Caroline Wawzonek

Mr. Speaker, this seems to be a whole-of-government response. I think, perhaps, it is appropriate that I turn it over to the Premier.

For reference, I am looking at the summary of operations expenditures page, which is in the main estimates binders, and that does have a breakdown by department and also by expenditure category, showing a grand total of expenditures of $1,895,865.

I am certainly not going to speak for the whole of the Assembly and determine which of our priorities ranks above one or the other, but I think every Member here who has experienced the last two months of working from home and working remotely knows how important Internet connectivity is. As we're going forward, we are not entirely out of the weeds in terms of COVID. People are going to continue to rely on digital communication. It is obvious that this item is a priority, and it already was a priority of the Assembly. I'm not, as I say, going to rank it above the others, but I certainly can...

In addition to being the owner of the main highway that brings that link all the way up and brings that point of access and, in additional, being the consumer that helps make it attractive to Internet service providers once they're in that community, there are two other roles, I think, that the government is playing and must continue to play, and needs to, certainly, do a very good job of playing as we've all realized how important Internet services are in our homes. That is as an advocate and as a supporter.

As an advocate, both at the federal government level, in terms of going in, this is a...

I certainly can confirm that human resources has already begun working with Health and Social Services, that they are already underway in terms of developing their plan. I'll correct myself later if I'm wrong, but I believe there was an intention to move forward this summer. Again, now, with COVID-19, that may have changed somewhat, but the Department of Finance and human resources has been quite actively involved in the fact that we've had to staff up in the Health and Social Services Department. I will certainly commit to getting the details on those plans back to the Member and back to this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, the new collective agreement now has 24 months as the benchmark and no longer 48 months. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: "Report of the Northwest Territories Traditional Remuneration Commission 2020." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Mackenzie Valley fibre link is certainly one part of it. Making the connection up to Tuktoyaktuk is another. Looking at what other areas of connectivity we can work with. For instance, the road currently to Whati is another point where we want to look at what we can be doing as a supporter and as an advocate to make sure that we're using all those opportunities to get the basis, to get the fundamentals there available for those Internet service providers.

The plan, if we're going to be having a plan, is much more than just what the government can do. It's going to have to engage and look at...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, the Mackenzie Valley fibre link is essentially the highway that makes it possible for these communities to have access to high speed Internet. Without that highway, there would be no opportunity for these communities to have access. Right now, Fort Simpson, Wrigley, Tulita, Norman Wells, Fort Good Hope, and Inuvik, all have a point of access inside those communities, directly inside those communities. The GNWT, the role that we had was in terms of providing that highway. We are the owner of that highway. We are not the Internet service provider, so we...

I will say I listened quite intently, and I am well familiar that the Member has a lot of experience in terms of hiring in an area that is under a lot of stress, in terms of hiring healthcare workers. I'm not in a position right now to explain the details of how the collective agreement was negotiated on this particular point, but I certainly intend to inform myself on it. I will reach out to the Member and to a relevant committee if they're interested. The Member is probably still aware, and the House is likely still aware, that, earlier, I had made a commitment that the Department of Finance...