Thanks, Madam Chair. I guess I'll be pretty blunt here. This is another example of a P3 gone wild, where the promise was made, when the Mackenzie Valley fibre link was built as a P3, that this was going to speed up access for all of our communities along the link and that all of the communities down the Mackenzie Valley would have access to high-speed Internet. It has not happened. I guess the Premier is saying that this is a really a private sector responsibility. Then it was a poorly designed P3 that only developed a fibre link that goes by communities and does not connect them. I see the Premier shaking her head. She actually agrees with me. That is great.

What are we going to do to make sure that, when a fibre link line is completed to Tuktoyaktuk, they do not have a distribution system that they're not going to get -- what are the benefits to Tuktoyaktuk if there is no distribution system at the end of the fibre link? Is there a plan to have distribution system in Tuktoyaktuk, and then what about the other communities? I am not pitting communities against communities, but if we are going to make a promise that we are going to build broadband networks and improve speeds and all this kind of thing, you can't just build the line and not have a distribution system in the communities. What have we learned from the first time around with this so that we do not repeat the mistake again and leave Tuktoyaktuk stranded at the end of the fibre link? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have no problem admitting my weaknesses. I think I have done as much as I can talking about Internet services for somebody who does not even watch TV, and so, in that case, I will turn it over to someone who might know more, the Minister of Finance. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The installation of the fibre line alongside areas, for example, the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway, where there is a highway that you can utilize at the same time, bringing the fibre into the community makes it easier and makes it more possible for independent service providers to come in and provide that link into homes. That said, what it's doing for the communities is allowing opportunities to bring the fibre into schools, to bring the fibre into health centres, to bring the fibre into the GNWT offices, for example, the GSO offices.

While it's not a perfect solution to providing it into the homes, it certainly is providing better services in those communities. That said, the GNWT is actively working with Northwestel to support their application through CRTC for an opportunity to leverage some more funding from the federal government, to actually then turn around and have those fibres and to improve connectivity into houses. Is it a perfect solution, where I can promise, sort of, milk and bread in every home, the equivalent in a fibre line? I can't.

At the same time, there is active work happening right now so that the fibre lines are going into the communities that would not have had them at all, and then there would be absolutely no chance of any private service provider putting the line down all the way between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. I think, at this point, the intention is to continue to do that, to take opportunities where they are available on road systems or otherwise, and to get the fibre as close as we can or to work with those service providers, whether it's on fibre or whether it's on low-orbit satellites, to make sure we are achieving the goal of having all communities on a certain base level of Internet connectivity.

Thank you, Minister of Finance. Member for Frame Lake.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Yes, I have been asking for this plan for a number of years. I asked for it in the last Assembly. I will be asking again for it. Where is the plan to have distribution systems in all of our communities for the fibre link, whether it's the ones that are already passed by now or Tuktoyaktuk if we are going to build it to Tuktoyaktuk? That is a heads-up notice. I will keep asking about this. Look, I want this built to Tuktoyaktuk, but I don't want the community to be stranded at the end of the day.

I have questions about the next one, about modernizing NWT airport infrastructure. I am wondering whether Yellowknife is on this list. It does not appear to be in any way, so what about extending the runway in Yellowknife so that we could have direct charters from Europe or Asia, as Whitehorse enjoys? Where is that in the priorities or the action items here, because it does not seem to be listed anywhere? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Madam Premier.

Madam Chair, if you can ask the Minister of ITI?

Thank you. Minister of Infrastructure.

I can get back to you with the details. However, my understanding is we can land significant-sized airplanes on the Yellowknife runway, so I would have to get back to you on that. However, the Yellowknife airport has a master plan. Sorry, I will have to get back to the Member. I am being reminded of my protocols.

There is a Yellowknife airport master plan. If you'll just bear with me to let me find the correct page here, I can give you some details on that. The Yellowknife airport is being looked at. Oh, where did I lose it here? It's being looked at for its own capacity and its own merits outside of the remainder of our airports, so there are going to be changes coming there to better expand for tourism opportunities. Again, I am just trying to -- I have literally lost sight of it here. I think my infrastructure binder is the biggest thing ever. Sorry, one second here.

The airport master plan work is ongoing, and it will be completed in early 2020. They are doing related background technical studies right now as well as market and economic analyses studies, which all have been completed and are being reviewed. The draft airport plan will be shared with Members for their input and comment once it is completed in the spring of 2020, so I imagine that, as the tourism people move forward with our tourism strategies, they are very much interested in discussing or being involved with the airport plan so that it can accommodate any future endeavours we would like to take in tourism.

Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. All right, so I just want to remind the Members to just direct your conversation through me, just so we can get the microphone, and, if you can, say "thank you" when you are at the end, just so that way I know you are done and I can redirect. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just in regard to the fibre optic line, I am just going to rant here. It's not for you, Madam Premier, but it's just like a vacuum cleaner here. Everything comes here. Then, whatever falls off the table, small communities will get it. That is the way everything pretty much works here, by the sounds of it.

Fibre optic will bring so much for the school and health centre. Cell service, maybe Northwestel will give cell service for the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway. Maybe they will get an ambulance. There is no ambulance, so if somebody gets hurt on the highway, you are a hundred-and-some kilometres out; no one is going to come. Somebody will pick you up with a pickup.

