Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Madam Chair. There is $1 million in here for the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk fibre link. Is any of that money available, or is it going to be used for a distribution system within Tuktoyaktuk? Or is the line going to run into Tuktoyaktuk and then it's going to sit there and nobody can access it? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. In today's digital world, the Internet is integrated into every aspect of our lives, and we increasingly rely upon it for ever-expanding uses, including social, recreational, educational, health, employment, financial, business, and innovation opportunities. While all communities in the NWT have access to the Internet, the northern part of the territory is still largely connected on outdated, slow, intermittent infrastructure. The southern part of the territory, while connected to the fibre link, lacks redundancy and is subject to outages.

While the Mackenzie...

Thanks, Madam Chair. Can I just get a little bit of clarity around who actually owns the land that this project is supposed to be built on? What's the arrangement? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I lived through a previous commitment by the last Finance Minister to start tracking this, and clearly the work hasn't been done. I don't know what the problem is, but we need to have a systematic way of tracking why there is so much carry-over. Look, this government, this Cabinet has identified mega-projects, large infrastructure projects, as the way forward for our economy. I don't personally agree with that, but, if we can't get the money out the door -- because 40 percent carry-over from one year to the next, we need to know what the problem is, what the obstacles are...

Okay, thanks, Madam Chair. That's the issue here. In the past, it was as small as 12 percent, but now it's up to 40. I guess I'd like to understand why we're having this much carry-over in infrastructure spending from one year to the next. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Can I get, as a percentage of this supplementary appropriation, how much of it is carried over from the previous financial year? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I don't mind a general explanation at a high level. I'm also cognizant that I've got eight and a half minutes left on the clock, so I don't want an explanation that's going to gobble up two minutes of time. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I am happy to take that commitment from the Minister. I just want to correct one thing. This is actually something that was started in the 17th Assembly, or just before the election, maybe. I just want to know why we are spending $72 million on renovations for a building that we are not going to own and then we have to lease back space out of it. It just doesn't sound right to me, but I'm happy to get the Minister's explanation following this meeting. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I wish to table a letter from the Yellowknife Daycare Association and Children First Society dated June 9, 2020, to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, regarding support for childcare during and after the pandemic. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I'm trying to understand why we're spending $72 million for renovations on a building that we're not even going to own at the end of the day. This is part of a weird P3 arrangement that I could never really get to the bottom of in the last Assembly.

Can someone explain to me why we have to spend this much money on renovations when we're not going to own the building and we're going to have to lease the space afterwards? Is that what this arrangement is all about? Thanks, Madam Chair.