I appreciate the response from the Minister. It looks like there have a lot of lessons to learn as we move ahead, seeing as this is all very new to the government. My second question to the Minister is: are the bulk fuel prices being done, and will they reduce the price of gas for petroleum products for Arctic residents?

All our bulk fuel is purchased in the summer, as I've said. That's our normal practice for the marine summer resupply. The final price of gasoline and other fuels is based on the cost of fuel and the cost of shipment to each community. The changes in sale prices are based on these costs, and we won't know what those prices are going to be typically until the end of fall, until we gather all this information.

Also, on the Member's first note, too, another effort that we are doing to help address the situation is MTS plans to mobilize and stage all fuel and dry cargo in the Nunakput region and Tuktoyaktuk early in the season, too, so that's one of the things that we're looking at adjusting our schedule.

I appreciate that. It's good to hear. It gives MTS a little bit of a reaction time to some of the issues and some of the conditions up in the Arctic along the Beaufort Sea.

Mr. Speaker, my third question is: have there been any planning studies done using Tuktoyaktuk as a staging point for future shipping, not just to Nunakput communities, but to other communities, say, in Alaska and in Nunavut?

Infrastructure has applied for funding through CanNor, and the application is for a study to examine economic employment and community development opportunities, induced by potential investment and improvements in the marine assets and supporting infrastructure to six communities of the Beaudel and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.

The study will examine and recommend a future role for Tuktoyaktuk as a straightforward staging location for cargo and fuel to support marine resupply of and through the western Arctic. We are contemplating that these improvements will mitigate the risk of any future marine resupply in the area.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is good to hear that. I think that we have gone a long way since this time last year, as far as MTS goes and the planning for shipping in the Arctic communities. It is great to see that the Minister is working federal Ministers on this, as well, Mr. Speaker. That is good news. I commend the Minister for that. My final question is: are there any infrastructure investments planned to improve shipping in Arctic coastal communities in Nunakput? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I said, the money that we applied for CanNor will actually give us some pinpoint ideas of what we need to do around that, but one of the big things, I think, that we are doing this year is that, as this House knows, we have gone out and secured the money to purchase four double-hulled barges that will help do the resupply in these communities. The procurement process for building these is under way right now, and we are anticipating, if all goes well, that we will have delivery of these by August of 2020. This is going to help with the existing fleet of the two double-hulled barges that we already have; so we will have six double-hulled barges.

As I have said in this House before, when I have talked about this, this is going to help us. Instead of making two trips to some of these communities, or all of these communities, we will be able to do the resupply based on one trip to each community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday afternoon the highway between High Level and Enterprise was closed because of a fire that is straddling the highway by Steen River. Not only has this stranded some residents, but the majority of foods and goods that come into the territory travel along that highway. That is because it is the most economical route. If all of the truck traffic needs to be routed through BC and up the Liard Highway, you can be assured that the price of everything is going to go up, not just for the residents, but for businesses and for the GNWT, and depending on how long this is closed, it could cause disruptions to the construction season as well. My first question for the Minister of Infrastructure is: does the GNWT know how long this stretch of highway will be closed? If not, what is the department doing to keep the public informed about the closure in a timely manner, and where can people find that information? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, not at this time; we don't know how long the highway is going to be closed. We are in constant contact and communication with our Alberta counterparts on this issue. We know that this is going to significantly impact the residents of the Northwest Territories if it is ongoing for a considerably long time. I even mentioned to some of the people last night at the event that the Premier and I were at that they don't think about it, but if this road is closed for any significant amount of time, the residents in the South Slave who are on the road system who are impacted by food delivery and fuel delivery and stuff could be significant.

We are in constant contact with the Alberta counterparts, as I have said. For residents of the NWT who are listening today and want to read Hansard, we have our GNWT Infrastructure website that is going to be posting constant updates on that. We have the Infrastructure Twitter page, which we will be using, and we will also have variable digital messaging signs that are going to be on the highway system. They are already out there, I believe. We are working with different media outlets across the Northwest Territories to get this information out there in a timely manner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I remember a few years ago when I was heading back up north, and there was a fire by Zama, and we were escorted in the nighttime like a convoy. Is the GNWT working with the Government of Alberta to have vehicles escorted through the fire zone to avoid disruption to the supply of food, fuel, materials, and so on?

