Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I drive on the beautiful Nahendeh highways frequently for business and pleasure. One of my favourite songs is On the Road Again by Willie Nelson. However, I am not playing that song very often as our gravel roads continue to deteriorate quickly during the summer months. Today, in my constituency, many people are participating in Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent where it is a common practice to give up something or actively make the world a better place. These are the values I try to use every day while representing the Nahendeh. Will the Minister commit to enhancing the transportation infrastructure in Nahendeh, especially chipsealing Highway No. 1 and No. 7?

This government has developed a Tourism Strategy and transportation that must be included. Tourism dollars are valuable and cannot be taken for granted. Every year, the communities in the region, or territorial government, must actively and creatively initiate aggressive tourism projects to ensure tourism activity. This is directly tied to economic development.

There was a press release on the Tourism Strategy on February 27th called, Tourism 2010. This is a $15 million commitment by this government to help build tourism. Five key areas had been identified. However, according to my research, nothing had been earmarked for highway improvements. There is a gap as it fails to address the road system that our tourism needs. We must continue and accelerate the plans to chipseal Highway No. 1 and No. 7. This would not only improve the condition and safety of our highways, but also encourage tourism in a badly needed region. Safety is a primary concern of this government. As economic activity increases, so too must the resources to ensure our highways are maintained adequately and safely.

As expressed during my oral questions on Monday, tourism is a word of mouth industry, Mr. Speaker. Other regions in Canada with similar attributes get hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. I believe so can we. The completion of a chipseal Deh Cho trail is critical to this objective, Mr. Speaker.

In closing, our highways are a key to entrenching the tourism future for all residents. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause