Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department is currently completing the accountability requirements for physical activity and sports recreation fund. To date, with the three retailers in Hay River, they generated approximately 660,000 in that revenue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I guess I use that 72 cents because, you know, we're look -- for the last five years, the Hay River Ski Club has received $33,655 per year, and they got roughly 260 members, and they run about 180 days. So, you know -- and that's what it costs, 72 cents a day. Yet if we do nothing with sports, we're going to -- just to give you an idea of what incarceration costs, $75 to $200 a day, where a hospital stay might be $2,000 a day. So, you know, for a minimum amount of money, we can give youth the chance to, you know, to evolve and to, you know, pursue their dreams. So I would ask the -- can the Minister confirm, I guess, if the legacy funding agreement between the Hay River Ski Club and the NWT Sports and Recreation Council is to be renewed as it expired in March of this year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Legacy Retail Grant Program was created by the Northwest Territories Recreation Council to mitigate the loss of revenue to sport organizations because of the possible tax implication. The program was provided funding for five years and in those five years, they were to create a transitional plan. And we -- at this time, we notified the ski club that we would no longer be renewing the funding for the ski club. But we do have a one-time contribution for the ski club under our volunteer organization development program that is available to the ski club since the agreement has now been discontinued. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And can the Minister confirm the amount of that one time, I guess, contribution or is -- are they required to -- is the ski club required to actually apply for it and possibly get turned down? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is an application-based program for the Legacy Retail grants. But they are eligible -- I just want to say that, you know, the eligibility, it is a -- it is an application based program, but there is the Western Canada Lotteries program that we do have. But I don't want to discourage the ski club from discontinuing what services that they have provided in the community, and that MACA is available to look at different programming that would best suit the ski club since the elimination of the five-year agreement between the ski club and MACA. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, you know, the ski club, they're really concerned that they might not be able to operate this year, and if a funding arrangement of the GNWT is not forthcoming, I guess I'd ask the Minister if she's just willing to let the Hay River Ski Club cease to operate?

But before she answers that, I would offer her a solution. I would ask her to seek funds from Health and Justice because some of the -- because without options, that's where some of our youth are headed, if we don't get that support. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would not like to see the ski club close their doors, but, you know, through the department, we have -- you know, we do operate, and we do look at the revenues for the Western Canada Lotteries. So through that program and also the additional program fundings we do have for nonprofit organizations and youth, I would like to follow up with the member to provide those funding opportunities that may be able to provide additional support to the ski club in Hay River. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my questions, Member statements on Arctic Council. The concerns I do have going forward. Can the Premier give the House an update on what her government has done to allow the NWT to take full control of our Beaufort and Arctic Ocean? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So it's important that -- I'm not so sure if I'd want the GNWT to take full control of everything within our Arctic lands and waters. I mean, there is a benefit to having many parties at the table. With the Arctic Circle, we're a member of the Canadian delegation, and I think there's power in having Canada at the table with the offshore. I mean, we're partners with the IRC and the Yukon government. So I think it's important. There is strength in partnerships, Mr. Speaker. So at this point, I haven't contemplated taking it all on the NWT. I think it's important to work in partnership. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, we do have a Pacific Northwest economic group that we do work with with our territorial government, that we work with Yukon and Alaska and Nunavut with our pan-territorial I guess working together. Can the Premier advise, you know, for the offshore resources that we do have, can the Premier advise that if she or her official concerns with Canada and about the Russian claim in the Arctic seabed. Is our government worried about that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the federal government is responsible for international relationships. We work closely with the federal government. I think, in fairness, Mr. Speaker, that all nations that have -- that are in the circumpolar are looking at the ocean and the opening of the waters and have concerns. So, yes, Mr. Speaker, all of us have concerns about the opening of the Arctic. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Premier for that. Mr. Speaker, the federal government, has the Premier been invited to take part in any Arctic Council meetings coming up or invited from our federal counterparts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, within the last year with Iceland being the chair and COVID, all of the meetings were put on hold. There was one just the other day and, unfortunately, it was at three in the morning and I had prior commitments in the morning and in the evening so we did send officials. It was the inaugural one for the Russian -- Russia taking over the chair. So it was more of an identifying the priorities, et cetera. But I do have -- we had officials at that meeting. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, honourable Premier. Final supplementary. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, our oil and gas in Beaufort Delta, we have a lot of it. And it's quite concerning when you have another country trying to claim it. I guess, with the Arctic Council and stuff, we have to start discussions with Canada, with our Prime Minister in regarding in investing in the North, investing in the Western Arctic to have a port, a deep sea port, or able to bring in their ice breakers that they're building right now for the Arctic. We have two icebreakers that are -- that's happening. And, you know, getting our military more to the west with -- and it's not -- everything's in the east. We have nothing in the Western Arctic. We don't have no port, no -- nothing. We have the Rangers. That's it. We need to start looking at investment, Mr. Speaker, and I would like the Premier to bring that up with the Prime Minister and to work with our IRC and Yukon and to try to make something like that happen, because with the oil and gas jobs that we're not going to be Ottawa to ask them for handouts anymore, we'd be able to pay our own way. And people would have jobs. And we need jobs, Mr. Speaker. We're going through tough times. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. In my statement, I did mention that, you know, it is the Minister's responsibility to extend the public health emergency. And so my first question for the Minister is what criteria information is the Minister using to measure risk of a public health emergency to be -- to extend the order? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.