Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm certainly appreciative of everybody's comments. Also, I would be remiss if I didn't say that, you know, and I appreciate that a lot of people think this way, that we need to be very kind of thankful, grateful for the efforts that the Government of the Northwest Territories has put in, in terms of saving what was a sinking ship, for lack of a better term, and appreciating the efforts that the government has done to make sure that this critical services are being provided to residents of the Northwest Territories. I want to commend the department for that.

You know, this really does lead to: what does the future look like for MTS? I appreciate that the Minister and the department are going to come and present to standing committee in the coming days.

I will put it here, though, on the floor, because it has been touched on, but more detail would certainly be what we would be looking for in the presentation. That is: what is the future of the MTS going to look like? Some have suggested that there needs to be a new governance model. You know, right now, it's essentially, although it's running under a revolving fund, it's essentially a division of the Government of the Northwest Territories.

Have we put any planning into: will it remain that way? Will it maybe be considered a Crown corporation at some point in time, maybe a P3 operator or, in fact, maybe even an outright sale to an owner/operator? What would be the operation model that the government is considering? Is it just status quo, or are we doing work to actually consider other models? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As I have stated in the House, this is early days on this purchase of this asset. We are having to look at those options going forward. As I have said in the House many times, we need more than one or two seasons' data to have a look at this, but the department is certainly having to look at various models of what the end game will be. Those decisions will be made once we get more data and input to be able to make a decision around that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. Vanthuyne.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Are we aware of any other jurisdiction that has a similar model, where there's a government-operated marine transportation system? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Off the top of my head, no, but we would have to do a jurisdictional look to see if there was something out there similar. The only thing that comes to mind to me is some of the MTS tables is Newfoundland and their ferry system, but that's not doing cargo or stuff. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. Vanthuyne.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. When the Minister refers to data, what kind of data? Like what kind of data sets are required for us to make some of these future decisions with regard to the government's model or business model for MTS?

Thank you. Minister.

I can maybe take a crack at it, and then maybe the deputy or someone wants to step in. The easiest way I look at it, from a business point of view, is, first of all, if I were a business guy, why would I want to buy MTS? When you get into a situation like this here, there is so much risk there that, to me, for that type of investment, it would be very challenging to turn a profit in this environment. There is so much risk involved around climate change alone and even sovereignty.

There are a number of things that I think we will have to look at from a data point of view. It would even be from a policy perspective to regional uses of what is going on up in the High Arctic. There are a number of factors that need to be considered in this. Politics is also something, I think, that comes into it to a certain degree, but does it make sense? You would have to look at our other Crown corporations and their governance model and how they are working. I think the previous question, are there other models out there of other governments running an operation like this, that would certainly probably feed into that as well. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Vanthuyne.

Well, thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate what the Minister is saying, but with all due respect, we are just using other terminologies now. Data is one thing, but I have heard the word "factors." We have got to consider factors; we have got to consider risks; we have got to consider politics.

I appreciate that that is what we are doing. I guess what I am trying to understand a little bit is a better perspective on what we actually are doing. What is the information that we are gathering? Are we actively developing a business plan?

I will use the airport as an example just for a moment. That has a five-year plan, and it has a 20-year master plan. Is this something that we are giving consideration to as it relates to MTS? Are we developing the five-year plan? Are we developing the 20-year master plan? What are those things that we are considering that would be the data, the factors, the risks, and the politics involved in developing those types of plans? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Mr. Guy.

Thank you. Mr. Vanthuyne.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is the kind of information that I like to hear: revenues; factors around operations; operational costs; what markets we are looking at; maintenance costs; of course, we heard about climate change earlier; and life cycle costs. Those are the things that I would normally see as the factors and information that we have to consider with regard to developing a model of governance or an operating model.

I appreciate that the department needs more time to observe and get information so that they can make a better case, I suppose. Will the Minister commit, then, to presenting us with a little bit more detailed information in the public presentation coming up and, also, maybe commit to developing a five-year plan similar to that of the airport, which is currently operating off of a revolving fund? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We can certainly commit to developing a longer-term five-year business plan and having those discussions, and I will be able to update committee once we have that work done. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Next, I have Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank my honourable colleagues for starting the work on asking questions around the governance structure.

The deputy spoke to the need to find a self-sustaining model or self-sustaining revenue in the market before the government kind of cuts us loose and stops subsidizing it. I know that, currently, MTS is servicing communities and industrial operations outside of the Northwest Territories. Can the Minister just provide the jurisdictions where MTS is pursuing work? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart.

In the meantime, while the Minister is conferring, I want to welcome a visitor to the gallery, Ms. Debra Richards, constituency assistant for the Nahendeh riding. Welcome.

Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. MTS is presently operating where it traditionally has in the past. The majority of our work is in the Northwest Territories, with some work in Nunavut and a small amount in Alaska. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. Testart.