Denny Rodgers

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure or Finance, I'm not sure. It's the same person, so she'll figure it out I'm sure.

On the fibre line, Mr. Speaker, I spoke to, can the Minister tell me if there has been any consideration given to the redundancy beyond Fort Nelson and is it too late, I guess, to relook at that agreement between the GNWT, Yukon government, and NorthwesTel. Thank you.

That's fine, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And certainly by no means was I implying that the wonderful staff that we have there aren't doing the work now. I'm in touch with them regularly, and certainly we have a good crew there, and I appreciate what they do. And so I will leave it at that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. And that position is located in Inuvik or Yellowknife?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And that's good to hear. Thank you very much. One other -- just a quick comment. I know the mineral and petroleum resources -- sorry, petroleum resources, I think it was a director position was in Inuvik. That position, the person who was filling that position relocated to Yellowknife and is now actually, I think, in an ADM position. Has that position been filled in Inuvik and is there still plans to fill that position there? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, my question's around the scientific collaborative research projects. Given that Inuvik obviously is a research hub, a lot of research is actively done through the Aurora Research Institute up there, and it also provides an economic benefit for Inuvik and the region as well. I note in 2022-2023, there was $403,000 spent. I'm wondering why it's been reduced to $150,000 this year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that this committee defer further consideration of Tabled Document 111-20(1), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2024-2025, at this time. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seconded this motion. I, as my colleagues know, it's something I brought up in this House as well. A former councillor, a former mayor of my town, and someone obviously who works closely with the current Mayor Wood and his council up there, very important that we do bridge this gap and this work get done to ensure that the funding is done equitably throughout the territory. And I won't take any more time than that other than to say full support and thank the Member for Yellowknife Centre for bringing it forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister. Certainly, that portion of the redundancy is very important to the businesses and the satellite station facility as the Minister alluded to. Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, I guess, who is the owner of the fibre line once it's complete, the redundancy line?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you've heard me speak in this House regarding the Inuvik satellite station facility, an important piece of the economy viability in Inuvik and certainly, Mr. Speaker, was the anchor tenant for the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Line, which I appreciate this previous government had completed. Mr. Speaker, now there's a redundancy line being built through the Dempster Highway and through Whitehorse and over through Fort Nelson as well to ensure that we do have a redundancy loop for any breakages or any lapses in that line that's important to this facility.

Mr. Speaker...