Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of course, the government is responsible for the management, habitat conservation, and sustainable use of barren ground caribou and collaborates with Aboriginal governments and organizations, co-management boards, and communities. The GNWT carefully reviews the details of each project proposal with respect to its caribou responsibilities and provides evidence and recommendations for the consideration of all parties and the assessing body.

The GNWT is continuing to work collaboratively with Nunavut stakeholders and other affected parties on the Bathurst caribou range plan and will continue to engage with Nunavut partners on options to maintain the integrity of the Bathurst calving area. We do realize this is an important issue and it does guide our response to environmental projects that are coming forward.

Thanks to the Minister for that response, and I might have to follow up with a different Minister about the status of the Bathurst herd. Later today I'm going to be tabling the comment letter submitted by Department of Lands to the Nunavut Impact Review Board on the Grays Bay Port and Road Project. Several other letters were submitted by the NWT Indigenous governments and they have expressed very serious concerns/reservations about this Grays Bay Port and Road Project because it will cut through the remaining calving grounds of the Bathurst caribou herd. What is the position of our government on the Grays Bay Port and Road Project? Does our government support the project or not, and why?

The government supports the Government of Nunavut and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association's recommendation that further environmental review of the project would be valuable, and recommends that the federal government provide participant funding for any such review.

The Government of Nunavut and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association are, of course, the proponents. The GNWT recognizes the potential transboundary economic benefits associated with infrastructure corridors such as the Grays Bay road and port and supports strategic infrastructure developments such as this project.

We heard earlier today that resources make up 40 per cent of our economy, and it's important we support these types of projects. It will be of great benefit not only to ourselves but Nunavut also and the country at large.

Thanks to the Minister for that response. Several of the Indigenous governments have actually asked that the project be stopped or delayed given the condition of the Bathurst caribou herd, but our government is prepared to support it. This project is going to involve use of winter roads on our side of the boundary, and as the Minister said there are going to be transboundary, environmental, and socioeconomic impacts. I would like the Minister to explain why our government did not call for a full federal panel review under Part 6 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement for the Grays Bay Port and Road Project, which would have included participant funding. It is required under the federal legislation and it could have included representation on the panel from this side of the border, so why did our government not ask for a Part 6 review under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement for the Grays Bay Port and Road Project?

The Government of the Northwest Territories believes that Northerners should make decisions that affect Northerners and that the Nunavut Impact Review Board is fully capable of assessing the impacts of this project. We are satisfied that the board has fully considered NWT concerns in previous Part 5 reviews. I think it is under their legislation. We are confident that this project will be fully considered by the Nunavut board, and therefore we are not seeking intervention by the federal government.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister for that. We're not asking for federal intervention. Part 6 is about being sure it's a full federal panel. They're appointed by the federal government and it could have included representation from this side of the border, but we cut off our nose to spite our face.

Clearly, the routing for the Slave Geological Province road was chosen by our government without any regard for caribou as stated by the Minister of Transportation in this House. Can the Minister of Lands tell us what kind of credibility our government can possibly have in any review of the Grays Bay Port and Road Project when we continue to push for a road on our side of the border without any regard to its impacts on the Bathurst caribou herd? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Department of Infrastructure is working with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to identify gaps in knowledge and opportunities with respect to caribou population along the proposed corridor, so it's not as though we are in any way ignoring this very important issue; and I realize that this is a complex issue.

I want to repeat, however, that we are concerned about the issue of this caribou herd and that any of our planning will take into account the grave concerns that we've heard about the diminution of the numbers of this caribou herd that travels between Nunavut and ourselves. We are confident, however, in Nunavut's and our processes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Masi. The Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the honourable Member for his birthday present.

I believe, and it's been proven, that the renewal of the Alberta/NWT Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation and Development has benefited all people in the North. Specifically the communities in that riding I think have benefited as well, because it sets out how our two jurisdictions will work together. It has quite a wide range of areas that we share information on; specifically I look at trade, transportation, tourism, health and social services, fire cooperation, education, training, resource development, energy and environment, and, of course, water.

