Thank you, Madam Premier. Minister Responsible for Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Health and Social Services has a range of programs and services that will assist people in small communities with their mental health. The child and youth community counsellors program is available through the schools to people from the community. It's just a matter of calling and making an appointment, so that's right onsite. For people who don't want to meet in person, there are virtual care appointments that are available. Of course, that goes back to needing some technology and broadband availability to access that.

There are also apps for phones. I'd looked at a couple of them, one is called Seven Cups, another one is called Breathing Room. They may be more oriented to younger people than someone my age, but they look very interesting, very solution-focused. There is the NWT Help Line, which is available 24/7, that will assist people with any kind of an issue that they want to raise. Of course, Tuktoyaktuk also has a family violence shelter, which is available to anyone who feels they need to leave their home and seek emergency shelter for a period of time. There are a range of things, and if the Member would like Tuktoyaktuk-specific phone numbers and contact people, I can produce that for him. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know every one of those people she's talking about. I don't need their number. I need help in regard to providing that service with the Minister. Tuktoyaktuk's one, but I have Sachs Harbour, Paulatuk, Ulukhaktok, most northerly communities across our territory. We need help. That's what I'm asking for. During the first few months of this pandemic, we had phone calls once a week with our mayors. You probably took part in them with your communities. I took part of them with my mayors of Tuktoyaktuk and Sachs Harbour and Ulukhaktok and Paulatuk. Are we still able to start having those meetings? We had the RCMP, the DEAs, people who were ready to respond to something if somebody ended up with COVID-19. Are these meetings still happening, and if not, when are they going to start back up because we are in round 2 of COVID-19 and people are scared. People are asking. Thank you.

That is a question for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, if you can defer it there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Minister of Community and Community Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm just hearing the Member's comments and the questions that are coming out of them. I do understand that COVID-19 has really brought us to a different level and brought us to a different way of administering and to caring for our people, as well. Right now, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, we do meet with the mayors and chiefs on a monthly basis. We decreased those meetings because of the numbers of COVID coming into the Northwest Territories have not increased. Right now, we are going to be meeting with the Northwest Territories Association of Communities, and we will start increasing those meetings. We will be communicating and bringing the hamlets and charter communities up to date as to what to expect as we go forward. We do work very closely with the Department of Health and also with the new secretariat, as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Colleagues, just a reminder to be wary of the time. We're only on the fifth one here and over half the time, so keep your preambles short and your answers to the point. Okay. Thank you. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of MACA as to the usefulness of years and years of reports and plans related to highway and out-of-community rescue services. Will the Minister commit to reviewing all of those reports and plans and having a tangible plan with the framework, with equipment, to do the job ordered before April 1^st? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Member, for your comment and your questions. As you know, we know that, when we're developing in the Northwest Territories, we see a lot of the highways that are being constructed. There is a need for safety, too, so we can work in conjunction with the communities and the hamlets, as well, not only that but the jurisdictions outside of the municipal areas. I am committed to reviewing the reports and also looking at the April 1^st date that the Member had put. I'll work towards that. Sorry. I can't commit to that, but I will review the reports.

Thank you to the Minister. I'm more than happy to help her with getting to that April 1^st deadline. Will the Minister agree to having MACA be the lead agency and work with Cabinet to ensure these siloed government departments doing bits and pieces of public safety will work together to get public safety done in a cohesive and immediate way?

MACA is a priority. I mean, safety is a priority of MACA. Sorry. I will be working with my Cabinet colleagues and I will be in communication with the Member, as well.

Will the Minister agree to work with Cabinet to ensure the purchase of a fire rescue truck this year, a medic light rescue and tanker-heavy rescue combination units each subsequent year to finally have lifesaving services along the Northwest Territories roadways?

Thank you, Member. The decision right now is very premature. I need to look at the reports that have been created prior to this Assembly, and I need to look at those numbers. I will have the conversation with my Cabinet colleagues.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.

Masi, Mr. Speaker. Honourable Caroline Wawzonek told this House on June 3^rd that COVID made digital connectivity even more important and also urgent. She said, and I quote, "I certainly do expect I will be making faster progress on this and maybe would have before the COVID happened." Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask Minister Wawzonek about the faster progress that she mentions. What are the implications of the faster progress for Internet and Whati, Gameti, and Wekweeti? Masi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me speak to the matter in Whati first. I'm very happy to be able to say that, with the recent signing of the infrastructure cooperation agreement between the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Tlicho Government, part of that agreement was, in fact, that the GNWT is now supporting the option for a fibre optic line to Whati. This is going to be a project that would be led by the Tlicho government, but the GNWT is going to partner and provide support as well as some financial supports in terms of preparing their project. That is a very exciting opportunity to work together on completing that.

In addition to that, Northwestel had an application that was recently approved by CRTC that will allow all satellite communities, which includes Wekweeti and Gameti, but all of the satellite communities, to take advantage of the low earth orbit satellite network as soon as that technology is available. The expected date for that is in 2022 and 2023. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That's great news about Whati. It's still in the works, and if we wait for Northwestel, we may not see the Internet. There is a CRTC federal counterpart, and as you know, the federal drags its heels, as well. This is an area that we need to push forward. As the GNWT, the Minister has made it a priority, a commitment in this House, so I would like to ask the Minister: the government has given fibre optic services to Tulita, Fort Good Hope, Norman Wells, Fort Simpson, and Wrigley. Some of them are small communities. In the interest of fairness, when will the Minister of Finance extend those same services to the Tlicho communities of Gameti, Wekweeti, and also, well, Whati is still in the works, but those communities?

Right now, there are no plans in place to be extending the fibre line to Gameti and Wekweeti. The first step is to get it as far as Whati. Again, working in combination with the Tlicho Government, it may well be that, if we are successful in our applications to the federal government for their support and their funding in regard to that project, that, from there, we may well be moving on to Gameti and Wekweeti, but we have to lay the first line first.

If we can find $82 million for a 12-kilometre fibre optic line down the Mackenzie Valley, I'm sure we can find it, too, for my region. Why can't we find an extra little bit that would help households, schools, and nursing stations and businesses to now enjoy the benefits of this line that their very own tax dollars built, for my riding in Monfwi?

Again, I am very pleased to say that we're going to be working together with the Tlicho Government to bring a fibre line into the community of Whati, and pleased that, again, at this point, with the CRTC approvals that are in place, Gameti and Wekweeti will be seeing a dramatic improvement to their access, as well. We are constantly working with federal counterparts to have access and opportunity to get involved with the tremendous amount of funding that is coming forward in the next few years for broadband, but even that funding from the federal government, at this point, although we're having those conversations, it has been announced but there are no calls out yet. The actual applications, the kinds of applications, that's not even known. Nevertheless, we want to be first in line and we've already had those outreach opportunities, and I have taken them where I can and will continue to do so.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Monfwi.