Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I'm ready for you today, so.

Mr. Speaker, when I put my mind towards the economic and social issues of this territory, I always come back to the thought we are only as strong as our weakest community. Therefore, despite being a Yellowknife MLA, I always try hard to keep my mind on the bigger picture for this territory and all residents.

In my career, and from my time as a Minister, whenever I traveled into a small community, I've always been struck by the lack of basic infrastructure. It's for this reason, Mr. Speaker, that I've spent a lot of my time in this House speaking about building roads and bridges and other infrastructure in communities far from the confines of the district of Great Slave. And I thank my constituents for allowing me to do so.

Mr. Speaker, I'm talking about a topic today that I've raised many times in this House - the Great Bear River Bridge.

When I ask the Minister of Infrastructure questions, I'm always assured that things are progressing and that the project is moving forward. And I appreciate that. However, Mr. Speaker, when I speak with leaders in the region, they feel in the dark and not engaged in the process at all. They don't know what the government is planning and feel a worry that the project money may lapse without ever seeing an excavator bucket dig into the ground.

In the past, Mr. Speaker, I've spoken about the procurement process for the bridge and emphasized the need to ensure local business and local people get work. However, there is much more to this project than just contract dollars. The community wants to be part of the discussion when decisions are made - decisions such as, should 30,000 truckloads of granular material be run through the town, or should money be put into looking at bypassing it using the existing winter road access?

There's concern about the use of the winter road to haul granular material. Will more money be allocated in order to repair the road as degradation will occur more rapidly than in a normal season?

What about the influx of southern workers that potentially bring with them illicit drugs, or express racism to our Indigenous people causing further trauma?

How will the training be doled out and who will benefit? What are the goals of the community itself from the project? What capacity are they lacking? What trades do they need, and how can this project be used to address their gaps?

These are all questions that need to be answered before any government project is kicked off in a community, and the GNWT, Mr. Speaker, needs to ensure that community voices are always at the table. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.