Steve Norn

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I'll be brief. The average Internet connection speed around the world, one of the fastest in the world is Taiwan, so that's pretty fast. The Canadian average is 30 megabytes per second. Comparatively, just to give a glimpse of what it's like in the North, in Alberta, their fibre 300-plus package is 300 megabytes per second, and that's unlimited. One of the kind of mid-range packages for Northwestel, their 50 package, is 50 megabytes per second, and that's not unlimited, so you're only allowed 200 gigabytes. So, if we get more unlimited packages in the North, that would...

Marsi cho, Madam Chair. I move that this committee defer further consideration of the estimates for the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment at this time. Marsi cho, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for the response. Just one more little, technical question from a line item on page 202, fees and payments. Actuals a couple years back on fees and payments were $277,000. Now, they are only $60,000. Why is that number a lot less than it was before? Marsi cho.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to say a few words about the Film Industry Rebate Program on 203. I just listened to some of the comments from the Member for Yellowknife North, and they are good comments. When I looked at this, I circled this line item, and I covered all the numbers, looked at it, and thought, "I wonder what type of supports. How do we attract filmmakers? It's a good way to bring people to the North." I am like, "Okay. This might be a good opportunity here." We are always looking for opportunities to stimulate our economy to bring people, attract people, and bring people...

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to table a letter from the NWT Tourism to the Premier's Office supporting Frontier Lodge and the LKDFN. Marsi cho.

Thank you for that response. Again, just trying to get some better understanding for the other side: let's say if we have a committee meeting there right now, we couldn't do it. That is a problem. I need to bring more public awareness to this. We couldn't do any meetings right now as a House, just because it wouldn't be doable because of the lack of infrastructure there for this. I guess I will need some commitment. My next question is: what commitments can the Minister make to further improve Internet speeds in our smaller communities such as Lutselk'e?

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Just going back to my Member's statement about Internet speeds and Internet connectivity, my questions are for the Minister of Finance. My question is: have there been any recent efforts from her department to help improve Internet speeds in our small communities? Marsi cho.

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today, I want to talk about the cost of the speed of home Internet and home Internet rates in the NWT, and how we're all connected during this pandemic. One thing I've noticed during this crisis, and I've mentioned this before, is that many of our territory's long-standing issues, such as lack of housing, lack of access to healthcare, and also lack of access to high-speed Internet, have all been amplified issues for people across the NWT.

Internet need in particular has been more pronounced than usual, especially because everyone has been required to stay home for a...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just one last comment. I think this is a great idea, but we just have to make sure that we always, like I said when I led in, plan for the worst, and make sure that we have as much built in so we have a protection for any of those worst-case scenarios. Marsi cho.

Marsi cho, Madam Chair. When I first heard of this bill, the first thing that popped into my mind was you should always hope for the best and plan for the worst. I think, if a second wave for this COVID were to occur, this legislation would help with it; but, as the Member for Frame Lake did mention, it's important that we have really strong infrastructure in terms of Internet.

It brought up some concerns. Let's say, if I was visiting some constituents in Lutselk'e and, say, if I was staying at a bed and breakfast or at the Co-op and I wanted to go on the Internet, okay, we have a sitting that...