Debates of March 10, 2005 (day 53)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m not going to sing. I’d like to, but I won’t. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to congratulate an aboriginal owned corporation with their offices in Weledeh. This afternoon I was told that because of the efforts of this company, that all communities in the NWT will, by the end of this year, have broadband Internet services.

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Mr. Speaker, the Denendeh Development Corporation is a community champion of the Broadband Business Alliance, and will be signing a contribution agreement with Industry Canada as part of an overall project worth $16.7 million. This is the culmination of two years of effort by Denendeh Development Corporation and its five partners in the Broadband Business Alliance. The other partners in the alliance, Mr. Speaker, in addition to the Denendeh Development Corporation, are the Dogrib Treaty 11, Deline Land Corporation, Tetlit Gwich’in Council, Deninu Kue Development Corporation and Deh Cho Economic Corporation.

The Broadband Alliance will be using state-of-the-art satellite and wireless technology to connect 31 communities across the Territories. The benefits are many. This includes the support of value-added applications such as tele-health, tele-education and remote video conferencing. Training and capacity building will be provided by the Broadband Business Alliance.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like this House to congratulate the Broadband Business Alliance and its community champion, the Denendeh Development Corporation, for its efforts and perseverance in putting forth and making this technology available to the benefit of all northerners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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