Thank you, Madam Speaker, and thank you for the question. The department doesn't restrict dentists from going into small communities. The issue at the moment is about infection control in some of the health centres where they are not adequate to meet the challenges of COVID-19. There hasn't been as much travel as there was previously. As an alternative, emergency cases are being flown to Yellowknife for service. Thank you.

I'm just trying to get at the heart of the issue, and I thank her for the response. I want to see this service brought back. My next question is: what can be done to allow full dental practice to resume?

The service here is primarily in NIHB service. What's happening is that senior leadership from Indigenous Services Canada and the department of health authorities are meeting this week to get an update on a resumption plan that they have all been working on for the last little while that deals with current air exchange requirements and infection control standards so that the services are delivered safely to the people in the communities. What I'm anticipating is that an announcement will be made next week on the timing and locations of phase 1 resumption of dental services and that that will answer the Member's concerns and our concerns about making sure that everyone has access to dental services.

Yay!

---Laughter

That's good to hear that there is going to be some work done here. These next couple of questions, I don't expect an answer very quickly. I'd like to know: how many people have been flown in town here for this service and at what cost?

I'm sorry. I don't have that information. That information we would need to obtain from the NIHB, both the numbers of patients and the cost of the service.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marsi cho, Madam Speaker. My last one, again, I don't expect a response right away on this, is: what is the expected backlog of dental requests?

I don't know if the department or Indigenous Services Canada has collected that information, but I can certainly find out and make sure the Member gets it. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Today, I brought up in my Member's statement regarding MACA and clawing back funding for the Paulatuk sewage lagoon. I am just wondering if the Minister of MACA would be able to give an extension. The extension was given to January, and you know that in our riding it is freeze-up, frozen solid, can't do anything. Would the Minister be willing to extend the project for the community of Paulatuk until August? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Member. Minister of MACA.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. These, I want to say the project for the water and sewer, as a department, we encourage the community governments to access federal funding. I did do a statement on the water quality in the Northwest Territories, and that was a federal engagement that we initiated in the territory. I would have to look at this file further to see what kind of funding was available to Paulatuk. Looking at the extension, I would have to verify whether that was federal funding. Should it be federal funding, I am not too sure how much authorization we would have as a territorial government to encourage an extension. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

I will have my department reach out to the Hamlet of Paulatuk. I just need to slow down. I remember hearing that from the interpreters. I am just so anxious to answer the question. I will just have to get further information on what they may have for their CPI and their gas tax money and how much of this could be applied to the water and sewer issue in Paulatuk. I will have my department follow up with the hamlet.

It's more important to get the work done than to meet arbitrary funding deadlines. How does MACA expect the Hamlet of Paulatuk to pay back the funding and still update the sewage lagoon? Is there a way that we could do a letter of intent to say that we could do the work? Then, we could work with the gas tax or whatever funding that is available to them. Is that possible?

The funding provided to the communities, they submit their capital budget, and I am looking for flexibility within that budget to see how we can work with the Hamlet of Paulatuk. I did mention the gas tax money and the CPI, as well. The department will be reaching out to the hamlet to further offer more assistance on how we can look at either an extension or having conversations with the federal government.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Is it okay if I blame COVID-19 for the extension, please and thank you? I just want to make sure that the Minister commits to the community of Paulatuk and to the people of Nunakput that she would come to our community and do a community tour here soon, but I need a commitment from her to say that she will work for the people of Paulatuk on this issue. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

My department will be reaching out to the hamlet. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. We have asked the people of the NWT to give up a lot here since March, and I am going to ask some questions on resource development. However, I think that, when we think about non-renewable resource development, we think of the diamond mines. I think that, with what people have had to go through, we should give them all a diamond when this is over. That will help our resource sector, as well. Madam Speaker, we seem to not appreciate the non-renewable resource sector until we start to see it disappear. This sector is not only important but is essential to the growth and development of the NWT. Knowing COVID-19 is impacting all economic sectors, can the Minister of ITI confirm if and how the department is working and supporting the non-renewable sector? Thank you.

Thank you, Member. Minister of ITI.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I think there is a sort of general rule that I am not supposed to run down the clock, but I could easily talk about the resource sector for 20 minutes. I won't do that, Madam Speaker. The mineral resource sector is, I would say continues to be, extremely important. It's still the foundation of the economy here from the private sector and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.

There are quite a number of things that are happening right now in the Department of ITI to support that sector. For example, there have been quite a number of active conversations just in the last several weeks with federal counterparts as well as with the territorial Ministers also responsible. The territorial Ministers are all aligned that we need more geoscience in the North, for the North, and built in the North in order to actually help make our tremendous amount of resources accessible and to help make people aware of them around the world. There are a lot of conversations about critical minerals and strategic minerals. There is a task force that has been developed on a national level, and we want to have an active role in it to make sure that we are one of the jurisdictions where critical minerals and strategic minerals have a real place.

There is obviously, as well, remediation, Madam Speaker. There is a huge amount of funding that was announced for some of the provinces in that regard, but it's an area where we have a number of shovel-ready projects. Hopefully, we will be able to participate with that area of funding. As a part of COVID-19, there has been a working group developed with the Chamber of Mines, and we are continuing to work with them to identify whether there are gaps in areas where we can help provide more direct relief.

Another major area, I am happy to speak about it here, is with respect to regional mineral development strategies. This is where funding is provided directly to Indigenous governments for them to develop their own regional strategies. This is such a tremendous opportunity for regional development and for strategies that are really meaningful for each region of the Northwest Territories that can then feed into a bigger strategy. I think that is a good overview, Madam Speaker, and I am sure there will be more questions so that I can speak to more things. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

As time progresses, our government, along with federal government, continues to tighten regulations that make the non-renewable resource sector reluctant to work in the NWT. Can the Minister confirm what the department is hearing from the non-renewable sector with respect to barriers causing their reluctance to consider the NWT as a place to do business? What are we doing to deal with that reluctance?