Colleagues, during the youth parliament, the Member from the Dehcho, Willem Kanigan, did a Member's statement on the issue of lack of maintenance and pavement of the allseason highway that connected Fort Simpson to Fort Liard. I would like to share it here today.
A concern that many of the residents of the Dehcho region have raised to me is the condition of the route that connects Fort Simpson to other communities during all times of year.
The road that links Fort Simpson to Fort Liard is extremely difficult to navigate during many of the winter months due to snow buildup and icy conditions along the road. This highway is vital to many people in the Dehcho region and acts as a lifeline to them. Constituents and their family use this highway to get supplies and for personal use, and unsafe road conditions impede their way of life.
At this moment, the road that connects Fort Simpson to Fort Liard is, for the most part, a gravel road with only a 70kilometre section out of the 393 kilometers being paved.
Many locals have voiced concerns about the road and the challenges it poses to them during the winter months and throughout the year, and I believe that the only way to fully remedy this issue would be to better maintain or to pave the Fort Liard Highway. For these reasons, he will ask the Minister of Infrastructure to allocate additional funds towards maintenance of the highway between Fort Simpson and Fort Liard or to give additional funding towards paving the highway to improve road conditions yearround. The conditions of the road that connects Fort Simpson to Fort Liard are extremely challenging during the winter months due to icy conditions, snow buildup, and the fact of the road not being paved. These conditions pose a difficulty to many residents of the Dehcho region.
He asked the Minister of Infrastructure to allocate additional spending on the maintenance of the road or pave the road as this would resolve the issue completely.
I would like to thank the Youth Member for this statement and allow me to share it with you here today.
Colleagues, I think that Member may have seen some of my Member's statements in the past, so I have to say thank you very much for doing it.
