Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister did state that dental services, providing services to the community of Fort Providence, is really left up to private clinics. Can the Minister assure the residents of Fort Providence that, clearly and definitely, he will have a role in ensuring that private clinics do provide dental services to Fort Providence as soon as possible? Mahsi.

As I indicated, we have been in touch with the federal government about possibly issuing an RFP to find a provider to provide those services in Fort Providence. That is going to take a while. We are looking to see if there are any providers locally who might be able to do something immediately, but in the meantime, we are also trying to get some more communications information from the NIHB that we could share with community members, showing them how they can get some financial compensation to go to appointments, so that their ability to maintain their health or deal with emergencies isn't limited by financial situation.

A number of things are happening. I don't have those answers for the Member today, but we are looking into it, and I will get back to the Member as soon as I have more information. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All resource projects in the Northwest Territories are reviewed in the same laid-out regulatory regime that we have within the Northwest Territories, according to their scale and scope. We have a multifaceted regulatory system in the Northwest Territories. There is a process to adjust the requirements and make changes within that process, but also, in the Northwest Territories, we have a lot of players. We have the Government of the Northwest Territories and our departments; we have the federal government and their departments; and we have Indigenous governments in the Northwest Territories that need to be involved in the regulatory process.

The one thing that I can say, as I said in the House here last week about this project, it is something that is very interesting that I will be following very closely with my colleagues on this side of the House, particularly the ones that manage natural resources. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Specific to that project, will the Minister work with the governments, regulators, and firms like Avalon and Cheetah to facilitate an accelerated timeline at Nechalacho to achieve small-scale production?

We will definitely work closely with them, as we do with many other companies in the Northwest Territories that are trying to get business done here. We want it done right, and we want to help them avoid any red tape unnecessarily to move their projects forward. The nice thing about ITI is that we have developed a Client Services and Community Relations Office within our department, and their role is to help the companies work their way through the regulatory system in the Northwest Territories. We certainly encourage Avalon and Cheetah to work closely with that division and help move their timelines and scope along.

As these companies move forward, the potential for ownership with the Indigenous governments and Indigenous groups, will there still be requirements for impact benefit agreements should these companies have ownership along with the Indigenous governments?

As you know, we introduced our bill here last week, so I want to speak very carefully about what I am going to talk about here, because it is in the standing committee's preview right now of the bill.

In our bill, we proposed benefit agreements, not impact benefit agreements. There is already a process laid out for that, and that is through the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act. When you look at our proposed bill, the benefits side of things, we want to make --

Minister, the bill is before standing committee, and it is inappropriate to discuss it at this point. If you could answer the question perhaps without direct reference to the bill that is properly before the committee? Thank you.

Well, as I said, the bill is with the standing committee, and in it is a benefits agreement, not an impact benefit agreement, as clearly laid out, as I said, in the process under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act.

Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister discuss the possibilities of technology, energy, and green metals becoming a focus of research and study with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment? Thank you.

Technology, energy, and green metals are already on the radar, particularly of this Government of the Northwest Territories, and particularly of our department, through the NWT Geological Survey. We are trying to get a better understanding of what role that the Northwest Territories and our resources can play in this global movement towards these types of resources. The early work on the knowledge economy has also identified the importance of leveraging and taking advantage of the world demand of green metals, and I am definitely prepared to find opportunities to work with my colleagues and add to the discussion further to the research and study of this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member's statement, I have a few questions for the Minister of Justice. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my statement, the community feels that it is very important that we have full-time officers in the community. I would like to ask the Minister: how many times since the fall have the RCMP stayed over the weekend in Tsiigehtchic? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can advise that, in the 2017 calendar year, the RCMP conducted 22 overnight patrols and 67 day patrols, and in 2018, the RCMP conducted 19 overnight patrols and 76 day patrols in the community. I don't have a seasonal breakdown or a breakdown by month, but I know also that, in December of 2018, there were 14 day patrols through Tsiigehtchic. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is nice to have day patrols, but like I said, the community prefers when the RCMP stays the weekend; though, actually, a full-time station would be preferred. Will the Minister do a cost analysis to have an RCMP station in the community of Tsiigehtchic?

I don't think we are in a position, really, to examine such an idea in that kind of detail. I do know that setting up a new RCMP station would be extremely expensive, but certainly I would be prepared to have a conversation with the Member opposite about this matter. I have some idea about the overall cost of setting up a new RCMP detachment, and it is very high. We would have to decide if there was a need, first of all, before we examined it further.

The department has come up with those numbers in the past. As we work toward self-government, the community will be looking at having their own station. It is always better to have in place before those agreements are in place. Maybe as a pilot project, will the Minister and his department take a serious look at having a special constable, at least, in the community of Tsiigehtchic?

I thank the Member opposite for the question. I don't think that we are contemplating such a move at this time. If the Member opposite is contemplating having a situation in which there is one member in a community, I understand that generally we don't do that anymore, but I certainly would be able to consider this matter further. Again, the cost of setting up a full detachment would be very high, as I have mentioned previously, and I don't think we are contemplating it at this time. However, we certainly would be willing to look at the statistics for the community as a preliminary matter.

Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.