Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker. The flood of tourists has arrived, already in high numbers of vehicles. The Abraham Francis ferry on the Peel opened on Sunday, with a line of up traffic waiting to see the beautiful landscape, the welcoming people of the Delta, bringing with them economic growth to our region.
Mr. Speaker, without a doubt, the Dempster Highway has always been a place to travel, everyone's bucket list, and now the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway will be even busier this summer.
Comments from previous years' tourists show that the tourists traveling to the North want to see our country. They want to experience the highways, meet our people, and engage in community activities that are planned throughout the season. Let's start talking about exposing them to more of our land, our people, and our cultures. How about bringing them to Aklavik?
Mr. Speaker, there is a possibility of getting a road. This government can look at options on how we can get construction under way to build this highway to Aklavik. There is nothing short of a positive outcome from this idea. Think of the reduction in food, home heating fuel, and gasoline costs.
Like all our communities in the Northwest Territories, Aklavik has much to offer. The list goes on, Mr. Speaker. This government should take this very seriously and start lobbying the federal government for funding. We need a road to Aklavik; let's make this a priority. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.