Denny Rodgers

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I understand there is the IRU for the line beyond High Level, but I guess my question is if there's a disruption beyond High Level, then do we not -- we won't have the access to go the full loop from Alberta up to Fort Nelson. So is there any conversations taking place to have an IRU, as the Minister mentioned, on that line as well, the Fort Nelson to Alberta line?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Finance given my statement today on the redundancy of the fibre optic line travelling up the Mackenzie Valley. I'm wondering, Mr. Speaker, if the Minister could give me an update on where they are with the true redundancy plan for this line. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I know that, you know, this issue runs throughout several departments, this is not just a Department of Finance obviously, and I, you know, appreciate that I'm speaking with the Minister of Finance. But I guess -- and I don't know if this question, Mr. Speaker, is even able to be answered but when you're looking at a terms of reference or looking at putting together this red tape review, does it kind of take into consideration other items like the innovative -- innovation action plan that ITI has and different things like that to kind of look at the terms of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement, I spoke about the issues entrepreneurs are having in Inuvik in processing applications and so on and so forth online. I referenced the 2020 red tape reduction group. My questions for the Minister of Finance is this red tape reduction group proactively addressing these issues to address and streamline the application processes and, if so, how? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that this committee defer further consideration of the capital estimates for the Department of Environment and Climate Change at this time. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that this committee defer further consideration of the capital estimates for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment at this time. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 193-20(1), 2025-2026 Capital Estimates for the Departments of Municipal and Community Affairs; Education, Culture and Employment; Infrastructure; and, Environment and Climate Change. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. And, yes, oftentimes people have complaints and they'll bring them to their MLA or they'll bring them to their community leadership but have an opportunity to bring them to a website or an email like the email said, and unfortunately, don't do that. So we need to find a way to be a little more proactive.

Having said that, Mr. Speaker, does the Minister know how many files or how many policies have been reviewed based on the information that has been collected by the red tape review? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to draw attention to the difficulty small businesses encounter when dealing with the Government of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, owning and operating a small business in this the Northwest Territories is no easy feat. Overhead costs are high, there are extreme labour shortages, and ongoing recovery from disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change impacts are very real scenarios. With these challenges, what these small businesses can do without is administrative burden that impedes their entrepreneurship.

Mr. Speaker...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that the chair rise and report progress. Thank you.