Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the community of Whati has been facing continuous power outages. The Northwest Territories Power Corporation acknowledges these outages and have listed Whati as a level 1 emergency. NTPC has acknowledged that outages is largely due to aging infrastructure. There is old equipment being used to generate power and to distribute power in the community.
Mr. Speaker, the road to Whati opened in 2021. The NICO Mine project is underway. Whati has beautiful tourism attractions and could be a community ripe for economic development. But in order to develop Whati, a stable consistent supply of power is needed.
The government has identified the extension of Snare hydro distribution system to Whati as a solution to reduce the cost of power and a renewable energy solution. The extension of the Snare hydro system, however, is not estimated to be complete within the life of this Assembly. According to the capital estimate, this project will be completed in 2027 and 2028.
Mr. Speaker, the community of Whati is listed as an emergency level 1 community right now. Something more needs to be done to address the energy needs of Whati.
Mr. Speaker, the Tlicho Highway was one of the first P3 projects in North America with an Indigenous government holding a cashfunded equity stake. It won a national award for innovations and excellence in public/private partnership from the Canadian council for public/private partnerships. Mr. Speaker, we don't have to reinvent things. There are already models of successful major projects in the Tlicho.
Can the GNWT be creative and innovative to secure the funding needed to prioritize and fast track the implementation of the Snare hydro system to support the residents of Whati? I will have questions for the Minister of Infrastructure. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Member from Tu NedheWiilideh.
