Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I cannot see him from where I sit, but I am told that Mr. Gerard Mulders is in the gallery. I would like to recognize Mr. Mulders who is a long-term resident of Yellowknife, formerly the regional director for the Keewatin region for this government before his retirement. He now lives in British Columbia and he took time out of his retirement to help me in my campaign. He worked really hard for me.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS Rule 85 requires that Members be appointed to the Standing Committee on Social Programs;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta that the following Members be appointed to the Standing Committee on Social Programs:

1. Mr. Bell, Member for Yellowknife South
2. Mr. Dent, Member for Frame Lake
3. Mr. Lafferty, Member for North Slave
4. Mr. McLeod, Member for Deh Cho
5. Mr. Miltenberger, Member for Thebacha

AND FURTHER, that the following Members be named alternates to the Standing Committee on Social Programs:

1. Mr. Braden, Member for Great Slave
2. Mr. Krutko, Member for Mackenzie Delta
3. Mr. Nitah, Member for Tu Nedhe

Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice of earlier today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Thursday February 24, 2000, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta that the following Members be appointed to the Standing Committee on Social Programs:

1. Mr. Bell, Member for Yellowknife South
2. Mr. Dent, Member for Frame Lake
3. Mr. Lafferty, Member for North Slave
4. Mr. McLeod, Member for Deh Cho
5. Mr. Miltenberger, Member for Thebacha

And further, that the following Members be named alternates to the Standing Committee on Social Programs:

1. Mr. Braden, Member for Great Slave
2. Mr. Krutko, Member for Mackenzie Delta
3. Mr. Nitah, Member for Tu Nedhe

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We need to have this road reconstructed now, not five years from now, and certainly not 10 years from now. We need to have this road contributing to our health, to our environment, and our economy, not endangering them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to speak on the concerns this afternoon that I have about the state of Highway No. 3 between Rae Edzo and Yellowknife. I wish to also advise you, Mr. Speaker, that these are concerns I share with a number of other Members in this House from Yellowknife, as well as North Slave and Deh Cho.

Mr. Speaker, the reportings in the media this morning are yet another heap on the mounting evidence that the current state of this stretch of highway is simply hazardous to our health, our environment, and our economy. A man is in the local hospital as we speak due to the injuries he suffered from an accident on this road. The tractor trailer he was driving, fully loaded with diesel fuel, rolled several times because he was unable to negotiate one of the many treacherous corners on that road, not to mention the very narrow shoulders.

Mr. Speaker, this road is a fatality waiting to happen, and this government has to do more to address this danger. How many more injuries and fatalities do we need to see before something is done about it? How much more fuel do we need to pour onto the road and even the surrounding lakes before we see the reconstruction of this road?

The road also is endangering our economic activities, Mr. Speaker. We are already well aware that it is a highly negative factor for the tourism industry, but we are suffering from more immediate economic impacts of these road conditions.

I also learned this morning that the Department of Transportation is systematically delaying the traffic heading to the mines by restricting the traffic. This is because oversize trucks cannot travel during busy morning and evening hours and also during the day on the weekends.

Mr. Speaker, this is another obstacle to the resource industry, which is already operating under a tight winter road schedule. I appreciate the need to control the traffic of these oversize trucks, but it is clear that this is one more indication of the additional demands being placed on this very fragile road system.

Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is this. We need this road reconstructed now, not five years from now, and certainly not ten years from now. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude this statement.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to congratulate you and the Premier on being elected to your offices.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to use this, my very first Member's statement in this House, to thank the constituents of Range Lake for giving me a place at this table. Mr. Speaker, I am sure I speak for all Members in the House when I say what a singular honour and privilege it is to be elected by the public at large, and to be given the mandate to serve them in this Legislature.

As I walk through the halls of this great place of meeting, I hear the voices of my constituents, which guide me now and will continue to guide me throughout the days and months to come. I hear the voices of moms and dads talking about their children's education, of the teachers', doctors', and nurses' working conditions. I hear the voices of laid off Giant Mine workers talking about the fairness in the settlement of their pension and severance packages.

There are so many more voices, Mr. Speaker. Voices of small and large business owners and stakeholders, voices of women and men, youth, aboriginal and non-aboriginal, the weak and the sick, whose voices we must hear and act upon. Mr. Speaker, I understand my mandate for the next four years is to bring life to these voices and to work with my colleagues in and out of this Chamber to develop solutions to their concerns.

I also appreciate that behind you, Mr. Speaker, and the 18 Members of this House, sit 43,000 voices of our Territory, which also must come to life and be acted upon.

As I begin this task in earnest today, it is with a firm belief that it is our collective task to set the course of the path for our new Territory towards unity and prosperity, not necessarily because we have a common interest in all issues, but because it is in our common interest to work together for solutions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause