Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Mackenzie Valley fibre line was completed in 2017 -- oh, sorry -- Government of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, this was welcomed news for the residents on the anchor tenants, the Inuvik satellite station facility, and the new north networks and their satellite station facility as well.
The Government of the Northwest Territories has made a long-term investment to improve telecommunications service and to support economic development along the Mackenzie Valley. Mr. Speaker, with the ability to handle greater volumes of high-speed data traffic with increased reliability, the link provides better access to health, education, and many government services in the Mackenzie Valley communities.
For the town of Inuvik, Mr. Speaker, the benefits of being connected to the Mackenzie Valley fibre link are immense. The connection allows Inuvik to strengthen its position as a base for satellite ground stations in Arctic research organizations and additionally qualified local contractors have been able to participate in contracts related to the long-term physical maintenance of the fibre optic link.
Mr. Speaker, I also understand that the second line, the redundancy line, is now complete. Once the 778-kilometer Dempster fibre line to Dawson becomes operational, it will offer backup. That means if one line goes down, the other can pick up the load. But, Mr. Speaker, businesses and commercial entities in Inuvik are questioning whether or not it's truly redundant given that our line, Mr. Speaker, runs from Inuvik down to McGill Lake and on through to High Level and into Alberta. The line that's being proposed on the Dempster Highway runs down as far as Fort Nelson. Now, I do understand that there is a potential to have another link go from Fort Nelson over to McGill Lake but, again, that's creating a loop and to get true redundancy, Mr. Speaker, I think we're going to need that link from Fort Nelson into Alberta as well. So, Mr. Speaker, those are the concerns that have been brought to my attention, and I will have questions for the Minister of finance later. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife North.
