Mr. Speaker, the master plan and accountability issues of NorthwesTel must be shared with all Members of the Legislative Assembly, and it should include how they're going to lower their rates and create more choices. In this day and age, it is extremely important that the people of the NWT remain connected with the rest of the world via modern technology with the internet and phone services. Does the Minister agree with that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, could the Minister tell us what NorthwesTel's master plan is for addressing some of these issues? Have they shared any plans with you or Cabinet and not with all of us? NorthwesTel and Bell need to start being accountable. Does the Minister agree? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to natural disaster emergencies, there's also a major concern about the lack of cellphone infrastructure on all NWT highways. Between Fort Smith and Hay River, there are no cell services. Between Behchoko and Yellowknife, there are no cellphone services. And in the last two weeks, there have been at least two traffic-related fatalities near Enterprise and Behchoko. So if there were broader cellphone services across the NWT, there is a chance that those tragedies could have been prevented. Does the Minister agree? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, two days ago on May 23rd, I went to NorthwesTel which is owned by Bell in the Northwest Territories, to help a Hay River evacuee pay for their phone bill because it was going to be cut off. NorthwesTel told me they don't do Bell payments there even though they are owned by Bell. They told me I had to go to the bank. This is a very important issue, especially in light of the various natural disaster emergencies that the NWT has experienced in recent days and years. Does the Minister agree that this is not okay? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, does the Minister agree that increasing access to high-speed internet will overall help to advance economic reconciliation for Indigenous peoples and communities within the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain what the Government of the Northwest Territories has done over the course of the 19th Assembly to address the issue of internet disparity between the small communities and regional centres within the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, overall there's a lack of competition with internet service providers in the NWT. Does the Minister agree that having more options of internet services for the NWT residents will help reduce the household costs of internet and also bolster the speed of internet in the long-term? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in April during the CRTC public hearings on telecommunication services in the far North, your deputy Minister of Finance testified. In his testimony, he stated that Indigenous households have an internet take-up of only 63 percent compared to 94 percent of other households.

Can the finance minister expand on that point and tell us where this statistic came from and what her thoughts are on those public hearings from CRTC? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, today I'm going to speak about the state of internet connectivity in the NWT and lack thereof.

Mr. Speaker, two months ago the Auditor General of Canada released a report titled Connectivity in Rural and Remote Areas, which stated that rural and remote communities are still lagging behind the rest of the country when it comes to internet. The report also stated that the NWT has the largest disparity of internet access in the country, with only 18 percent in small NWT communities that have access to high-speed internet. In comparison, 98 percent of people in larger NWT communities have access to high-speed internet. Mr. Speaker, this large disparity in internet connectivity for the people of the NWT is not acceptable.

Our government needs to work at a faster pace with the federal government, along with the private industry, to bolster internet access across the board if the NWT hopes to meet the federal government's goal of providing 100 percent of Canadians with access to high-speed internet by 2030.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission, CRTC, has held a series of public hearings over the last year to receive consultations on the status of telecommunication services in the far North. During the last couple of hearings, there were several NWT witnesses who provided some great ideas for the CRTC and internet service providers to consider. For example, one person rightly stated that it's mostly Indigenous people who don't have access to internet services and as a result internet service delivery should be considered within the text of reconciliation. I agree with that because increasing access to high-speed internet will work to advance economic reconciliation for Indigenous peoples and communities. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Moreover, Mr. Speaker, another big issue on this subject is the lack of competition of internet service providers in the North. In the NWT, we have a monopoly over internet delivery from NorthwesTel. Without some degree of competition, prices remain high and the speed of internet continues to remain low as well. In fact, NorthwestTel itself has admitted that increased competition in recent years from Starlink satellite service has motivated them to expand and improve their own internet access. NorthwesTel admits that it has lost some customers to Starlink already, which is pushing them to expand fiberoptic lines in more northern communities, which is great to see.

Mr. Speaker, I could go on about this but I will leave it at that for now. I will have questions for the Minister of finance at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.