Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I wanted to highlight just a couple of perspectives in terms of thoughts on the Infrastructure Acquisition Plan for this year.

The riding that I represent, of course, is four communities, and mostly small communities that are situated in the southern NWT. We realize that, people who come up here by vehicle during their summer holidays, we are the first communities that they see and visit. At the same time, when people travel up here, we are the first government infrastructure that they see.

It is very important that the government ensures that the facilities and infrastructures that we house for people that come up here is very professional and, at the same time, well-kept. That is including the highways, of course, and ensuring that the infrastructure for tourism is good in a way that people want to come back. Those are a few futures that I think the riding that I represent prides itself in.

That is not to say that we are really reliant on capital projects for four communities. At this point in the NWT, we do not see any large industrial natural resource development projects such as what north of Yellowknife enjoys. For those purposes, infrastructure projects like roads, housing, building schools, come at a time of need when those are allocated and determined in communities' plans within perhaps maybe one or two years. That brings a lot of employment opportunities and business spinoffs to our small little communities that sometimes are sidelined for larger regional centres.

We rely on, of course, government services not only to upkeep our communities, but at the same time ensuring that vital information is flowing and there is communication back and forth. We understand that, in this exercise, in terms of coming up with the capital plan for this year, there has to be a level of expectation of cooperation between the local government bodies plus departments. For example, tourism: we need to ensure that there's a consistent exchange of information between a host community, like a small community with perhaps IT or ITI, in terms of ensuring that we have proper tourism facilities operating.

On that point, we seem to accept the reality that our tourism season is from May to maybe the end of August and then all of the campgrounds are closed. There is still the expectation from the travelling public, especially from southern Canada, that want to come up here during the off-season, but they do not have anywhere to stay in terms of parks. On that same matter, too, we have some world-class potential sites for fishing or other outdoor activities that we could build upon, but perhaps there is just maybe the thinking that it cannot be done. Maybe some people in communities are interested in maybe trying to build upon that. I think governments should be able to listen and try to work with those communities.

The other point that I wanted to make is that I think the last major capital project that we saw in our riding was the building of the Fort Providence health centre, and that was about two years ago. We have not really seen any major infrastructure for the riding, and again, I encourage this government and local leaders to try to come together to ensure that projects such as the building of the health centre or else maybe a community hall in Kakisa comes in a timely manner so that people will benefit from the employment and business opportunities that could arise from it.

Another point that I wanted to highlight is, and I think my colleague had expressed the idea for our reliance on infrastructure projects, including highways, we have to remind ourselves that, with the dawn of the completion of the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway, there is still a real need for the Mackenzie Valley highway. It is a given that it will probably open the doors for maybe at some point eventually, if the petroleum industry picks up again, that at least that baseline infrastructure is there. Industry could travel up and down the Mackenzie Valley if there is a highway, and we need to prepare for that eventuality. We cannot dismiss the idea of a Mackenzie Valley highway. More than any other time in the history of the NWT, I think it is needed.

Those are just some comments that I wanted to highlight, and I look forward to the detailed discussions that will happen at a later time. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Next we have Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I, too, would like to thank the Minister and his staff for making presentations to us during committee meetings and to answer some questions. I am going to talk about a few things about what is not in here, but what needs to be in here.

We talked about junior kindergarten and upgrades, especially the playground fencing on the work sites. I understand that the department has developed a priority with washrooms and that. However, we are talking about safety. We are talking about young kids, and if they have access to these other playgrounds, the potential situation of - I have worked in the field a number of times, and I have heard and seen tragedies out there, unfortunately. Therefore, I wish the department and the government would look at that and actually put investment into that area.

I would like to thank the government for the Sambaa K'e Health Centre, and it is great to see it is in the plan. However, there is a little bit of an issue in that the health centre used to be one of the community's sources of income, and unfortunately the Departments of Infrastructure and Health were not able to connect with the communities to get the communities to build this project.

I am not going to talk about that one, but I would like to see, with the Jean Marie Health Centre, the two departments to start working with the communities, the community of Jean Marie, to start looking at what they need to do so they can build it themselves, and they can be leased back to the government. I would like to see this started sooner than later, because this gives an opportunity for the community to have some income and to provide a needed service in the community.

The other issue with Health and Social Services is that in Fort Liard there is a need for a morgue, and right now the body ends up either having to be shipped to Fort Nelson, up to Fort Simpson, or, for whatever reason, they end up in a garage. That is not being very respectful. I know the Department of Health and Social Services is working on it, but I do not see it in the capital plan, and I think it needs to be addressed.

