Thanks, Mr. Speaker. I'm always so excited.
Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Infrastructure. I almost said transportation. Sorry. I'm old school. It used to be transportation.
Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister. And the question really is built around a lot of people had talked about the emergencies, the evacuation that happened to my good colleague -- sadly, of course, in many of these ridings. And they said, you know, when people are driving down the highway, they don't have enough information given to them. And the question was posed to me as why isn't the government starting to look, do some analysis, and look and put these giant billboards that -- electronic billboards that you see in southern jurisdictions. And given the value of Starlink and the opportunity that can happen, we can update highway conditions almost in real time so people aren't caught off guard or driving down without the gas and going, Oh, goodness, I can't panic.
So, Mr. Speaker, my question's really built around that, is would the Minister be willing to look at perhaps doing some analysis on that challenge so we can help protect our Northerners as they travel along the highway? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So this summer was obviously another difficult time with the fires and the smoke and the fog. It did cause some issues on our highways with visibility. And I hear the Member. Same concerns I had through this. I've talked to the department, and this is something that we're going to look at. You know, so any recommendations on how we can improve our emergency situations like this, I'd be happy to hear them.
So, yes, we are looking at how we can improve this. I know Drive NT has been one avenue that's been used, and they're trying to obviously stay on top of it, but it's not always easy. So, yes, we are -- something we're going to look at for this with the infrastructure. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I gave a recommendation. He's giving me a recommendation. I'll give him one back, Mr. Speaker.
My first question is about could we do some analysis around that, Mr. Speaker. So not to repeat it, but, Mr. Speaker, he did say Drive NT. It only works if you're in cell phone range, and you're not allowed to use your cell phone when you're driving, just for the record. So that said, it's real-time information, Mr. Speaker. So the question, just clearly stated once again, is would the Minister be willing to do this type of analysis that we could have these big billboard systems so we can do real-time updates? If conditions are changing, we can make sure people know right as soon as possible. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sorry, I check Drive NT and road conditions before I leave my House. Sorry.
One thing I will say is we do have signs up on the highway. We have them in Enterprise. We have them at the junction to Whati. And those are updated for road conditions; however, I will take that from the Member, the recommendation from the Member, and we'll look at what we can do to improve that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Final supplementary. Member from the Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Implying I don't check Drive NWT almost hurt my feelings. Not to the point of a point of order, but it kind of hurt a little bit.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Minister be willing to commit to having some type of an update to the House before we start the February session? Because capital projects just don't happen overnight, respectfully, but it would be a good update to give people the following into the next session we head towards, the February-March. Could he do that? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I'll commit to having something to the House or for the Members here before the next session. Thank you.
Oral questions. Member from the Sahtu.
