I appreciate the Minister's response and his work with his earpiece as well, but the benefits of participant funding are well documented and they include building confidence in our environmental management system and creating buy-in for our residents while considering projects. I'm wondering if the Minister can just provide a little bit more information about what specifically the GNWT is prepared to do to push this issue with the federal government. I understand he mentioned letters that have been sent in the past, but is this something he'd be prepared to take up with the new Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada.

We recognize the value of having our NWT residents participate in a lot of these processes, and I will commit to the Member that I will continue to raise the issue with our federal counterpart. We are fairly new in devolution. The responsibilities we're taking over are fairly new. I will take up the cause and continue to raise that issue with Ottawa so people in the Northwest Territories are able to be funded to participate in some of the hearings.

Mahsi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the response from the Minister. I'd be happy to work with him on this issue. I've got a little bit of experience in this area and would be happy to share that with him, though Canadians south of 60 degrees are entitled to participant funding through federal environmental assessment legislation. Here in the Northwest Territories there's the Interim Resource Management Assistance Program, or IRMA, to build capacity in Aboriginal governments outside the areas covered by land rights agreements. This is a very helpful initiative, but can the Minister tell us whether the GNWT is prepared to enhance our resource management legislation with a real participant funding program that is actually legislated? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will take the Member up on his offer to work with myself on advancing some of these issues, again recognizing the fact that we're early in devolution and we're trying to work our way through the process and make sure we have a very strong regulatory system in the Northwest Territories. If that means funding some of the participants to make their cases to the respective boards, then it's something that we will continue to work on. Again, I will take the Member up on his offer.

Mahsi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Mahsi. Minister of Transportation.

Highway No. 1 is broken into two sections. The first section is from the Providence Junction at Highway No. 3 to Redknife, which is maintained by the Providence crew. That is managed by the North Slave region. From Redknife to Fort Simpson is the second section of Highway No. 1. That is run and operated through the regional staff in the Fort Simpson office. The maintenance on Highway No. 1 is done in accordance with the NWT Highway Maintenance Manual, which provides guidelines for various summer and winter maintenance. The supervisors in both regions are well-experienced and considerably skilled people at maintaining the road, and in the wintertime, both sections are maintained on a daily basis.

I thank the Minister for his answer. Can the Minister provide the House with the cost to maintain each section of the road, Fort Providence Junction to Redknife and Redknife to Fort Simpson?

To maintain each section of this highway is largely dependent on the weather and conditions of the infrastructure. There are a number of things that contribute to that, but both sections' cost is very comparable in maintenance.

I really didn't get an answer from the Minister, but that's all right. I'll move on to my next question. I find it very interesting that the Department of Transportation would split these two sections of the highway. Can the Minister please provide the rationale on why the North Slave district has a responsibility to maintain a section of the road and not the Fort Simpson District?

The Department of Transportation has divided the highway system in the NWT into four sections. We have the South Slave, the Fort Simpson section, the North Slave region, and the Inuvik Region. The boundaries for each regional operation are based on a range of factors such as operational efficiencies, workload, capacity, cost and service, and traffic levels, weather, and geography.

Mahsi. Oral questions, Member for Nahendeh.

I thank the Minister for his answer. I’m a little bit concerned with the answer. My challenge is: How can the North Slave District really manage this section of the highway? I understand the great work the Fort Providence staff do, but management based out of Yellowknife have no real vested interest in this highway if they don't drive down it. Will the Minister commit to looking to have the Fort Providence to Redknife section of the road transferred to the Fort Simpson District for more efficiency, or if that is not possible, can the Minister have his staff post on their website and on signage along the highway section between Redknife and Fort Providence Junction, and tell the users where they can raise their concerns to about the road conditions?

All highways in the Northwest Territories are of great concern to the Department of Transportation and we take maintaining and looking after them very seriously. If the Member, or any resident of the Northwest Territories, has a concern with our highway system, they can always get hold of the department or myself personally.

Mahsi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I spoke earlier, athletes from the NWT, including many from my own constituency, will be competing in the upcoming Arctic Winter Games. It's evident that we are giving the necessary support for athletes competing in these games, but what about other athletes throughout the Territories who have not been so fortunate as to gain entry into these games? Cynthia Simmons, a proud Northerner and an amazing speed skater, is competing for a chance at gold at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games this week in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. In fact, she is the sole athlete competing in these games from the NWT. I for one salute her courage and tenacity for being our ambassador at the Special Olympics and hope that she will return with a gold medal on her shoulders and a warm welcome from a proud territory. My question for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs is: What programs and funding are provided to our athletes, and how will those programs work to send future athletes to games such as the Special Olympics?

Mahsi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

We were very disappointed in the six sports that were excluded from the 2016 Arctic Winter Games, and we tried very hard to get an alternative event planned. Unfortunately, one of the jurisdictions backed out and we were unable to pull that together. We have given the excluded sports an option to find an opportunity to find a development opportunity, a tournament that they can go to as they would if they were competing in the Arctic Winter Games. We have a very strong, healthy support system for all of our athletes. We have the $650,000 that we use for multi-sport events, and we continue through many of our programs to have opportunities for athletes to compete not only at a territorial, but at a national level as well.

I know that the Minister is very keen on sports and a real champion. In fact, recently he committed almost $25 million to build the athletes' village for the Canada Winter Games.

---Laughter

Given that, will the Minister commit to allocating some of those funds and improving our programs for sport-oriented training and healthy community initiatives, in particular for youth development in the Northwest Territories?

We were quite disappointed that the 2023 Canada Winter Games were not bid on by the capital city. I think it would have been a fantastic opportunity for not only the athletes in the Northwest Territories, but all the people involved in sport across the Northwest Territories, so we were quite disappointed. The $25 million that the Member spoke of, that was a commitment that was made to help facilitate the games and provide an athletes' village, and then be used for some much-needed housing afterwards. We have a very strong, robust support system for our athletes and our youth across the Northwest Territories, and we will continue to provide that support.

Well, if it's not about spending new money, maybe we can ask the Minister if he will commit to avoiding any cuts to our already excellent support for youth and sport in the Northwest Territories.

---Applause

We value the input of all of our youth across the Northwest Territories. There have been no decisions, as the Member well knows, that have been made yet, and we will debate all aspects of the main estimates during the business planning process that is upcoming in just over a month. We will have that opportunity to debate and have feedback from committee as we move forward.