Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to speak today on Arctic sovereignty and infrastructure, something that, of course, the debate is very live, the topic is very live in this House. I know our Premier and his Cabinet are very, very keen to the topic. We know our federal government, again, Mr. Speaker, continues to have an eye on the Arctic and the North. Whether you're talking major infrastructure projects, Mr. Speaker, or smaller ones, Inuvik, my region, my riding, being named as one of the northern operations hub as well as the city of Yellowknife; I think it's very significant. I understand that both the town of Inuvik and the city of Yellowknife are considering an MOU where they can share the information, Mr. Speaker, in their discussions with DND. Pulling them together on Arctic security topics and discussion, I think is very important. I think it bodes well for our territory and certainly bodes well for us as we pull people together to build these infrastructure projects.
And, Mr. Speaker, not just the major infrastructure projects. I mean, Mr. Speaker, as we know, Inuvik is obviously a very strategic location for the Arctic. We have a forward operating location up there. Hopefully there's potential more work to be done, either through upgrades and through other infrastructure put in there by our federal government. And, Mr. Speaker, even more importantly is our airport terminal build. We know we have the runway expansion. That project, again, done locally, done through Indigenous governments, with Indigenous companies, partnered with them. The project thus far has been on time, on budget, and very successful, and we look to that completion in the next couple of years. But we also, Mr. Speaker, since 2018, have had the new airport terminal build on the books. As I mentioned, being a northern operations hub, there's certainly going to be more traffic in the region. We're going to ensure that we need that new building. I know there's been some delays in the past few years but, Mr. Speaker, I'm hopeful that's still something we can get done sooner rather than later, get that project underway and, again, work with the local contractors, local Indigenous governments, to ensure that smaller but just as important piece of infrastructure gets completed on our journey to Arctic sovereignty and security. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Members' statements. Member from the Deh Cho.
