Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Mackenzie Valley fibre optic line is a backbone transport link to GNWT asset. Linking this backbone to the community is what's called the "last mile." This service is provided by the local service provider as GNWT is not in the business of providing local Internet service. Building this backbone significantly improved the telecommunications infrastructure in the Mackenzie Valley, replacing the aging and costly microwave system. It isn't accurate to say that there haven't been improvement or promises made. The only promises I make are to my grandchildren. We have seen new service providers enter the market in Inuvik and Norman Wells, and I have seen an increase in speeds in communities that was only made possible by the construction of the Mackenzie Valley fibre optic lines. It was officially opened, I think, in June of 2017, and we have seen improvements, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

These initiatives, they are related. The Property Tax Arrears program will help residents that have built up appears in the past. It is a time-limited program, however, to deal with these circumstances. Going forward, the standard interest rate establishes a more reasonable interest rate on any outstanding amounts owed to the GNWT in property taxes. These two initiatives taken together should help address the historic problem we have had with property tax arrears. That said, though, residents will have to pay their property taxes, and, if they do not, the arrears will start to grow again over time. With the other piece of legislation that we were dealing with, we had varying interest rates across the programs in the Northwest Territories. I think we had some as high as 18 percent. We are starting to standardize all of those, so I think it will do well for the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The quick answer is yes, when a resident applies, we will work with the client to come up with an affordable monthly payment plan, and, if there are some that have entered into repayment plans already, we would expect them to honour it, and this program would apply to them, as well.

We are sending letters to all clients with arrears, and we will provide them with details on applying for the program. We are also doing a communication effort in communities in the general taxation area, and we are working with our GSOs, and they have been trained to help residents apply for the program, as well.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I noted before, the Property Tax Arrears program is designed to provide a path for residents to address the outstanding arrears. Residents can enter into a repayment plan for the outstanding property taxes, and the interest that has been building up will be forgiven; or, in other words, the resident will not have to pay the interest portion. Residents, we have to be quite clear, have to stay current on their payment plan on future property taxes to stay eligible for the program.

Mr. Speaker, the issue of property tax arrears has often been cited as a barrier for residents trying to purchase land, obtain a mortgage, or access various Government of the Northwest Territories programs. Frequently, a significant portion of these arrears are attributable to interest charged on outstanding debt. The impact of this interest compounds over time and can leave residents with significant challenges to recover.

To address the issue of accumulated arrears, the government has established the Property Tax Arrears Program. This program is designed to provide property tax interest relief to residents of the General Taxation Area who have property tax or residential lease arrears in excess of 24 months. This program does not apply to Municipal Taxation Area property taxes, as those are the responsibility of the tax-based municipal governments.

In order to qualify for interest relief through the program, applicants will be required to enter into legal agreements that require the property holder to make agreed-upon monthly payments on the principal owed on their property taxes. Remission or forgiveness of interest on arrears will be granted in instalments when the property holder has met their financial obligations under the agreement.

To be clear, there is no forgiveness of the principal owed for property taxes under this program, only on the interest calculated on arrears.

To illustrate an impact of the program, I will use the example of a homeowner who owes over $34,000 in property tax arrears. This is comprised of about $4,900 in taxes and approximately $29,000 in interest. Should the homeowner choose to participate in the Property Tax Arrears Program, we would enter into an agreement to pay the $4,900 in affordable monthly payments, and the $29,000 in interest would be forgiven. This is not a unique circumstance.

I believe the Property Tax Arrears Program will provide a path forward for residents who want to address their current property tax arrears. This program, along with the Standard Interest Rate Statutes Amendment Act, should ensure that these large accumulated property tax arrears are a thing of the past for most residents in the General Taxation Area.

The program is now being advertised and communication is being undertaken to advise residents of the program and how they can apply. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 54, Standard Interest Rates Statutes Amendment Act, be read for the third time. Mr. Speaker, I would request a recorded vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled "Northern Employee Benefits Services (NEBS) Pension Plan Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2018, and including updated Information to June 2019."

I would also like to table the following document as Minister of Environment and Natural Resources: "The Natural Resources Conservation Trust Fund Financial Statement for the year ended March 31, 2019." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Like I said before, we can have those discussions with the operators, or we can have those discussions with communities. It is something that I believe has been tried before. As I said before, they do always find ways around it. I agree with the Member 100 percent that this is an issue that really has an adverse effect on the people of the Northwest Territories. Always has; always has.

We hope, with some of the changes that we have made, some of the education out there, and people seeing first-hand the effects of alcohol, that they would make a decision to change their lifestyle. There is always support there for them, but we do realize that a lot of these people need help. By putting in some of the changes that the Member is suggesting, that might be a start. Again, we could start the work, and then we would hope that the 19^th Assembly would come and carry the ball. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.