Denny Rodgers

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following up on my Member's statement, I have a question for the Minister of ECE. I may ask her to change hats halfway through, but.

In her what I am assuming are her regular meetings with the Aurora College chairperson, Mr. Speaker, I wonder could she commit to bringing the urgent plight of the Innovate Centre in Inuvik to his attention and have a conversation around why Aurora College has decided that they will no longer be supporting this organization in Inuvik. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move the chair rise and report progress. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 448-20(1), 2026-2027 Main Estimates, the Department of Health and Social Services. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I certainly appreciate that. We'll look forward to a reply on that. If the college is no longer interested in funding this, again this important organization, at least for another year so they can seek funding in other sources, would she commit to looking at either the department of ECE or ITI to look at ways we can at least short-term fund this organization for a year? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Town of Inuvik, led by the mayor, has set up a community leadership group, and we meet once a month up there, Mr. Speaker. It's represented by both myself and my colleague from Inuvik Twin Lakes as well as the Indigenous -- both Indigenous governments as well as various NGOs and other leadership that provide community -- organizations that provide community service. Last month's meeting, Mr. Speaker, took place at the Aurora College ARI Innovate Centre. The Innovate Centre, which was originally called the Micro-manufacturing Centre, was set up several...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Western Arctic Offshore Accord, which was signed on August 10th, 2023, by the Government of Canada, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the Government of the Northwest Territories, and the Government of the Yukon, to establish a framework for the shared management and regulation of the offshore, can the Minister of ITI give us an update on the progress on this accord, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, that's excellent news. Sooner rather than later, I would hope.

Can the Minister commit in that meeting -- and I spoke about now is the time to do an actual robust feasibility study. I understand there's likely funding out there for that so we can likely get that either funded through like an organization like CanNor or the major infrastructure projects office to get now, obviously led by IRC to engage -- when she engages with the chair of IRC to talk about the potential of a feasibility study, a robust feasibility study. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this House has heard me talk many times about what I call the good ol' days, and I refer back about 20 years ago in 2003 when the thought of the Mackenzie Valley pipeline was alive and well led by the aboriginal pipeline group which made up of 30 Indigenous community leaders. They've got a one third stake in that project. Inuvik was bustling. We had a petroleum show with seven, 800 members showing up there, and participants. And then alas, as I've said before, we took five years and our regulatory regime slowly choked the life out of that project, and it...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move the chair rise and report progress.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, given the request to have the offshore moratorium lifted by our Premier, and certainly by IRC as well I understand, has there been a response -- in the Minister's conversations or discussions with industry, has there been any kind of an indication from them to that request? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.