off other highways around the territory. I think we need to have balance and we need to have fairness. We do have a capital planning process that as we move forward, the needs and the priorities will be addressed in due course. That’s the reality that we’re living in today. But as far as a commitment on the $1.3 million, we can get that in writing to the Member. Thank you.