ENR and their communication towers, I see that in the capital plan. I think it is a really good step. However, I have one in Nahanni Butte that we had a little bit of an issue with. I have to give full credit to the department. They did a great job. The Department of MACA did a really good job. I am hoping to be able to do a Member's statement on what they did, but the communication, once they are on the other side of the river, does not work. Presently, Blackstone River has a tower there. An antenna could be put up there that could reach the Fort Liard crossing and area. It could actually address that safety issue, and it would help people on the road, as well, so I would hope that the department would look at this. I know we are looking at a capital plan, and that is probably one of the problems I have, when we see these issues that come up, sometimes we cannot address them through the capital plan process, so I would hope that we are able to address that.

The ITI, I thank the department. They have actually been able to work with the community, and they are going to do a pavilion there, which is great. However, it is not the same type of pavilion that is offered at the Alberta border, the Alberta-territorial border, nor is it the same as the one that is offered in Dawson City; it is manned, and it has an opportunity for employment. I would have hoped that that pavilion would have been built a little bit bigger so that we would have a person there who would be able to promote not just the Nahendeh region and Fort Liard, but the whole territories. A lot of people are looking at that, and that was a concern from them.

I would like to thank the Department of Infrastructure for putting money into Highway No. 7. We have heard in previous Assemblies that it has been a challenge, and it is getting better. It is getting improved, and I would like to thank them for that. However, Highway No. 1, there are some concerns, and I will have some questions for the Minister throughout the rest of the session. There is a section of road from 205 to 220, I believe it is, which was chipsealed, and we have had problems with it. It continues to be a challenge, so I will be asking some questions of the Minister there.

The other part is the Wrigley road. I unfortunately got to travel 1,155 kilometers this year on the southern roads. The only road I did not get to go on was from Fort Resolution Junction to Fort Resolution, and the Wrigley road was probably the most interesting one. We did have some pretty interesting bumps and roller-coaster rides, as some of my constituents say. I would be hoping that the department would be working on it and fixing it up.

I have two last comments. One is about the Housing Corporation. I appreciate the work that the Housing Corporation is doing, but I would like to see the Housing Corporation start looking at tiny homes and getting them into these smaller communities because, unfortunately for me and some of my communities, I have 10 to 12 people in some of the homes and three generations. People like young adults who are looking at trying to get their own homes, into their own places, I think tiny homes would be a solution.

The NWT Power Corporation, I honestly believe it is time, as my other colleagues have mentioned here, for it to be brought into the capital plan. It is no different than the Housing Corporation. The Housing Corporation used to be outside, to my understanding, and now they are brought into it and it is brought here so we can look at it. If it needs to be in camera and done that way, I think we can work it out, but I think it has to be brought forth that way.

Overall, most of my concerns through this budget, I would have to say that the majority of it I am very happy with. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Next, we have Mr. Nakimayak.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I just want to start by thanking the Minister for bringing this out. Looking at the plans in the four communities, let me start with housing. I know that, no matter how much housing we put into the Northwest Territories, there will still remain a shortage, and I know that all these retrofits that are coming up are definitely helping. I will not say much more on that part.

On the health part, aging in place is important for people, especially in the smaller communities. I see that having more beds in a regional centre, for now, is a good solution to start, but we need to start looking ahead in the future to having more elders age in their homes.

Looking at my region of the Northwest Territories and opening the Northwest Passage, there are no deep sea ports; there are no dock infrastructures in my region to help support whatever may come in the future. We had quite a number of cruise ships pass by our region and stop, and the lack of infrastructure definitely eliminates tourism and infrastructure as well as our sovereignty. I think we need to start to look at that infrastructure. We have been working on highways, and I think we need to become a little bit more diverse and look at the waterways, as well. That is one area where we definitely need to beef up our expertise and start to do more studies and looking at what possibilities lie within having infrastructure along the rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Another thing is airports in my region. I know a lot of airports in the territory are mostly gravel surface. In a sense, that eliminates larger planes with bigger loads where they cannot apply their brakes, especially in my region, where the runways are short. Looking down the road, maybe the possibility of chipsealing or paving one or two of them where they may be tactical to work with the federal government and the Armed Forces in case we need to have a presence, a larger presence, in the Arctic.

Other than that, Mr. Chair, I did not have much to add. I will not take up too much of committee's time, so I just want to say thanks, and I look for to going through the process. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Nakimayak. I have no further people on the list, so I will go to the Minister for his response.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank committee. I appreciate committee's input and some of their thoughts on the capital plan. I am just going to touch on a few of the high-level concerns that were raised, and then there was a lot of detailed information that was requested by committee. I think they will have an opportunity to question the appropriate Minister when the time comes. I am not going to try to respond on the department's behalf, but I will touch on a couple.

The Fiscal Responsibility Policy, we can commit to provide the information when we are doing the plan reviewing, and we will also provide detail during the business plan review.

The Power Corporation, that is one we are going to have to have a look at. We are willing to look at the best way to get information to Members, and we will have to go back and have a look at that. Committee has mentioned it a couple of times. You are well aware of the fact that you can ask for a briefing, an in camera briefing, with the Power Corporation. I think you are aware of that, but then, again, we will look at the best way to try to get Members information.

