Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm here for my annual report on the conditions of the Dempster Highway once again. Specifically, Mr. Speaker, the section from Rengleng River to Inuvik. I have received several calls, emails, texts, from community leaders, from business owners, from residents in the region -- as I know my colleague the MLA from Mackenzie Delta has as well -- on the condition of that road, Mr. Speaker.
Over the past few weeks, as is normal for this time of year, we've had a considerable amount of rain up there, and that section of the highway, Mr. Speaker, simply cannot handle that rain. It turns into mud, and it's almost undriveable.
A little research: I spoke to some of the contractors in our region who have been working on that road for several years, some of them when that road was built back in the late 1960s, and the issue being, Mr. Speaker, is that while there's maintenance happening on the road, they're simply out there grading mud. The section from Rengleng River to the border seems to hold up okay, and if you do some of that research you'll note that that work over the past ten years, that section has been resurfaced. So they've actually added some additional crush on there, and built that road up to a standard where it can handle that, those seasonal rains. The section from Rengleng River to Inuvik, Mr. Speaker, has not.
As you know, my community, the region, rely on that road for goods and services, businesses rely on it to stock their shelves. You know, residents rely on it to access services to Inuvik. It's such a critical piece of infrastructure for us, Mr. Speaker. I think again, you know, the only solution to this problem is for once and for all is to rather we do the maintenance, let's do it in June, not September, and let's look at resurfacing that highway, Mr. Speaker. Let's get out there and get that road brought up to a condition that once we do have the spring and fall rainy season, that that road can actually handle that rain and be maintained and be safe for all the residents of the Inuvik region. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Members' statements. Member from Monfwi.
