Debates of February 3, 2006 (day 22)

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to talk about Highway No. 3. That is my statement today. Improvements on Highway No. 3. We are thankful these improvements will be done soon because we always use this highway, which is important to us. This highway that is there, there is a lot of people who live along the highway. Sometimes some of these elders and people live along the highway, but since the highway was created, some of them are experiencing hardship because their cabins are a ways from the highway. I am talking about the access road. I am talking about the Department of Transportation. Although they maintain the road, they don’t maintain the access road to their cabins. So the elders and people of the communities that live along the highway, they hunt on the road, they trap. They live a traditional lifestyle that they still hold onto. If they are transporting things to their cabin, it’s hard for them to do that. Some elders are not able to walk a long way.

So the access road is a long way. Sometimes they have to go through a lot of snowdrifts on the road, which makes it hard for them. They do maintain the road, the highways. I will ask questions later regarding the access road. I am going to ask whether they can plough their access road once or twice a month. This is a unique situation in the NWT. So this is what we are asking the government. Later today, I will ask the Minister to see if he can prepare to do this to help these people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.