The short answer is no. The reason for that is, based on the information that we are getting out of the Alberta department of ENR, whatever their title is in Alberta, this fire is out of control at the present time. It is not safe to be able to escort people through there. They have to get a better understanding of the fire's behaviour. We will be working, as I have said, very closely with these people to get a better understanding of when this will be able to be done. All is I know is today we have north winds down there again, the fire is right along the side of the highway, and it is plus 30 in the region. It is going to remain closed for the short term.

Now, this happened less than 24 hours ago, I believe, the closure was. There were some people who were on their way up north, some people headed south, and I am not sure what the fuel situation is where these people were stopped, if they have all turned around and gone home, but are there motorists who are stranded at either end, and if so, are there services being provided to them, just basic things like access to washrooms and water and fuel?

Yes, we have put washroom facilities at the barricade already. The Department of Infrastructure is also in talks with the Hamlet of Enterprise to see if we can use some of their existing infrastructure, like the Seniors Centre, as a rallying point for these people. The motorists are also being directed into the community of Hay River to use their facilities, as well. As I said, we are in constant communication with the Alberta government and trying to do what we can if there are any questions that need to be answered for people stuck on the other side.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that every day so far during this sitting, we have heard either statements or questions about marine resupply, and that is because of what happened last season. People are a little worried about whether or not they are going to get their goods, their fuel, their food on the barges. How long before this disruption causes problems with the resupply? I assume that the rail line has also been shut down; I am not quite sure, but that is how most of the fuel comes into the territory. Can the Minister give us some insight on that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, the rail traffic has been affected, particularly around the High Level fire, not even the new fire that's around the Steen River area. There has been no rail traffic for over a week already. Infrastructure has been in conversation with CN Rail. They have been out there and checked out their asset. They are inspecting it, then doing a weight test on the rail tracks and bridges to make sure that everything is copacetic once they are able to open back up. As of today, none of their infrastructure has actually been affected by the railroad, but we are continuing to work with CN to stay abreast of the situation and keep residents and this House informed when the railroad will be opening back up so that they can get the fuel supply back north. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Foster parents make a significant difference in the lives of children and youth, and their efforts and commitment really needs to be recognized and supported and celebrated. Mr. Speaker, we do do that as a government, and we do support the Foster Family Coalition, who takes significant efforts to do this, as well.

Mr. Speaker, each year we take time to celebrate the important contributions that foster families make in the lives of children and youth within the Northwest Territories. For example, over the years, there have been a variety of events to help honour and celebrate the foster families in individual communities, led by regional offices in those communities. Each community and region often has its own way of celebrating. In some regions, they host breakfast. They have dinners or lunches. They provide small gifts of gratitude. The Foster Family Coalition has been really fantastic in supporting the foster families, and they help us by actually getting letters out to the foster families thanking them for their service across the Northwest Territories.

They also host a number of different functions throughout the year. I have had the honour of attending a couple of different dinners and events that the foster family coalition has put on for foster families, where I have had the opportunity to thank foster families directly for all that they do. We also take every opportunity like this to really thank the foster families throughout the Northwest Territories for their incredible work. There are a lot of different things we do. There is not one set program of gratitude or acknowledgement, but we take every opportunity and we work with the foster family coalition, who is really the lead on this, and we support them in their efforts to congratulate and thank our foster families, as well.

That is great to hear. Again, I am looking at the territories and trying to see how we help recognize our foster parents, and it's great that a coalition does that, but sometimes the coalition does not exist in some of these smaller communities, that I am aware of. Has the department looked at recognizing these foster parents, especially on Mother's Day, Father's Day, like even a small gift like a box of chocolates or a card?

The Foster Family Coalition of the Northwest Territories is a territorial NGO, and they reach out to all communities throughout the Northwest Territories. We have not targeted something like Mother's Day or Father's Day. We have actually targeted our formal appreciation of foster parents to communicate in other activities actually centred around Foster Family Week. There is actually a national week set up for this, so we do that rather than looking at Mother's Day or Father's Day.

The celebration of foster caregivers occurs both at a national and a territorial level every year. We know that we need to look at further opportunities, Mr. Speaker, and we recognize and appreciate everything that foster parents do. We will certain work with the faster family coalition to find ways to better support them. There are lots of opportunities for us to do this. We have a good relationship with the foster family coalition, and we will certainly continue to have dialogue around this issue to make sure that our foster families are really getting the support and appreciation that they deserve.