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April 18, 2012 - Thank you. On behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories, I would like to welcome you here today. The inauguration of the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility antenna is another important step forward for the town of Inuvik and the whole Northwest Territories.

Our territory is blessed with a wealth of natural resources that have been the foundation of our economy for years. We have huge oil and gas reserves, particularly here in the Mackenzie Delta and offshore in the Beaufort Sea. Our mineral potential is well known.

But the old economy cannot be the only driver of the Northwest Territories’ economy. Resource development has provided jobs and income for our residents, but it is a sector characterized by boom-and-bust cycles. People here in Inuvik know only too well the risks of depending on an industry that can be so unpredictable.

That is why the Government of the Northwest Territories is interested in projects like the ISSF. We need to expand our economy into areas that are more predictable and stable. We need to create opportunities for the Northwest Territories to participate in the new digital economy – an economy that crosses borders and geography with ease and continues to grow in importance. And it is an environmentally sustainable economy, another important priority for our government.

The Northwest Territories has the potential to be an important player in the new economy. We have some unique advantages that have already been recognized by the partners in the ISSF. Communities like Inuvik are ideally positioned to receive data from the growing number of satellites in polar orbit. We can offer the services of skilled and educated people, reliable transportation links to the rest of the world and modern communication infrastructure.

The ISSF makes full use of these advantages and goes a long way towards positioning the Northwest Territories as a world leader in this field. We are pleased to have the facility here and congratulate all the partners for their success. And we look forward to the continued expansion of the facility as the use of remote satellite data continues to grow in importance for governments and researchers around the world.

As part of our interest in diversifying the North’s economy, the Government of the Northwest Territories has been studying the feasibility of constructing a Mackenzie Valley fibre optic link. A high-speed fibre optic link between Inuvik and southern Canada would support expanded operations at the ISSF, providing improved access to even more satellite data. It would also create tremendous benefits for the people of Inuvik and other communities along the route, including improved delivery of education and health and social services and new business opportunities.

Our studies indicate that a Mackenzie Valley fibre optic link could be built in the space of two years for an approximate cost of $65 million. The GNWT is currently looking at options for financing the project as a public-private partnership.

In closing, I would like to point out that partnerships are going to be critical if the Northwest Territories is going to fulfill its economic potential. Our government knows that economic development is going to depend on continued investment in strategic infrastructure like the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Line, the Mackenzie Valley Highway and the Mackenzie Gas Pipeline. But our government is small and our population of 43,000 cannot support the cost of major projects like this on our own. We will need the participation of industry, academia, and other governments – including Aboriginal governments and the Government of Canada – to create this infrastructure of national importance.

We have a lot of experience with partnerships here in the Northwest Territories and the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility is an example of what can be done when people work together. I hope it will be the first of many fruitful partnerships that will help bring the Northwest Territories into the modern era and turn it into an engine of economic development for the whole country.

Thank you.