Mr. Speaker, I would like to update Members on the progress community governments and the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs have made on implementation of the Northwest Territories Asset Management Strategy. In spring 2016, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, in partnership with the Northwest Territories Association of Communities and community government representatives, launched the Asset Management Strategy. The strategy helps community councils and staff maximize benefits from their infrastructure investments. Implementation has been designed to be flexible and adaptable, to enable the effective application of asset management practices across all communities.

Over the past year, territorial and community government staff have been collecting detailed information about all community government assets. In the coming months, the first nine pilot communities will begin using asset management software to support their decision-making. The department and the Northwest Territories Association of Communities also worked closely with the Northern Communities Insurance Exchange to ensure up-to-date information on community government assets is integrated into the system. The software includes detailed asset information such as age, maintenance requirements, and potential suppliers.

Mr. Speaker, the Asset Management Strategy also supports the 18th Legislative Assembly's commitments to assist community governments as they innovate to address climate change and to improve their energy efficiency and conservation. The department has collaborated with the Association of Communities, community governments, and staff from the Department of Infrastructure and the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation to include preventative maintenance activities into the software. The preventative maintenance procedures include reminders, checklists, and guidance documents. Current activities, such as monitoring snow loads, have been built into the system to support communities with the protection of their assets as they adapt to a changing climate. As we learn more about climate change impacts and new adaptive maintenance activities, additional procedures can easily be incorporated into the system. Mr. Speaker, community governments are continually faced with pressures to make investments in infrastructure and to deliver enhanced programs and services to their residents. The Asset Management Strategy will support community governments with solid information for decisions related to extending the life and service potential of community assets. Asset management will maximize community governments' investments, as well as allowing for strategic investment of both federal and community infrastructural funding in retrofitting or building new infrastructure. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.