Thank you, Madam Speaker. My questions are to the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. Recently I made a statement, obviously, about the broadband accomplishments on the reserve. I wanted to ask the Minister if he could update this House in terms of the GNWT’s involvement with the broadband initiative of the fibre optic link on the reserve. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I’d like to congratulate the Hay River Reserve for the work that they’ve put into broadband and fibre on the reserve. I had the opportunity last year to go down and visit with community leaders there, and it’s very encouraging to see the work and the effort that’s been put into fibre optic in that community. I know they have some big plans, and certainly the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment were interested in helping them try to achieve those plans. Thank you.
This government promoted the idea of the Mackenzie Valley fibre optic link. It will be possible at some point, if it’s established, to link all communities across the NWT.
How is the GNWT, especially through ITI or all departments, working to ensure that communities at some point will be able to take advantage of these technologies? Mahsi.
We’re very encouraged by the signals from the federal government on the importance of growing broadband and connectivity in Canada’s North. It looks like they’re going to invest over $300 million on that initiative over the next few years.
We certainly are moving forward with the fibre optic link down the Mackenzie Valley and any opportunity we have, as a government, to continue to look at opportunities to connect communities to that system is something we are certainly interested in. I know it’s early days since the announcement by the federal government on the money for fibre in northern Canada, but certainly we will be putting our efforts into trying to get some of that funding for some of our communities here in the NWT. Thank you.
How would the department work on behalf of communities to ensure that some of those federal dollars that the federal government has committed will be available for communities in terms of establishing technology, whether broadband or fibre optics? Thank you.
On a bigger scale, I think it comes down to planning. Certainly we have to work with communities around the Northwest Territories as a government to get a plan going forward. On a smaller scale such as perhaps what the Hay River Reserve is trying to achieve, we do have some funding that we could certainly look at in the South Slave to help the Hay River Reserve achieve what they’re trying to do there with fibre optics. That’s certainly something we are interested in doing, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Minister Ramsay. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
