Wally Schumann

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I suspect we can share that during the business planning sessions as we go forward and be able to do it through that process. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

One of the things that we are considering submitting under this Oceans Protection Plan when the call comes out is actually for a planning study of marine services in the centre in Tuktoyaktuk. That would be a shipping marine operations for the Arctic Ocean. I know the department has been in discussions with the mayor, and I believe we actually have a letter of support fully supporting our proposed planning study application with the Oceans Protection Plan when we do submit it.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. To that specific clause, we want BDIC to lay out their capital plan on how they are going to use their interest and revenue and what portion of that is going to be used for their operational plan. These are early days, as I have said. This is some of the stuff we are proposing that we want to do going forward. With this legislation, we want to be more transparent on how they use their money. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Speaker, for many communities across the North, air travel is an essential service. The Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to improving airport infrastructure and operations by working and strengthening connections with public and private sector partners in transportation infrastructure.

The Northwest Territories' 27 community airports are critical to the economic and social well-being of our residents. They provide essential services, including community resupply, air ambulance, search and rescue, forest fire response, and much more. Ongoing improvements to our airports...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. What I see and what we have been doing is, through their corporate planning process, when they come forward, I work with the management of the BDIC and work with them on their corporate plan with their strategic plan going forward. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 74(2) and have Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation Act, be moved into Committee of the Whole for today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I seek consent to proceed with second reading of Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation Act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway was one of the largest construction projects undertaken by the Government of the Northwest Territories, and it was completed for the most part on time and on budget. Although the terrain on which the highway was constructed is challenging, the design, planning, and construction of the highway were all conducted by a team of experts. Overall, the highway has been performing as expected. The first winter season of operation was successful, and the highway experienced an average of 60 to 70 vehicles per day.

The contractor is addressing...

I guess I should clarify: the regional superintendent was the superintendent of Infrastructure, and we are going to be looking at using the Community Access Program for this project. We are going to work closely with them to help them prepare their proposal. Part of the criteria around the CAP program is we provide contributions to the communities, but when it goes through that process, there are requirements that we need to consider; the level of community involvement in the process, the benefit to the community, and the cost. That's what we will be working with them once we get the...