Debates of Oct. 29th, 2025

Thank you. I'll go back to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, I'm happy to say that the Member and I have explored some common ways to approach this. And, unfortunately, there is not a desire from our partners to see that this is piece-mealed, and concern as well with the fact that at the end of the day the MARS system needs to be programmed. And it can't be programmed under our current legislative regime; it needs to be programmed under our next legislative regime.

My next concern, Mr. Speaker, is that by piece-mealing these regulations and doing them in a step by step way that we actually slow down the entire process rather than just setting a schedule, working with our partners, agreeing how we're going to get this done, and plowing forward to get it done. So, Mr. Chair, as I said before, I'm absolutely committed to getting this work done in the life of this Assembly so that we can all, at the end of the day, say that we got this done, we worked together, we put our hands down -- or our heads down, rather, we rolled up our sleeves, and we did the work. Thank you.

Thank you. Are there any further questions from Members? Okay, seeing none.

Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, tourism and parks, infrastructure investment, $2,807,000. Does the committee agree?

Thank you. Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, minerals and petroleum resources, infrastructure investments, $988,000. Does the committee agree?

Thank you. Thank you, Members. Please turn to page 51. Tourism and parks with information items to page 52, 53. Are there any questions? Okay, seeing none.

Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, tourism and parks, infrastructure investment -- oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you. I'll go to the Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think several of us have questions, so thank you for being kind and going back.

Mr. Chair, can I get a substantiation on the Prelude Lake Territorial Park pump house? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, that was originally built before 2004, and it needs to be replaced with an accessible toilet because it is not currently accessible and aligns with our safety priorities of the Assembly. Thank you.

Okay, Thank you. I'll go to the Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yeah, and in some of the material provided to Members, I note -- I'm pretty sure I know which outhouse this is. I agree that it needs to be accessible. I'm kind of amazed it's lasted this long, for 20 years. However, I'm curious, can the Minister speak to how much this costs and why it's projected to be so much. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I can confirm it's much more affordable than outhouses in other parts of the territory but certainly infrastructure like this does carry a cost at the end of the day, so I just encourage us all to help one another take care of our infrastructure. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go back to the Member from Great Slave.

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't -- I'm not here to say that this project shouldn't go ahead. I think it should, obviously. I am very happy that the Minister is keeping a mind on accessibility issues. It's more that there are other outhouses for replacement in this listing in places that are more far-flung than Yellowknife that are costing less money so that's why I'm asking the question. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Okay. I'll go back to the Minister.

Yeah, no, I'd love for the Member to point out to me where the cheaper outhouse is because generally costs go up as you leave Yellowknife, but we can follow up on that one later on. But the more we can encourage our co-workers -- or not co-workers, our fellow residents to take care of outhouses, the more affordable they will be.

Thank you for that question. I'll go back to the Member from Range Lake. No more?

No, thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm done.

Thank you. I'll go to the Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just to ask a follow-up question about the Prelude Lake Territorial Park outhouse, which is in my riding. I just wanted to ask the Minister, can this project be completed without interruptions to service or access to the boat launch or the day use area at Prelude Lake Park? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, for further details about kind of how this project will go about and what kind of disruptions might occur, like there might be materials that need to be brought in along the road and so that might have an impact, but I'd have to follow up specifically with the Member on the construction schedule, what that would look like. And we can make a commitment as well to make sure that we are advising park users what that will look like for any disruptions that might occur. Thank you.