I'd be early, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, Inuvik and indeed the entire Mackenzie Delta and Beaufort Delta regions rely on the Dempster Highway for vital supplies, from groceries to building supplies, fuel, and many other needed products.
Mr. Speaker, for the month of January the Dempster Highway was closed 18 days, 18 days where no transport trucks were able to deliver to its customers. Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, as of February 20th, the Dempster Highway was closed for an additional nine days. Once again, trucking companies that serviced the needs of my community could not deliver. Product was being spoiled, product sat on the highway, sat at the border, and on and on.
Mr. Speaker, not only does this cause a major disruption in the supply chain where grocery store shelves are empty, building projects can be delayed, and the community runs the risk of vital fuel shortages in the coldest months of the year. Mr. Speaker, we've seen that this year, and it also, Mr. Speaker, can cause serious safety issues.
I spoke with trucking companies that service the region. Most drivers work on a contract basis, and if the road is closed there are no trips to make. The experienced drivers, then, Mr. Speaker, go elsewhere. We have seen this year significantly more incidents of transport truck accidents on the Dempster Highway than we've seen in many, many years.
The maintenance on the vehicles have increased significantly due to the condition of the highway. If this continues, we run the risk of companies having to increase trucking fees which, of course, inevitably will be passed on to the customer, or even worse, Mr. Speaker, choosing not to run the highway at all.
This is not a capacity issue, Mr. Speaker. On the Northwest Territories side, our model of maintaining the road by local contractors seems to be working. We have contractors that are local, have local knowledge that have been out removing snow quickly after snowstorms to get the Dempster Highway open.
Mr. Speaker, someone has to be the voice for trucking companies and the customers they serve. We must work with our sister territory to ensure these costly closures are dealt with in a timely manner. We have to ensure when winter storms happen, and we know they will, that action to reopen the road is dealt with in a much more timely manner. In a normal season, Mr. Speaker, there are 15 transport trucks per day traveling on that highway, and at times up to 20 trucks per day traveling on that highway. That's a lot of goods and services, Mr. Speaker, coming off that highway.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, this certainly adds to the discussion of building the Mackenzie Valley Highway, our own highway maintained solely by our own contractors, carrying products to service more of our communities, and that's not to mention, Mr. Speaker, the commerce that will also stay in our territory. I will have questions for the Minister of Infrastructure later today.