Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 15/01) - Territorial Finance Minister Joe Handley said Friday the global economic slowdown could mean the end to the highway toll.

"(The economic slowdown) raises the question whether we should enter into that arrangement," said Handley from Vancouver where he was attending a territorial and provincial meeting of finance ministers.

Handley said the territories' commercial traffic flow projections could be off because people aren't buying as much as they were before Sept. 11.

He said he has to wait and see what federal Finance Minister Paul Martin's strategy will be before any decisions are made.

Handley also said the territories' federal grant could be cut back because of spending cuts across the country.

The federal government's formula for shelling out the grant depends on economic activity across the country.