I thank the Member for his questions. Certainly, the Sahtu holds much promise from an economic standpoint, and there’s going to be, again this winter, a tremendous amount of exploration in the area. We’ve had some preliminary discussions with industry on how we can work together. First off, we are, again, looking at partnering with industry on the maintenance and enhancement of the winter roads in the region so that heavier loads can be brought in, so that they can be opened earlier and last a little bit longer. That will be beneficial to residents as well as industry in the Sahtu.
As far as the utilization of a ferry in the Sahtu, we would have to look at the possibility of an all-weather road being constructed from Norman Wells south to Wrigley, and it’s not out of the realm of possibilities, given the potential of the Sahtu and the amount of oil that’s in the ground there. As the resource is proven up and if it does get into commercial production, that is something, I think, that certainly could happen. If we don’t have the $70 million to build a bridge across the Bear River, a ferry would have to be put into service at the Bear.
There are possibilities. I think the possibilities are endless when you look at the Sahtu and the opportunities that are there. We’re going to continue to work with industry, continue to move things along, and when it comes to road, marine, winter roads, airports, we’re watching quite closely what is happening in the Sahtu and we’ll be ready when we need to be, and making the decisions we need to, to ensure that we’re maximizing those opportunities. I believe by working with industry and working with the communities in the Sahtu, we’ll be able to do that.