Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We haven't determined that yet, but one other thing I could share with Members or share with this House is, in our discussions with Canada, they recognize our high cost of providing services up here and they have a green energy fund, I believe it is, and there are some opportunities for us to apply for money through that fund to help mitigate our emissions. Again, to our advantage is that they know about the high cost of living up here, the 22 or 23 communities on these. We've made that case. I believe that we're working with Canada to try and access some of that green funding. Again, my offer before stands that, once we do a bit more work on this file and after we pass our budget, then we will have a sit-down with committee and have a discussion moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Mr. Speaker, work is under way to host a charette in Yellowknife in June hosted by Gwich'in Tribal Council with support in the Centre of Indigenous Aboriginal Resources. I'm going to ask the Minister responsible for Climate Change and Energy questions on that. Will the GNWT join those partners to help make the charette happen? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm looking forward to receiving a proposal from the Gwich'in Tribal Council. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The focus of the charette will be discussions and impacts and opportunities presented by the impending carbon tax and come up with a northern solution. Will the GNWT begin discussions with the group that is working on coming up with a charette?

The Government of the Northwest Territories is in the process of engaging with energy stakeholders as part of the development of the climate change framework and energy strategy. To date, we have held meetings in Nunavut, Norman Wells, Fort Smith, Yellowknife, and Fort Simpson. Next week, we will hold a session in Hay River. We have an upcoming workshop session in Behchoko. We have received submissions from Alternatives North and other energy consulting businesses and are considering those perspectives. We welcome the opportunity to hear from all interested parties and will work to integrate those comments and suggestions into our draft energy strategy and climate change framework, which we expect to table in draft form later this year.

In my Member's statement I spoke about the federal government putting $50 million aside for remote Indigenous communities to transition off diesel fuel. Has this government had any discussions with the federal government as to that $50 million fund?

We've had discussions with the federal government. The federal government has contributed $250,000 for us to hold consultations with regards to developing an energy strategy and a climate change strategy for the Northwest Territories.

Masi. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we all know in the House, small communities have lower incomes and there would be some impact from the carbon tax so this money that the federal government has put in place is very specific to transitioning Indigenous off diesel fuel. I was wondering if the Minister could advise us if there have been any discussions specific to that initiative. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, our officials have had discussions with federal officials and the indications are that funding that will be used for climate change and to introduce carbon pricing will be in the federal budget that will be coming out sooner. Specifically to the $50 million fund, I'd be pleased to get more information for the Member on that.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have some questions for the Minister responsible for Public Works and Services. We have made a commitment to reduce a certain per centage of our greenhouse gas emissions in line with international agreements and with our own commitments. We also have an obligation to support our mining industry and to develop new mines. So how is the Northwest Territories going to do both, essentially, when one new mine can increase our greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 25 per cent? Thank you.

Masi. Minister of Public Works and Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member is well aware, we are in early discussions on how we're going to move the climate change framework forward. As the Premier just stated, we are out in community engagement. We have also met with power suppliers in the Northwest Territories and we are reaching out to the mining industry on how we are going to implement this moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That work is important work. There are some mines in southern jurisdictions that have converted to 100 per cent electrified processes, which has greatly reduced their greenhouse gas emissions, something that is unlikely to happen in the Northwest Territories.

Is there a plan along with these transportation corridors to expand power supplies for communities and mines? Is that a tangible plan, or are we just talking about it with people in the North?

Moving forward with our transportation corridors is going to open up a lot of different things in the Northwest Territories, along with lowering the cost of living for a number of communities, for the residents of the Northwest Territories. As for the specific Slave Geological Province, which would open up the road to a significant area of development for the residents of the Northwest Territories and Canada, you can't put the cart before the horse. We are promoting the corridor and moving forward, looking at if we can do it sustainably without a whole bunch of impacts on the residents of the Northwest Territories and the environment. If we can get the road to the Slave Geological Province built, I'm sure we're going to be looking at how we can access power moving forward to that corridor.

I would say priorities of building that road, which I support, go hand in hand with the priorities of building a transmission line, and it's debatable which one would come first. It does appear that one is much farther off. Has the department ever considered providing financial incentives for companies or think tanks to provide alternative energy to the mines, specifically, creating a prize for those projects?

As we move forward with our energy strategy, this is something that maybe the Member wants to bring forward in our community consultation. As the Members of this House all know, the mines are all under a lot of pressure on how to do business in a profitable manner and they continue to look for innovative ways of how to produce power in a cost-effective manner that makes them a profitable business in the Northwest Territories. If the Member would like to bring that initiative forward in one of our community consultations on energy strategy moving forward, I'd be pleased to have that as input.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm very proud to be a member of this community, but I'm also proud to be a Member of this House and I'm going to bring forward that idea now. So can the Minister commit to developing an incentive for companies to provide alternative energy solutions to industrial activities in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will take it under advisement.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.