There are so many issues that we do have in our small communities, but we make do with what we have got with government downloading, and that is what it comes to. Our community governments are so stretched right now that, when they are providing services, the dollars are stretched for busing, for youth, for lunches, everything. Communities are left behind here. I am sick of it, Madam Chair. You always say "33 communities," "33 communities." Start acting like there are 33 communities and not just one of the bigger centers. You have to take care of everybody.

Federal government gives us $29,500 per person per year. Maybe, I think it is up to $34,000 a year now. Provide service for them. You are not providing service for my people that I represent in the community. You are not. I have houses that, when the wind blows, the wind goes right through the damn house, Madam Chair. I have mould. I have people being sick. I have health issues, concerns for the people who I represent who were an afterthought. That is the way it feels. I have all the respect in the world for my colleague. Something like this small, probably $400,000 or $500,000, where it is a drop in the bucket that they are going to question. Then we could find $4.5, $5 million for the Stanton Territorial Hospital. I know it is a hospital, but they find money for the bigger projects in Yellowknife, not for the communities. Communities are suffering. People are hungry. Get jobs. We need jobs. Please and thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Would the Premier like to respond?

Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate the comments, and I agree. Especially as Cabinet, we have a responsibility to 33 communities, not one, not our own ridings. I have said that to all of my Ministers. Every one of them knows that we have 33 communities. I have always said that, if we support the smaller communities, the bigger communities benefit from it. I hope that the Member won't take that for all Members in this House. Even the Members from the bigger ridings would agree that they don't think about the smaller communities. I take the point that we all need to think about them. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Are there any further questions to "Make strategic infrastructure investments that connect communities, expand the economy, or reduce the cost of living"? Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to talk about the modernization of the NWT airport infrastructure. I am concerned, and if MLA Martselos was here, she'd probably be speaking on this, as well. The airport in Smith was narrowed. My concern is that if we are going to do it to one, they may pick on Hay River or they may pick on somebody else. To me, what we are trying to do is make the North more acceptably accessible. I have lived here for so long; I see where we take stuff away. Once we do that, we never get it back. That scares me when we look at these type of things, and it wasn't us that did it. It was the past group, but we can change that. I think that when we are making decisions, we have to kind of look forward, as well.

Airports are important. The cost of flying out of any community, except for Yellowknife, is pretty expensive. What I would ask this government to do is to really consider when looking at airports or downsizing or trying to do any of that, look at the bigger picture and look forward, because it is important, even with Fort Smith. At the end of the day, we just narrowed that thing, it probably wouldn't be too much to widen it again. That should be a consideration. It is not just with the airports. It is with everything else. Looks like the Minister of ITI would like to comment. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister for ITI.

Technically, Infrastructure. I would like to clarify that nothing has been taken away from the runway in Fort Smith, and the functionality of the airport is exactly as it was prior to the narrowing. Cell phones used to be this big. Now they are this big. Getting smaller does not mean anything has been reduced in functionality. Should anybody feel that the Fort Smith airport is not performing as it needs to, including being able to land 737s, I would encourage them to have the airlines raise that safety concern through the safety protocols under Transport Canada. I don't mean to belabour that point. However, there has been nothing taken away from the Fort Smith airport in terms of functionality. It purely was a physical narrowing that then allowed us to access funding for resurfacing.

I completely agree with the Member. One of the reasons that I ran for this position was to be more proactive in the government and looking at things down the line, which we need to balance with, "Do we have the money to do that?" I get that there is always going to be the balance we have to play of, "How much money do we have for a project, and how much can we build in the capacity for expected growth?" I can say yes to the Member that I do commit to trying to be more forward-thinking with any projects that come under my departments and ensuring that we look to the future and not just "What do we need right now?" Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Hay River South

Thank you, Madam Chair. The functionality of the airport, we will deal with Fort Smith, is still there, but I disagree with the Minister in saying nothing was taken away. There was something taken away. There was a section on both sides taken away. It was narrowed. I am glad that she is saying that there will be some more forward thinking and some thought put into any decisions made with respect to whether it is runways or anything else that we are looking at. Just a comment. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. As it was just a comment, I am going to ask if there are any further questions to "Make strategic infrastructure investments that connect communities, expand the economy, or reduce the cost of living." Seeing there are none, we will move on to page 19.

Due to the agreement that we made the last sitting for the mandate, I am going to limit to one round of questions per. Get your questions in order. You have 10 minutes for one round per priority. We are moving to page 19, "Increase economic diversification by supporting growth in non-extractive sectors and setting regional diversification targets." Questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to speak to the mandate commitment here, "Encourage entrepreneurship by reducing red tape and regulatory burdens on small businesses." I am very happy to see that we kind of snuck this in under this one. I believe every ITI Minister for the last few years has committed to this. There is actually a measurement for red tape. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business provides a Red Tape Report Card. The Northwest Territories has received an F on that report card every single year. Then the 2020 one came out, and we weren't even on it. They just seemed to remove us from the report card, we were doing so bad.

I believe what is happened is, the GNWT, we love passing regulations, and we keep expanding. We give no thought to implementation or whether we have the resources to enforce them. Consistently, I am having constituent issues of people who are just ignoring the law because the process is so burdensome, and there aren't people on the other side to help guide it through that. My question is here: when we are committed to reducing red tape, the first step to meaningfully eliminate red tape is to measure it. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, step one, asks that a government measure the total amount of regulations, measures what the processes look like. Are we committed to public measurement of red tape? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Madam Premier.