Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A lot has been said in this House in recent days about the proposed highway between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. There has been so much talk about cost overruns that I was starting to wonder if I had missed the start of construction. Of course, we know that the decision has not yet been made. Critics of the project are so fixated on costs that they downplay the most important fact: The Inuvik-Tuk highway is a great investment in our economy and future. The benefits are huge. There will be hundreds of jobs building the road for people in the Mackenzie Delta, Inuvik and Nunakput areas. Many of these jobs will last for several years and possibly much longer if the Mackenzie Valley Highway Project goes ahead. There will be many business opportunities and most of the work will go to northern contractors.
I do want to throw in a word of caution here. Gwich’in businesses have not always had a fair shake in getting government contracts in the ISR and that must not happen on the Inuvik-Tuk highway.
This project will turn around the weak economy that we have had for so many years in the Beaufort-Delta. Our young people will see that they have a way to get ahead and support their families. They will see that going to school is important. We need these jobs. Every year the cost of living goes up and up, and with the cost of electricity and fuel, and groceries and everything else, our people need opportunities besides income support. Once it is finished, the Inuvik-Tuk highway will bring down the cost of living in Tuk and open new opportunities there including tourism, especially if the increased investment dollars that can promote all the Delta has to offer. If we build it, they will come.
