Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My Member’s statement is going to be on the vision of a Prime Minister from the past, John Diefenbaker, in terms of the Road to Resources and I am going to make reference to the construction of the Mackenzie Valley Highway in terms of the importance of this piece of infrastructure in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, I was in on several briefings where there are some funds out in Canada that would not consider the Mackenzie Valley Highway as a piece of infrastructure that would be looked at by the federal government. That’s a crying shame that the federal government would not look at this important piece of infrastructure that would serve many communities down the Mackenzie Valley, starting from the community of Wrigley and ending up at the Beaufort Sea at the community of Tuktoyaktuk. This piece of infrastructure would put a lot of people in the position to enhance their business, employ many people to further their skills as equipment operators, project managers, put business in our small communities to work and enhance our communities, as well, by creating a lot of self-esteem, I guess, amongst our people there.
Mr. Speaker, I would again look at the issue of the federal government in terms of their requirements and some of their funding projects that would support more businesses in the communities in the Mackenzie Valley. It seems the federal government has an interest in resource development that would be beneficial to them, such as the diamond mines. However, it seems to me when you look at their responses, it seems like they favour more the diamond, actually, than the people in the Northwest Territories along the Mackenzie Valley Highway. This infrastructure such as the Mackenzie Valley Highway would strengthen and support the sovereignty of Canada’s Arctic to the Canadian people and that would help the people in the Mackenzie Valley open up other resource opportunities such as oil and gas exploration and mineral exploration.
So, Again, I Ask This Government Here If They Would Encourage The Federal Government To Look At The Mackenzie Valley Highway As A Project That Could Be A Legacy For All Canadians To Enjoy. Thank You, Mr. Speaker.MR. SPEAKER: Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
