Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my statement I spoke about MTS and the need to think outside the box with some suggestions. One of those suggestions, Mr. Speaker, was looking at moving all or part of the operation further north to Inuvik or Tuktoyaktuk, and I know the department is currently doing a review. Can I ask the Minister of Infrastructure if part of that review will look at relocating some of MTS to the north? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the review itself at this point, which is quite close to being completed, doesn't consider, to my knowledge, whether or not to split the operations up, but really, rather, to look at what the different types of models there might be for the operations as a whole. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, again, I reiterate, I think that should be a part of what this government's going to do with MTS.
Can I also ask the Minister as part of the review process as well, has the department engaged with Indigenous governments on how MTS is affecting everyone in the region? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the process of the review did send out an invitation, I believe at the end of last year, to communities who rely on MTS so that they had the opportunity to participate. I don't have details in front of me confirming which communities did or did not. I know that some did, but I don't know that all responded to that inquiry to participate. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So we're not committing to moving it to a location that would make absolute better sense. We're not sure what the Indigenous governments are saying about this. So, Mr. Speaker, maybe it's time we look at privatizing, look at Indigenous governments or private partnerships to sell this business and have someone run it outside of government. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister of Infrastructure comment on consideration for privatizing MTS?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is exactly one of the questions that is part of this review, is what kinds of different governance models we might have for MTS. Not that long ago, MTS was privately owned, and it went into receivership. And when it went into receivership, all of the communities that depend on the resupply were put at risk and at that point is when the government decided to step in. From that point forward, I'm not sure it has ever turned a profit. So if somebody out there wants to take it off our hands, that might be very good news. My concern becomes resupply, to ensure that we as a government are not leaving small communities in a situation where they can't rely on a situation for resupply. So, again, that is part of the review. Different governance models, Crown corporation, privatizing, maybe those doing the review, which hasn't reached my desk yet I think it's due only just next month maybe they've got those creative solutions that my colleagues across the floor are looking for. And I'd certainly look forward to that opportunity to discuss it with them as soon as we have those options before us. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.
