Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the other day I spoke of infrastructure enhancement opportunities in the Nunakput region, focusing on possibilities for a deep-water port in the area. Today I would like to continue that theme, moving forward from the water to the sky or, rather, our small community airports, Mr. Speaker.
There are four airports in the Nunakput region, Mr. Speaker. Flights typically run between these communities and Inuvik, though with some flights to and from Kugluktuk and Yellowknife. Something they all have in common, though, is their runways, native gravel. In fact, just 10 airport runways of all three of Canada's northern territories are paved. In comparison, Mr. Speaker, Alaska hosts more than six times as many paved airstrips.
A 2015 article in Northern Public Affairs highlighted some of the problems caused by or exacerbated by gravel runways. Most significantly, gravel limits the types of planes that can land safely and use the airport, risking rocks drawn into their engines. That means remote northern communities are restricted to older planes, which are getting more expensive to operate all the time, or newer smaller planes that cannot carry as much cargo or travel as far. There is another problem. These newer planes often need runways that are longer than much of what is available right now.
Mr. Speaker, this makes it more difficult and more expensive to move people and goods. That means people have to draw from their already limited budgets to travel or move freight or buy groceries and other household supplies whose costs are driven up by the cargo expenses. At the territorial level, these kinds of expenses make it cost-prohibitive to work in the far North, hampering local people who want to grow a small business and dissuading larger southern companies from exploring our northern potential.
Mr. Speaker, paving or chipsealing Nunakput airport runways has the potential to make a big difference in our communities. Like all infrastructure work in the North, it is expensive and challenging, but the government has shown what it can do with the construction of the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway. If we are willing take on this challenge, I believe the payoffs will be worth it. Quyanainni, Mr. Speaker.