Denny Rodgers

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, back around that same time I know there was an operational plan provided as well as a schematic design that was provided by both partnership between both Indigenous governments in the community. Is that something that the department is still considering looking at or are they going for a fresh set of eyes on this? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the town of Inuvik had their annual -- had their annual -- had their municipal election. We don't do it every year, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to offer my congratulations to the new mayor and council. Certainly mayor-elect Peter Clarkson is no stranger to our community, to our region, and likely to many Members of this House. Peter has long been an advocate for the town of Inuvik. He is a former councillor, a former mayor, and former regional superintendent for the Department of the Executive and Indigenous Affairs, Mr. Speaker.

I'd also like to...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the committee wishes to consider Bill 7, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2024; Committee Report 9-20(1), Standing Committee on Social Development Report on Bill 8: An Act to Amend the Student Financial Assistance Act. The committee also wishes to consider Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Student Financial Assistance Act. And Tabled Document 193-20(1), 2025-2026 Capital Estimates for the Department of Finance and the Department of Justice. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you Minister Wawzonek. And, yes, we did have a huge amount of snow this year in our region. So can the Minister kind of provide an update on the current status of those contracts now that were, as she had mentioned, had expired and where they're sitting today? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm proud to recognize my constituency assistant Sheila Nasogaluak who is joining us here in Yellowknife for the week. And I know we all say it, but she is the best.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thanks again, that is good to hear that the contracts will be let. So I guess, finally, Mr. Speaker, going forward, has the Minister tasked the department with coming up with kind of a long-term plan to ensure that years like this year is not something that we'd expect going forward next year and in future years, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure regarding the condition this year, as I mentioned in my statement, of the Dempster Highway and the Inuvik-Tuk Highway. Can the Minister provide some context on why this year there were delays and what had happened to cause the conditions on the highway this year? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Dempster Highway and the Inuvik-Tuk Highway experienced one of the worst summers and one of the worst falls in recent years. Mr. Speaker, as we know, this is a vital link for the residents of the Beaufort Delta for products and services. Mr. Speaker, I've been inundated with emails, phone calls, and texts, and I know that the Minister of Infrastructure has certainly received her share of correspondence from the management of the trucking companies in the Beaufort Delta as well, Mr. Speaker.

To put it in context, we have about -- one company alone has...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of housing. When we were here last session, we talked about the units in Inuvik, the long waiting lists, and the units that needed to be repaired. I think it was something around between 12 and 17 that still were being repaired. I was just wondering if I could get an update of the status of the repairs in Inuvik. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm proud to stand here today and support this motion, support the seconder, my colleague from the Sahtu, and to support the people from -- the residents of the town of Norman Wells. This is, indeed, a crisis. We look at $40 a gigajoule of gas in Inuvik and I think that's a crisis. I can only imagine, to pay $6,000 to fill the fuel tank. It's going to be a crisis. It's a crisis now as temperatures get lower.

Mr. Speaker, the -- I mean, the precedent of -- if you want to call it bailing out a community or bailing someone out, we've done this in the past. We've spent an...