I note the Member's comment, and I thank him for his input. He has done very hard work in keeping the issues for his communities in the forefront of my mind and my attention. I agree; we need to make sure that people have security, and that they know that they're going to have fuel, and they know that they're going to have food, and that they're not paying through the nose, because we've had to fly all of that in, because there was some sort of a mix-up in the scheduling. I commit to the Member that we will work out the best way to fix this issue. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The northern and local requirements in the project agreement are:

• Local business construction requirement: pay at least 30 percent of total capital costs to Tlicho businesses and northern businesses, with at least 25 percent going to Tlicho businesses;
• Tlicho construction labour requirement: pay at least 35 percent of total construction labour costs to Tlicho citizens and/or workers procured by a Tlicho business;
• Local business operations requirement: pay at least 25 percent of annual OMR costs to Tlicho businesses and northern businesses, with at least 20 percent going to Tlicho businesses;
• Tlicho operating labour requirement: pay at least 55 percent, increasing progressively to 75 percent, of annual OMR costs to Tlicho citizens and/or workers procured by a Tlicho business; and
• Tlicho training requirements: meet the Tlicho training requirements, which were included in section 2.5 of schedule 20, including hiring and training for the list of jobs that are also included in the agreement.

I can commit to the Member that, if he would like a copy of the agreement, I can provide him with that. Thank you.

Obviously, I was hoping to share that the numbers were much higher instead 30 percent, 35 percent, because we have a southern firm, the main contractor at the site. It's unfortunate that it's around 30, 35 percent, during the construction phase. The Member alluded to other figures, but that's during the life of the road. I'm not talking about a particular area; I'm talking about the construction site. If the targets are not met, is there a penalty attached to that agreement between the parties?

Yes, there are penalties in the contract, if I'm reading correctly. Rather than maybe reading off a whack of numbers here, I could just provide that as a written response to the Member, and then he would have it for his records.

As I stated earlier in my Member's statement, I drive the road on a frequent basis and I see different vehicles that go to the site. One of them happens to be a water and sewer truck and the van, of course, I talked about, the cargo van. I understand the service contracts for water and sewage and for shuttling workers back and forth to Yellowknife were awarded to an outside firm. Can the Minister explain why the water and sewer contract was not awarded to the Behchoko community government?

I cannot speak to why negotiations happened prior to myself being involved with them. I'm not sure why those services would not have been included in the contract and made to go to local businesses. However, I can assure the Member that the Tlicho government is a partner in this project, one of the P3s, and we negotiated our quotas and our requirements for the contract with them in mind and that we are meeting those targets.

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

Masi, Mr. Speaker. This is a mega project, and it's right in the heart of the Tlicho, the Monfwi Gogha De Nihtl'e area. My citizens, my Tlicho citizens, have every right to know why the contract wasn't awarded to the community of Behchoko. We do provide those services, and instead of going all the way from Yellowknife, just imagine the cost of delivering that service. If I can ask the Minister to further look into this matter, because it is an important matter that has been addressed to me by my constituents, even the workers at the site. On this particular water and sewer contract, why it wasn't part of their agreement, I would like to know, Mr. Speaker. Masi.

Yes, I will commit to providing the Member with a synopsis or summary of why this contract was not included. It may just be a matter of it wasn't asked for, and therefore it didn't come up; I'm not quite sure. However, I would like to assure the Member that this contract, as well as every contract that we are going to be looking at going forward, will be looked at with the lens of the priorities of our mandate and of the 19^th Assembly, which includes increasing contract opportunities for northern and Indigenous businesses and retaining our money in the north. I can assure the Member that all of his concerns are noted by me and that I will be using them going forward as I work on our procurement system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Finance in regard to the Affirmative Action Policy. My understanding is the Affirmative Action Policy last went through an official review in 1994. I am wondering what the findings of that review were and if any changes were made to the policy as a result. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This policy has been subject to two reviews over the past 20-some years, and what I would suggest and commit to do is to engage with the appropriate committee in a technical briefing on this, so that we can start to have a dialogue on the work that has been done on the policy and on its contents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate that offer from the Minister. My second question would be: does the Minister feel that the Affirmative Action Policy, as it currently stands, is meeting its objectives, given the relatively stagnant Indigenous hiring statistics over the course of the policy's lifetime?

I think the Member has perhaps answered her own question ultimately on this particular matter. I understand that that is maybe rhetorical and directed at me for other reasons. I acknowledge that we are continuing to face challenges to have a workforce that is truly representative of the people of the Northwest Territories. That remains the goal of human resources. That remains my goal as Minister, and I believe it's reflected in the mandates that we were given here to increase employment opportunities across the Northwest Territories.

I would note that the Affirmative Action Policy is only one tool that the human resources department uses. There are a number of programs that I have spoken about in the House previously that we are also rolling out. In addition, there are efforts under way right now to work with some of the Indigenous governments so that human resources can better support the growth and development of the human resources capacities and some of the Indigenous governments across the Northwest Territories. Work continues, and hopefully, by engaging the committee in that technical review, we can advance this forward over the next few years.

I appreciate the Minister's words. Earlier today, she delivered a Minister's statement in regard to prompt payment, and that's the subject that the Minister and I have been discussing at length over the course of our term. I have absolutely no doubt that the Minister is on this and will carry through, as she has already shown to me.

My next question for the Minister is: would she be able to explain some of the constitutional challenge, vulnerabilities of the policy to us today? Because I know that has been a concern of the GNWT for many years. I'm just wondering how the department feels that maybe some of these can be addressed, or if the Minister can speak to that.

The constitutional landscape of Canada is ever-shifting. It has been described as a living tree. Obviously, we have to fit our tools and our policies and our rules within that tree, and do our best to ensure that everything within the GNWT is constitutional. That is always our effort. That is always our goal. To the extent that there are technical issues or concerns around that, I will ensure that that's an element or an aspect of the briefing that I propose to engage with the committee, so as to ensure that we are doing the best, both to serve the people of the Northwest Territories and having a representative workforce, and doing so within a way that is reflective of the constitutional landscape of the country.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. In my statement earlier today, I mentioned the often-strained relations between our government and the NWT francophone community over education. Can the Minister tell me how many applications for admissions by non-rights holders have been reviewed in total under the 2016 directive, and how many have been approved? I did give the questions to my friend across the aisle earlier today. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member doesn't want me to say, "I don't know." Well, I do know. There have been 29 individual student applications. Twenty-three of those student applications under the 2016 directive have been approved, which means that those children, as well as, for the most part, most of their siblings, are now eligible to attend. Thank you.