Thank you, Madam Chair. In talking about messaging and getting the message out there that we are open for business, I believe that we have to send a positive message. If we keep saying that we have no money, we can't do anything, then I don't blame people for wanting to come here. With the mining industry, I know I made a statement a while back, and I got a few nasty notes from some of the guys. They have to realize that the resources in the Northwest Territories are owned by the people of the Northwest Territories, this government, and Indigenous groups. When mines are developed and put on stream, in one of the emails, it said, "It is the mining companies that pay for this." I guess they pay for it, but they use our bank account to do it, which is the resources. They end up with a profit at the end of it, and we end up with a little bit. Everybody wins to some respect.

I am not sure if they thought I was against mining, but when it comes to development, I am pro-development. I know we need it. We need a mixture of things to keep this economy going and to give us what we want in terms of housing and social programs. I reached out to the NWT Mining Association, and I said I would like to meet with them one-on-one and just talk. I will be an advocate under the right circumstances. We might have disagreements on the way to proceed, but I think it is important that we send out that positive message.

The other thing we have to do is, we have to make sure we have buy-in from the Indigenous groups and the mining companies and the politicians or the associations that support them. If we just keep butting heads, we are not going to get anywhere. We do need development. I will support mining development. I will support petroleum oil and gas development. I worked in it many years. I love that industry. It is fast-paced. It is up-and-down. It is an adrenaline rush is what it is. It put my kids through school and on and on. I think we need that. Again, at the same time, I understand that we have to protect our water systems, and we have to protect those type of things. We are downstream, and that is where we need our First Nation and our Indigenous organizations people to support us, because in that respect, they have more power than the Government of the Northwest Territories.

I am hoping that you, as Premier, and the Ministers can get out there and get that message that we are willing to work with the resource sector in promoting the North. If we have to deal with the red tape issues and regulations, let's try and deal with that. We are not going to change it maybe in our term, but we can at least start working towards something.

What else here? Everybody wants roads somewhere. Usually, they seem to go nowhere, but let's make them go somewhere. If there are industries or companies that want to do work up here, let's try to steer them towards some communities that do need roads, and maybe we can combine them. Otherwise, you know, we are just going to end up paying for something that we do not really need when we could put that money into housing or into something that has more impact. Other than that, I don't know. There is no question there, but I am just hoping that you will convey a positive message that, yes, we are not shutting anybody out. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. A comment, I guess, to the Minister of ITI is that I think it's important that, when she does come to Hay River, she meets, you know, one-on-one with the businesses. We don't need bureaucracy there, except for me. That's what I would ask, so that there is a frank discussion and you hear what they are saying. Because you have to hear both sides, at the end of the day, and that's all I ask. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to touch on tourism, as well. This last weekend, I had the opportunity to go down and take a look at a facility in Hay River, and there are a couple of them there. It's interesting because I go down there, and I know housing had gotten rid of these houses, quite a few of them there in an area called "Disneyland," because the houses were unfit for habitation. Well, they are all down there by the lake now as little chalets and cleaned up and beautiful and get rented out for whatever. There is really an opportunity for tourism in Hay River, but, again, they are having trouble with bureaucracy. They need our help. They need some funding, which we have, and what I am finding is that we have now the communities encroaching on ITI funding, and that should not be.

If the communities want funding, go to MACA. ITI should be for businesses and that's it in the NWT. I think we have got to be really careful that we do not start funding community governments when we should be funding businesses and providing them that support, because they are the ones out there. We do not want the communities competing against business, and that is happening. What I would ask, I guess, is for a commitment that the Department of ITI take a look at funding and make sure that there is something there that does not go to community governments; it goes to businesses only. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess it's not just Indigenous governments, but it's others, as well, that are already doing work on the ground, and whether it's support from this government for the bureaucracy, they are just not getting it. They get stymied, and a lot of times it comes down to personalities, and we can't operate like that. We have to operate fairly. This government has to be fair. If there are rules and procedures and there is legislation, let's follow it. If it's wrong, then let's change it, but we have to be fair with everybody. We cannot be, "Well, I don't like you," or whatever, or, "I don't like what you are doing. Here's my pet project." I have seen that happen over the years, and it's got to change at some point, and I am hoping this government is where it's going to change. If we have to change people out, I have got no problem with that, as well. We have done it already, and just keep on going.

I guess, at the end of the day, I don't want to have more meetings. What I would like to see for the Hay River region, for instance, the South Slave, I would like to see the ITI Minister come to Hay River and take her around and talk to each of the businesses there, agricultural, fishery. I know she committed to it, and I know she will do it. Hopefully, she can commit right now before she figures out what I said. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess, when I look at this, the first point there of working with community governments to identify and advance economic opportunities, there is an area there and how we will do it. There is job creation, right there, and that is job creation probably without -- you don't need trades, and you probably don't really need an education. It's basically for anybody. I think that that's an area that this government has to really grasp and run with right off the bat here. We can't wait.

With respect to the agricultural side, I talked to people this last weekend in Hay River, and they would like to do something, but they can't. They can't. They don't have access to land. They have good ideas. They are trying to do stuff. They are stymied by the bureaucracy, and we have to change that. We have to give direction to the bureaucrats in the regions that they have to be positive. They have to be willing to say yes more than they say no. If we don't do that, we are not going to get anywhere.

When I look at this, I look at agriculture, I look at the fisheries, I look at forestry, all the areas around that would positively impact the South Slave. I am wondering and I would ask the Premier: what is this government going to do to push this forward as quickly as possible? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The functionality of the airport, we will deal with Fort Smith, is still there, but I disagree with the Minister in saying nothing was taken away. There was something taken away. There was a section on both sides taken away. It was narrowed. I am glad that she is saying that there will be some more forward thinking and some thought put into any decisions made with respect to whether it is runways or anything else that we are looking at. Just a comment. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to talk about the modernization of the NWT airport infrastructure. I am concerned, and if MLA Martselos was here, she'd probably be speaking on this, as well. The airport in Smith was narrowed. My concern is that if we are going to do it to one, they may pick on Hay River or they may pick on somebody else. To me, what we are trying to do is make the North more acceptably accessible. I have lived here for so long; I see where we take stuff away. Once we do that, we never get it back. That scares me when we look at these type of things, and it wasn't us that did it. It was the past group, but we can change that. I think that when we are making decisions, we have to kind of look forward, as well.

Airports are important. The cost of flying out of any community, except for Yellowknife, is pretty expensive. What I would ask this government to do is to really consider when looking at airports or downsizing or trying to do any of that, look at the bigger picture and look forward, because it is important, even with Fort Smith. At the end of the day, we just narrowed that thing, it probably wouldn't be too much to widen it again. That should be a consideration. It is not just with the airports. It is with everything else. Looks like the Minister of ITI would like to comment. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll take that as a yes, and thank you.

Thanks for that answer. I guess the problem I have is that, the way the economy is right now, what's happening is we're getting an influx of southern business coming in and taking work away, so we've got to do something different in the interim. If we have companies in the North that are willing to partner up with Indigenous groups to do, whether it's highway work or whether it's building, or whatever, I think we should seriously look at that, because then that way we know that the work will be staying in the North.

I guess I'm looking for a commitment from the government to seriously look at that. Otherwise, we're going to end up losing it to the Southerners, and we're going to lose our contractors anyway. I'm hoping that the Premier and the Minister of ITI can commit to seriously looking at negotiated contracts if it's between the government and a joint venture between whether it's an Indigenous group and a contractor who may not be Indigenous, or could be, as well. Thank you.