Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had the opportunity to look at a media transcript of an interview that I did with respect to the Inuvik-Tuk highway. Just so that it isn’t only the sensational clip of saying maybe it is 50 percent off, the fact that the road is on sale, 50 percent off isn’t a good reason to buy it. Maybe I should make that a little more fulsome explanation on where I stand with this project.
We are inching closer to the information that we need to proceed with a project such as the magnitude of building a road between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. Our government is doing the preliminary work. We are doing the feasibility in the sense of the geotechnical. We have been investing in that. When we have collected all of the information, we will go back to the federal government with that information. We will then have that discussion with them.
The federal government has alluded to financial commitments to participate in the construction of this project because it is something they support. Who can argue with nation building and coast-to-coast ability for people to access the Beaufort-Delta, the Arctic in this way? You cannot argue with that. But we as a government, in terms of our contributions, still need to have a fulsome discussion of the pros and cons.
Is this a project that we can afford, not only for the initial capital expenditure but the ongoing operations and maintenance of a road of this size and in this location? These are all questions that we have to ask ourselves and we have to cost out.
There has been reference made to the fact that this would be a tremendous boom to an economy that is something right now in the Beaufort-Delta. That is a very valid argument. I am completely empathetic with that situation. Maybe there are other ways this government can help support that region, as well, without a 200 to 300 million dollar highway if that turns out not to be the way we are going to go. Quite apart from the highway, we should be looking at ways to help all of the regions find things that can be done in their area to boost their economy.
There are many questions. We need to have that debate. We need not to take extreme positions, but it is our job, as the keepers of the public purse to, when we are going to spend money, ask all of the questions and have an absolutely fulsome discussion of those questions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
