Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was in the Sahtu region last year and last week and did a tour up in Fort Good Hope and Colville Lake. I missed the Wells because of the weather conditions. When I was in the Sahtu, the local contractors were getting busy and people were getting excited because they were starting to open up the all-weather winter roads into the rest of the communities and connections to the south.
I was very happy to hear Mr. Ramsay’s statement here about the progress of the Mackenzie Valley Highway and the support the 17th here has given this construction. My people are looking forward to the day when we can have the same opportunities as other Members here who enjoy all-weather roads into their communities or just to go down south to purchase supplies or visit family or do those other things that the Members enjoy who have the all-weather road.
I know Mrs. McCauley, Auntie Cece, is very happy, because she gave some good reviews and raves in her news column to the Minister and to the partnership on this project here. I want to tell this government here, and the Members, that we greatly appreciate the support. I hope the spirit of John Diefenbaker, the Prime Minister, lives within Mr. Ramsay to open up the highway, fulfill the dream of building the Mackenzie Valley Highway into the North to really connect the people in the North. We are looking forward to it.
We have some major infrastructure such as the Bear River Bridge that needs to get put in. We are going to see an influx of hundreds of millions of dollars in the Sahtu within the next five years with oil and gas exploration. We need help, and there’s help there and we can do it, but we need to push this government, push the federal government and tell Mr. Harper to please help us build this road within four years.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
