Mr. Speaker, when I was the mayor of Tuktoyaktuk, and since elected to represent Nunakput, I have continued to press the government to recognize the critical need to get going on construction of the access road to Tuktoyaktuk’s Gravel Source 177.
Mr. Speaker, this road is required for several reasons. The extensive granular resources at source 177 are required to support municipal infrastructure to Tuktoyaktuk instead of relying on expensive transport to pour in materials on the winter roads from sources near Inuvik. The road will allow Tuktoyaktuk residents and businesses to access employment opportunities in the exploration and natural gas processing facilities planned for the region, and the access road will follow the survey route of the eventual northern extension of the Mackenzie Highway, which is a high priority of this government.
I want to congratulate the government for signing the funding agreement with Canada today on the build Canada program. I understand that with the framework now signed, we can move on to the task of identifying the projects across the N.W.T. that can finally get off the ground.
With assistance from the federal funding contribution, later today I’ll have questions for the Minister of Transportation on the prospects for the move forward on this long-awaited priority in my constituency.
