Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This six-week budget session would not be complete without me repeating my two favourite words: Highway 7.
The recent federal budget just gave this topic further mileage. The federal government has renewed funding with the new Building Canada Plan in this year’s budget and the Department of Transportation’s Corridors for Canada III plan is part of the new Building Canada Plan, this country’s longest and largest infrastructure plan ever. The Northwest Territories will be getting a small fraction of the $53 billion, and we need a plan to repair the fractured highways of Nahendeh and our NWT.
Highway No. 7 is a key transportation corridor to our Northwest Territories. Last June the Department of Transportation earmarked $3 million for the rehabilitation of Highway No. 7. It’s a drop in the bucket, or should I say a drop in the pothole, for a highway that was not properly designed to withstand the frequent heavy loads transported year round through the region, but it’s something. We need more in the years to come.
The Prairie Creek Mine uses Highway No. 7 to access its work sites, transport personnel and goods, and meet other industrial needs. Additional roadwork is also much needed with the chipsealing of Highway No. 1 and the repairs towards Wrigley.
Industry and our tourists are strongly urging the Northwest Territories to make major investments in Highway No. 7. Spring is coming, and this highway should be at the top of the Department of Transportation’s list of priorities. Investments in Highway No. 7 are as important as any highway investment we can make, and we’re smart to put our share of federal funding there.
Many Northerners agree, we need a highway all the way up the Mackenzie Valley, and Highway No. 7 would be an integral part of that road system as we move goods through northern BC. We have more resources today than ever before to design highways that need essential geometric and strength criteria. Investments we make in the existing highways through Corridors for Canada to lay the groundwork for future infrastructure and the opportunities that it will bring. No multi-billion dollar infrastructure plan in this country would be complete without Highway No. 7.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
