Debates of Feb. 13th, 2026

Mr. Speaker, my questions will be to the Minister of strategic infrastructure, and I will begin by noting that the Slave Geological Province Corridor report, which I have in my hand, notes that the best route is going east and direct to the mining sector; and lastly, Mr. Speaker, I will point out that the City of Yellowknife supports the NWT economy with approximately $2.2 billion. That's 50 percent of the northern economy, Mr. Speaker. So my direct question to the Minister of Infrastructure is, will the Minister of strategic infrastructure ensure that any routing of the Arctic Economic Security Corridor includes a direct connection to the workhorse of this northern economy, that is, the city of Yellowknife. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from the Yellowknife Centre. Minister responsible for Strategic Infrastructure, Energy and Supply Chains.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, flowing from the words I've been listening to this morning, I am going to continue to work in partnership with Indigenous governments from around this territory, abide by the MOU that we have just signed with the Tlicho, with the Yellowknife First Nation, which mentions within it working with all Indigenous partners, and we're going to make sure that the route we choose is one that balances all of the needs, including, as is mentioned in there, the economic needs and the economic importance of this route which requires that it passes through rich regions for the geology. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I repeat the short words of the infrastructure Minister, connecting the North for the benefit of the Northerners. So, Mr. Speaker, my second question is not about excluding Indigenous partnership, it's including the city of Yellowknife in this big MOU. So why isn't the city of Yellowknife included in the routing conversation? Because this population represents 50 percent of the northern economy and 50 percent of the population, Mr. Speaker. It needs to be included in this conversation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, quite a large number of stakeholders are going to, of course, be included in a project the size of the proposed Arctic Economic and Security Corridor, running all the way up to the Nunavut Coast. Mr. Speaker, the Yellowknife municipal government is not a landholder akin to that of the Tlicho government or to the Yellowknife Dene First Nation, who anticipate, of course, settling the land claim, hopefully in the near future. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it may not be a landowner but, Mr. Speaker, my last question is really structured around the capital's interest in the northern economy. So I am told -- this is the question. I am told that the current sketch that's being worked out ignores the city of Yellowknife, Mr. Speaker, and if that's the proposed working route given to the GNWT to advocate, will the GNWT say no and will they have the courage to say the city of Yellowknife needs to be part of this corridor and not excluded and not ignored. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member. Final Supplementary.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not going to speak about a hypothetical sketch that I don't have in front of me. I don't know what this sketch is, who drew it or where it's from. I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, that the reason we've signed this MOU is to lay out a framework by which we work hand-in-hand with the Indigenous governments who are the landholders on whose lands this route is to traverse. But, Mr. Speaker, it's always been well known that it's going to have to involve a region where Yellowknife is obviously very prominently centered, as well as other Indigenous governments in the area, North Slave Metis being among them, to find the best possible route. It's a road that has economic value, we have to maximise economic value, and we were very careful in signing that MOU that reflected the need to have that economic value built into the routing. Thank you.

Your response to strategic infrastructure, energy and supply chains. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again stemming from our town hall on crime and public safety, many residents expressed concern around seeing crime in their neighbourhoods and how we can better address it. Surveillance systems came up, including personal camera systems. Many people have those. But there was a discussion on whether or not there could be CCTVs, like you see in other major cities, like the city of London in the UK. Is this something that the Minister has looked into? Thank you. Minister of Justice.

Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, no, this is not something that I've looked into. I know within Canada there are privacy implications that would apply to that approach. And certainly from what I do know about the topic, it's also typically -- the ability to do this would be contained in municipal legislation through community bylaws and that kind of avenue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, obviously funding for community justice programs would be a part of this. If it goes down to the municipal level, if it's something that can be done by bylaw. So can the Minister develop programming through his community justice division to ensure that communities have the resources they need, whether it's expertise in surveillance systems, bylaw officers, training equipment, whatever it takes. Clearly, we need to resource these if we're going to ensure public safety in our communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, To date we've had no requests from any community to pursue an avenue in this regard. Certainly, our office is always willing to have those conversations with communities if there is a desire to look at potential funding opportunities. So happy to entertain those if someone wants to reach out. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister work with the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs to develop formula funding for community safety programs in communities. That way, they don't have to come and ask him; they're just going to get money and they can use it to support community safety across the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker. I think the conversation, and if you look at the mandate letters from the Premier around community safety, I think we've all been given a mandate as Cabinet to work together in many areas to address the community safety concerns across the territory, and I think that's quite evident in the work that we have done today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Member from the Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Given the closures of all 19 community learning centres in early 2025 and the ongoing gaps this has created, will the Minister commit to developing a renewed and community-based approach to support adult learners, particularly in small communities most affected by these closures? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can confirm for the Member that I am absolutely, yes, committed to a community-based approach to adult learning. The closure of the community learning centres certainly came to a shock to everybody but certainly also present an opportunity to rethink how adult education is being delivered in communities across the Northwest Territories, especially small communities.

Following the closure of the community learning centres, I directed my department to develop a critical path outlining both short-term and medium-term solutions. That was everything from partnerships with the Literacy Council, where we're seeing employability training that is happening right now, to engagements that will be happening with Indigenous governments to really define more longer-term or medium-term how we're going to really shift community-based learning in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My next question is, when will the Minister present a clear and concrete plan for delivering continuing transitional education in our communities, including in-person adult learning options, to replace the services lost with the shutdown of the community learning centres? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, that plan is being worked out right now, so that includes some of the things that I just spoke of, like those partnerships with the literacy council, the outreach centres, but also it really comes down to work directly with communities and Indigenous governments so that we can use this as an opportunity to reimagine what that in-person learning can look like in small communities. And so we're working both on kind of short-term and more medium-term approach to this, and I am hoping to have something to come back to Members, and I will continue to update Members as I get more information from the department on the work that they're doing with this engagement.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from the Deh Cho.