This agreement/MOU serves as an umbrella for quite a wide-ranging area of intergovernmental agreements and it allows us to work more closely together if there are any problem areas that develop and also facilitate solutions. Detah Ndilo that's okay, Fort Resolution undoubtedly will benefit from this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My favourite topic is always employment/labour for small communities. Would the MOU support and provide a benefit to the small communities insofar as employment goes?

The basis for the agreement is that there's significant potential for community and economic development in the region and in those communities. Certainly the MOU identifies education, training, skills development, and regional and community development as a priority, and the MOU will reduce barriers to employment and also increase labour mobility between our jurisdictions. We've seen in the past, where there's been substantial development in Alberta and we've been able to have people in the North go and work there, and certainly we'll make sure that the credentials and so on will not be a barrier.

We have very high energy costs in many of our communities. I'd like to ask the Premier if there was any discussion about reducing energy costs as a result of this new memorandum of understanding or the renewed memorandum of understanding.

Energy and high energy costs is probably one of the biggest areas which we share, and there is a very high degree of cooperation. Both Alberta and the NWT are committed to reducing community reliance on expensive carbon-intensive diesel. Certainly one of the areas that we are all very interested in is hydro development, and we see opportunities certainly with possibly the expansion of Taltson. We think that Alberta, like ourselves, is participating in the western Canada review of the potential for hydroelectricity throughout western Canada. We think we can be part of the solution and work with Alberta where we can provide hydroelectricity, and we can use the benefits of that to invest in other areas. This is something that we are very interested in, and this is something that we expect there will be further discussion about, more specific to Alberta and the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, clean, safe drinking water is important to residents of the NWT. The Alberta oil sands are a great concern for people as the water flows through the Slave River, which provides most of the source for the Great Slave Lake. I was wondering if, as a result of this MOU, there would be an opportunity for individuals who are concerned about their safe drinking water as a result of Alberta's tar sands to speak to this government on this MOU concerning safe drinking water. Thank you.

I am very pleased to report that, under this MOU, we will continue to work together with Alberta to fully implement the Alberta-Northwest Territories Mackenzie River Basin Bilateral Water Management Agreement, which was signed on March 18, 2015. These trans-boundary water agreements are seen as the most comprehensive of their kind, not only in North America, but possibly in the world. This is an example of what can be achieved when our two jurisdictions work together. I think, with safe drinking water, 80 per cent of the water of the Mackenzie River Basin comes through Fort Smith, so it affects all of those communities that the Member is responsible for.

Also, I am very pleased to report that the Alberta-NWT Water Management Agreement was not only negotiated, but is also being implemented with the assistance of the Aboriginal Steering Committee, which includes representatives from the Akaitcho Territory Government, along with representation from every other region in the Northwest Territories. With the reduced production in the Fort McMurray area and the oil sands, obviously, this has had a positive impact on water quality. We will certainly continue to work with Alberta. Any issues or concerns that any of your constituents may have, they can bring them to our attention, and we can also follow up with the contacts that we have and also with the regular processes that have been established through the Alberta-NWT MOU. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I talked about realizing the dream of ending poverty in the Northwest Territories through a guaranteed income pilot. These programs are not just about alleviating poverty, but reducing government expense by cutting costly social security programs and rolling the costs back into this program, empowering Northerners and people with a guaranteed income that will allow them to take ownership over their decision-making. Does the Minister responsible for our social security system, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, support guaranteed income as a policy position? Thank you.

Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can assure Members of this House that our department is closely monitoring the three-year Ontario pilot project that the Member talked about in his opening statement. We are looking at the implementation, and we do look forward to seeing those results. In the meantime, we have done initiatives. We have created action plans. Just recently this past year we made changes to the Canada Child Benefit, as well as the NWT Child Benefit, to try to give every family in the Northwest Territories the opportunity to be part of their communities, the economy, as well as to meet their basic needs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is good to know the government is paying attention to that project. As the Minister knows, I am a big fan of putting more money into the pockets of Northerners. At this point, is the department considering developing a pilot project for one of our small northern communities? I am thinking about those non-tax-based communities, where people do not have market conditions to support them. We could really make a big difference by raising them to the level that our tax-based communities enjoy. Is the Minister willing to the look into developing a pilot for one of those communities?