Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, until 1997, the dredging of the Hay River harbour was, in fact, completed by Public Works and Government Services Canada on behalf of Transport Canada. Indeed, the coast guard does rely on the accessible channel and the ability to move their ships and vessels through this very same space. However, for reasons I'm certainly not privy to, between 1997 and 2012, that started to change. The GNWT was relying on funding and started to undertake the work. There was still at that time a memorandum of understanding with the Canadian coast guard and Department of Fisheries and Oceans but then it has somehow fallen off the wayside since 2012, and obviously we were in a situation, particularly with the low water, where this was falling to the GNWT to step up.

I do want to note our federal friends did support our efforts with the contribution towards the work that was underway but obviously, you know, it is not lost on me that the coast guard ships are required in order to make the river navigable and to provide basic safety certainly as well. So we'll certainly hopefully look to opportunities to see what they, through Department of Fisheries and Oceans, coast guard, etcetera, can do to ensure navigable waters through the Northwest Territories. Thank you.