Denny Rodgers

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'll be brief. Some of this has been outlined by the chair of the SCOGO committee. Rule 8.3(3) outlines a path for a bill if a committee chooses as a majority not to report it back. The bill is not deleted, it's not gone, and it does not mean that the committee has not done its work. The sponsor can still bring the bill into the --

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week, I had the privilege to attend the Council of Leaders. I was invited as chair of the accountability and oversight committee as an observer. I'd like to thank the Council of Leaders, the Indigenous leaders, our Premier and Cabinet for that invitation.

Mr. Speaker, I would say there's some kudos to be sent out. I think that certainly our Premier and his Cabinet did a great job in presenting to the federal Ministers. The Indigenous leaders likewise. It was very much a we are speaking with one voice, and I thought that was a great approach. And...

So the bill is not deleted, it's not gone, and it does not mean the committee has not done its work. The sponsor can still bring the bill into Committee of the Whole, Mr. Speaker. We have seen this done in this Assembly. We've seen it done in previous Assemblies. Our rules do not state we must report a bill back. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I do not think there's a point of order here. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member from Yellowknife Centre put it eloquently enough, so I don't need to repeat all the reasons why he said. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, again, this is a victim of an unprecedented disaster, something we hadn't seen before. There are, I'm sure, many others out there, including Indigenous governments, who put a lot of extra effort in to assist the government in doing this and getting us through this. I don't believe Avens should have to endure this financial hardship. I believe it's a federal responsibility and, in my opinion, that's where the funding...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, and if you look at the sections that were redone on the Inuvik-Tuk Highway, certainly some of the sections that were redone on the Dempster Highway to enable -- again, resurfacing work that enabled that road to be able to withstand the rains that we get every spring and every fall so we don't have those conditions, so we don't have transport trucks coming in and almost sliding off the road, so we don't have this spine-rattling, shock-busting road that we get for that section coming into Inuvik that, you know, will create an hour-and-15-minute drive and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm here for my annual report on the conditions of the Dempster Highway once again. Specifically, Mr. Speaker, the section from Rengleng River to Inuvik. I have received several calls, emails, texts, from community leaders, from business owners, from residents in the region -- as I know my colleague the MLA from Mackenzie Delta has as well -- on the condition of that road, Mr. Speaker.

Over the past few weeks, as is normal for this time of year, we've had a considerable amount of rain up there, and that section of the highway, Mr. Speaker, simply cannot...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I think I almost got a commitment out of the Minister on that one, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, the issue is the amount -- I mean, and I've spoken to contractors. When you're putting a putting a small amount of crushed gravel, when it's one-quarter inch crush, you're doing it at a time of year where it's not appropriate. You're doing it in September; you should be doing it in June. You should get to working on this thing in June and maybe even looking when the ferry service is out, so you have less traffic to get out and build that road up. And that's the issue. And the only...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, continuing on with my Member's statement on the condition of the Dempster Highway, again specifically from Rengleng River to Inuvik. I know, Mr. Speaker, that the Minister is aware of this. I know I'm not the only one that's received letters and emails and texts from constituents and from businesses on this. So now that the Minister's had a little break and was able to take a breather, I'll ask the Minister of Infrastructure what plan do they have going forward to ensure that this section of highway doesn't continue to deteriorate and gets resurfaced to be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to thank my colleague from Range Lake for bringing this bill forward. Recently, Mr. Speaker, in Inuvik, we had a community feast held by the town of Inuvik for its first responders, the first of its kind in Inuvik, and it was a wonderful event and obviously the firefighters were there as well, and I was honoured to be able to speak and thank them on behalf of the residents of Inuvik Boot Lake and certainly the community of Inuvik as well.

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, I'm a bit of a poster child for first responders in the last three or four years having had -- in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I thank the Minister. And certainly I support this important work. I live in a riding with two Indigenous governments, well established, both with well-established development corporations. So my next question is there going to be -- is there any consideration -- I had originally had thought to potentially, for example, Mr. Speaker, if there was $2 million worth of government contracting work to be done in my region, is there any appetite to, say, carve out 10, 20, 30, 50, whatever the percentage would be, of that work and then have that work then with qualified...