ECONOMY, ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE 

Commitment 1.1.11 – We will develop and foster the knowledge economy by:
Completing the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Link in order to help modernize the economy and enable growth in all economic sectors.

The Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Link (MVFL) project involves the installation of 1,154 km (717 miles) of high-speed fibre optic telecommunications cable north from McGill Lake Microwave Site, approximately 85KM south of Fort Simpson, through the Mackenzie Valley, to Inuvik: the feasibility of an extension to Tuktoyaktuk will be assessed following the completion of the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway.

The MVFL provides modern, high speed, backbone communications infrastructure to residents in the NWT’s Mackenzie Valley and support the growth of the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility (SSF), sustainable economic development and economic diversification opportunities throughout the Mackenzie Valley.

The MVFL was completed in the summer of 2017.

Related Mandate Commitments

• Commitment 1.1.1 – We will work to secure funding to advance planning and construction of transportation projects, including three priority corridors: the Mackenzie Valley Highway, Tłı̨chǫ All-season Road, and Slave Geological Province Access Corridor.
• Commitment 1.1.2 – We will strengthen connections with private sector partners in transportation infrastructure (rail, trucking, airline, and marine).
• Commitment 1.1.3 – We will strengthen connections with public sector partners in transportation infrastructure, including working with the federal government to maintain federal community resupply port facilities and marine services in the NWT, to restore safe marine operating conditions in the Port of Hay River and at key sections of the Mackenzie River Corridor, and to improve charting and navigational aids.
• Commitment 1.1.8 – We will support mineral exploration and the mining sector, by implementing the Mineral Development Strategy, capturing opportunities to build transportation infrastructure that enables resources to get to market, closing the skills gap in the mining sector, implementing the Mining Incentive Program, developing and proposing a Mineral Resources Act, and supporting Aboriginal governments to build capacity in dealing with mining-related activities.
• Commitment 1.1.9 – We will develop a long-term strategy to attract investment in oil and gas resources that will provide economic and energy benefits to NWT residents and businesses, while recognizing and protecting environmental, social, cultural and economic values.
• Commitment 1.1.12 – We will support the growth of Indigenous business development corporations and the capacity of Indigenous governments, through the completion and implementation of memoranda of understanding that reflect the economic opportunity objectives found in modern land claims.
• Commitment 1.1.13 – We will support small communities by enhancing job-creation programs, building community capacity and supporting new economic opportunities

For more information about this initiative, please contact the Department of Finance.