Thank you, Minister. Member for Frame Lake.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I guess I am trying to figure out, then, if there is no money in this budget, how the work is going to get done. We had a small glimpse of how much work is going to be required for those of us who live through the development of the bill itself and the review of it. How is this work going to get done if there are no additional resources in this budget? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We have an entire department that deals with the mineral resources industry and sector. They would be doing this as part of their work. We will have some contract funds coming towards this at a later date, and we will update at that time. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Frame Lake.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I think I heard one of our witnesses say that there is going to be some kind of a government-wide approach on regulations. I know that I have raised this on the floor of the house with the Minister of Justice. Is there any sense of when this government-wide approach on development of regulations is going to be developed, and when the Regular MLAs, at least, and the public are going to have a chance to look at that and maybe provide comments and feedback? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I believe that the comment was about trying to do engagement with Indigenous groups and governments during times like this, which would then be impacting our regulations, so that does need to be a whole-of-government decision led by EIA on how we are going to go forward with our engagement in this time. We can commit to taking this question away and coming back to the Member with more information. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Frame Lake.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I guess I just feel like we have been spinning our wheels here for about six months, at least. These were major themes that were raised during the development of the report by the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment as it reviewed the legislation. There has never been a public response to that report from Cabinet or the Minister, perhaps.

The major themes that came out of that were lack of consultation or lack of engagement around regulations and a commitment in the future to do things in terms of co-drafting. I think there were some successes with co-drafting in the last Assembly and a lot of desire to continue to make that work moving forward. There is no plan for that yet. There is no government-wide approach. There are no additional resources for the development of regulations for the department, no timeline, no plan for a rollout of regulations. I am not sure this is providing the kind of certainty that industry has asked for. We have letters from NGOs wanting to participate in this process, and I know COVID has set back some of these plans, but, without having any certainty, I'm just not sure where we're going with all of this. So I'll give the Minister another chance, I guess, to try to convince me that we're actually on track and doing something, here. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is a new government. I can't answer for what the last government was doing. We do want to do things differently. I would say that characterizing spinning wheels for six months when three of those have been COVID, you know, there should be some understanding that this will be delayed and take some time. As I mentioned earlier, there are going to be impacts on trying to do engagement and moving forward. We've had a hiring freeze on since COVID; that does impact the department, as well, in moving forward with new initiatives. This is something that this Assembly has committed to doing better, engagement and consultation and ensuring that all voices are heard when we are developing legislation, so we are going to continue to move forward with that. My apologies that it has not been fast enough for the Member; however, all the signs indicate that our mineral exploration season is not going to be fantastic this year coming up, so I would argue that perhaps we do have a little bit of time here in which we can take the time to ensure that we're doing this correctly. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Frame Lake.

Thanks, Madam Chair. The standing committee, though, reported on the Mineral Resources Act in August of last year, so it has actually been substantially longer than six months. I understand, new Minister, new Cabinet, new approach, but we have to get a plan together so that the public has some confidence in where we're going and that we as Regular MLAs actually know where we're going. I'm just not sure that having no additional resources in here, no timelines, no plan, is really where we need to be. I'll just leave it at that. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Minister, do you have any last comments?

Thank you, Madam Chair. There will be a reply to the standing committee coming this session. Right now, Industry's concerns are more around surviving than ensuring that our new regulations have been developed. We do have some contract dollars, as mentioned earlier, that we will be putting toward this; however, as we have many things on the go at this time, this one has had to sit back slightly as we deal with other COVID-impacted areas in our department. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Are there any further questions under corporate management? Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd just like to get an idea of where we are with respect to oil and gas activities or planning. I understand we have a number of people on staff who deal with that, so I'm just kind of wondering what they're doing and if we're actually doing any work in that area. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We have a department or a unit in the Beaufort-Delta that deals a lot with the oil and gas sector. We are continuing to explore options for a northern Arctic route to export our oil and gas, or LNG, sorry, to Asian markets. All of this work is ongoing within the MPR, or the mineral and petroleum resource sector of ITI. It is ongoing. We've had discussions with interested companies, international global companies that are looking to invest in the Northwest Territories, on whether we will be suitable for their needs. If we do get that Arctic route going, we will be closer than many other sources of LNG to Asia, so it is a very viable prospect for our future. That work is very strong and ongoing at this time. If the Member would like, I could provide him with a briefing on our oil and gas operations. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister. I know we have a whole section with budget lines under the mineral and petroleum resources, so if you have questions on numbers, and stuff; but, I mean, if it's general, then we can go on. Member for Hay River South.

Yes. I'm not sure if this is general or not, but I think so. Bringing LNG into the territories to service communities. Are we doing anything in that area, as well? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think this is one that I will ask Ms. Strand to answer. Thank you.