Kevin O'Reilly

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the Minister for that. I understood that Low Earth Orbit technology really is a benefit for more remote communities, not like Yellowknife. So I want to ask again, the Minister, what is this DCN rollout by Northwestel going to do to improve internet access for Yellowknife school authorities. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure, who is responsible for government information technology services.

A year ago the Minister promised a solution for education authorities' internet bandwidth problems through a request for proposal which was to be issued last winter. Can the Minister provide us with a brief update on the status of that work and tell us how close we are to increasing internet bandwidth available to Yellowknife school authorities? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that because neither one of us are techies. You can tell just from the tone of the questions and the answers. So I look forward to getting more information from the Minister. But what I'm really looking for is a clear commitment that the internet access problem for Yellowknife school authorities, students, and families here in Yellowknife is going to get fixed. So can the Minister tell us when that problem is going to get fixed here in Yellowknife? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. There's some new information there that I wasn't aware of, but. I noted that in my statement that problems of inadequate internet access continue to be raised with us as Yellowknife MLAs and that they raised this territorially and nationally. So can the Minister tell us what specific solutions and funding is going to be made available to fix this problem here in Yellowknife right now? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to return to the topic of adequate and affordable access to internet services and the barriers facing students and families.

In February 2021, I asked questions of the Ministers of ECE and of Infrastructure regarding the total inadequacy of bandwidth provided to Yellowknife school authorities. I raised the problem after I was told that Yellowknife schools and Aurora College shared an internet connection of 300 megabytes per second provided by the GNWT, which is equivalent to a cable modem at home. Consider that Yellowknife Catholic schools alone has about...

Thanks, Madam Chair. I move that the chair rise and report progress.

Merci, Monsieur le President.

WHEREAS this Legislative Assembly is required to appoint alternate members to the Board of Management in accordance with section 36 of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act;

AND WHEREAS Rule 89 requires that the Assembly appoint a Board of Management in accordance with section 26 of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act;

AND WHEREAS there are currently two vacancies for alternate members of the Board of Management;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North that the following members be appointed as alternate...

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. I think part of the problem here is that we have no concrete proposal that's been put together to show what the contaminated sites are, the risks they pose, the cost to assess and remediate them, and the benefits that could accrue. I'm more than happy to roll up my sleeves and help with that work.

Can the Minister tell us whether there is a concrete proposal for an accelerated northern contaminated sites remediation program? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the ITI Minister who seems to have the lead on our remediation economy. In my statements in May, October, February, and again today, I noted the potential for literally billions of dollars of federal investment across the northern territories as part of an accelerated program on contaminated sites remediation and economic recovery.

It's now clear that my calls to action or my offer of assistance have ever been taken seriously. But can the Minister provide an update on the status of this work to secure accelerated federal investment to build a...

Thanks, Madam Chair. That's a pretty hard act to follow. But I move that the chair rise and report progress.