Tlicho road, the Tlicho project is a P3 project, and we will keep Members informed as the process unfolds. I just want to reassure Members that there were no projects that were stopped to do the Tlicho all-season road because it is a P3 project. That is something that we are looking at as we go forward. I think P3s sometimes are the best way to get best value for the dollar, so I think there is an opportunity there.

Federal investment, and this is a tough one because we do want to get the information to Members as to what the federal investment is going to be and what the criteria is, but it's hard to relay information to Members that we don't have. We're still trying to work with the federal government to get some of the parameters and the criteria around some of the programs they have.

We have to remember, I think one Member mentioned that it is over 11 years, so we need to make sure that we have the capacity to do it. We like to be able to think that we have the capacity to do it and we have the capacity to do it here in the Northwest Territories. I think it was the Member from Tu Nedhe who talked about some of the work that goes to locally owned business, and he spoke specifically to that highway. I mean, there's a classic example of a negotiated contract that was actually done, done well, done on time, done locally.

If we had more opportunities like that, there are countless cases of this government going above and beyond the call of duty to try and help local business, but sometimes they need to be able to do the work and deliver a quality product. If they do that, such as the highway there, then their chances of securing work in the future are improved, and we've seen many cases of that.

There were a couple of comments on the Mackenzie Valley Highway. I, too, would like to see the Mackenzie Valley highway because we know the economic benefits of highway work; I mean, we've seen that with ITH, the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway. We've seen the benefit of having the work.

Because of the economy in the Northwest Territories, the GNWT is starting to be the only game in town, and so we have to ensure that we try and get as much of this work out to local people as possible. I think with the investments in a highway there's a lot of opportunity there to get a lot of local people working, we've seen that firsthand, and then that should ease our burden in some of our other programs that we have. There's also been a demonstration of that.

I mean, I'm all about trying to get as much work as I can for the people in the NWT, but then we have to ensure that because we're spending taxpayers' money that we get a quality product, and at the end of the day I think if they deliver a quality product then their chances of securing further work improve.

I think that's pretty well it for the high-level stuff. There was one concern about the first bullet on page 2 of the document: increasing transparency and accountability and strengthening consensus government. I mean, that all comes with the process that we go through. We share our O and M budget; we share our capital budget with committee, we get committee's feedback. We're held accountable for that; if we don't deliver a quality product to committee or to this Legislative Assembly or to the Northwest Territories, then we may not be sitting in these seats much longer.

Strengthening consensus government, that goes without saying. I mean, because we share information with Members and get feedback from Members I think it's strengthening our consensus government system that we've been using for a long time, but at the end of the day, I mean, what I want to see and I think what many Members in this room want to see is putting our people to work, and I think it's the most important thing. We'll cross all the t's and dot all the i's when we get them. At the end of the day, it should be about trying to get people in the NWT to work, earn a living, and be less of a burden on the O and M budget of this territorial government.

I'll stop there, Mr. Chair. I mean, I could write a book on my response and I could write a book on everything that the Member for Mackenzie Delta is going to write a book on, but I'll stop there. As we get into detail with the specific departments, I'm sure they'll be able to respond to a lot of his questions. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you, committee.

Thank you, Minister. It sounded like a novel to me. Seeing no further general comments, we will proceed to a review of the capital estimates by department.

The committee has agreed to begin the review with the Legislative Assembly. I will now open the floor to general comments. Thank you, Sergeant-at-Arms; please excuse the witnesses. Thank you, committee. A little mix-up here, but does committee agree to begin with the Legislative Assembly?

Thank you. Mr.

Speaker, do you have witnesses you'd like to bring into the Chamber?

I do, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sergeant-at-Arms, please bring in the witnesses. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, please introduce your witnesses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Committee, we will start on page 7. We will defer the Assembly total until after consideration of the activity summaries. Please turn to page 8. I will now open the floor to general comments. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On the information technology projects side, I'm just wondering where the infrastructure support comes for the Legislative Assembly's role in communicating with citizens. Is it through this budget or is it through the technological service centre, which would be a later issue to discuss infrastructure? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Ouellette.

Thank you, Mr. Ouellette. Anything further, Mr. Testart?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. If there is a requirement for new telecommunications equipment or new hardware that goes into broadcasting technology, the microphones that we're using today, am I correct that that is therefore all handled by the O and M budget? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Ouellette.

Thank you, Mr. Ouellette. No further questions from committee? I see none. Committee continues with the Legislative Assembly, Office of the Clerk, infrastructure investment, 2018-2019, capital estimates for $390,000. Does committee agree?

Thank you, committee. We will now turn to page 7. Legislative Assembly, activity, total capital estimates, 2018-2019, capital estimates for $390,000. Does committee agree?