Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Premier for that. I'm glad to hear that there were some comments because there's nothing posted on the website about those.

Can the Premier tell us whether there's any intention to actually respond to the comments that have been submitted and when that's going to happen and whether those responses are going to be made public? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories provided written responses to the groups that I listed in our response. The comments from the public were received anonymously. The Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce posted their letter and our response on their website. The NWT Chamber of Commerce posted their letter to us on their website, and other groups are welcome to share correspondence as well. We also responded to the standing committee's written feedback on the draft plan and provided responses to individual Members' questions when the plan was discussed in the Committee of the Whole and a public committee briefing back in June 2021. We won't be publishing individual responses when we update the plan but we will be doing -- including all feedback when we table the plan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Premier for that. I think it would be more helpful for us to actually post some of those responses on the engagement portal. But I noted in my statement that Emerging Stronger commits to some tracking of key indicators, and I haven't seen anything yet in terms of tracking or public reporting.

Can the Premier tell me whether any key indicators of recovery have been identified, whether they have been tracked, and when the public can expect some sort of progress reporting? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We did commit to quarterly reporting of the economic and social indicators. EIA has worked with all the departments to compile a list of the social and economic indicators to reflect how we're doing. We're now working with the information shared Services and the bureau of statistics to create a dashboard that'll provide the public with easy access to view progress. This will be completed early this summer. The dashboard's going to be a living document, and the public can access it at any time. In the meantime, much of the information that will be included in the dashboard is accessible on the bureau of statistics website, and details of the current economic situation and outlook are also found in the economic review that accompanies this budget. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Premier for that new information. I acknowledge that the pandemic is not quite over but we have to start to turn our mind to rebuilding our economy, and that's going to take some enthusiasm, creativity, and justice.

Can the Premier tell us whether Cabinet is committed to progressive change and specifically how it is going to -- how that's going to happen in collaboration with Regular MLAs and the public? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I like to think that our government's working towards progressive change all the time. We've got comments from Members so I'm excited for that. We engage with Regular Members on a regular basis through normal processes, process conventions. We also engage with Indigenous government partners, more so than any other government in the past. We have the Council of Leaders, the modern treaty and self-government tables, for example. And as well as other -- numerous other organizations, community governments, and the public on important initiatives.

Just one example is the Minister of Finance engages in budget dialogues every single year now with the public and stakeholders. This engagement provides a further opportunity for the public to express their views on the recovery priorities and to inform our actions coming out of the pandemic.

And we will make a commitment that we will be providing an update to standing committee prior to the tabling of the updated document. Thank you, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Madam Premier. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These questions are for the Minister responsible for Human Resources.

Can the Minister provide the number of GNWT public sector employees impacted by the GNWT vaccine policies and what is the break down by accommodation, enhanced PPE and testing, early retirement, terminations, those that have resigned, leave without pay? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with respect to the vaccination policy, accommodations to begin with, I can advise that no employees have submitted a medical reason at this point for not providing proof of vaccination. We don't have any duty to accommodation files in this regard.

Mr. Speaker, less than 5 percent of the GNWT's workforce, or approximately 325 employees, have opted to use enhanced PPE and testing rather than providing a proof of vaccination.

As for early retirement, Mr. Speaker, I don't expect employees to give reasons for when they choose to retire or why they might choose to retire. I have no information or awareness that there are any who have chosen to retire as a result of vaccination policies. Similarly, no one has been terminated, Mr. Speaker.

If someone's choosing to resign right now, they well have done so during the course of the pandemic but I have no indication that there's been any resignations as a result of vaccination policies.

Mr. Speaker, only 13 employees out of the some 5,000 or so that we have with the public service are currently on leave without pay. One of those actually, I think, may have indeed provided a proof of vaccination and is going to be heading back to work. So that would put us down at around 12. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister confirm the breakdown by Indigenous and non-Indigenous employees, specifically those who have, I guess in this instance who are using the enhanced PPE and testing and leave without pay, due to the vaccine policies? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have a breakdown of the 320 or so employees who are opting for the PPE option. I can certainly see if we do have that breakdown.

With respect to the 12 or so who are on leave without pay, that's too small a number, Mr. Speaker, and I'd be concerned about identifying individuals who have made that option. So I don't know that I'll be able to break that down. But I will look into the other number for the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister, for those employees placed on leave without pay, will those persons eventually be terminated if they're not vaccinated or will they be on leave without pay indefinitely with the possibility of returning to their work positions at a future date? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So again, to reiterate, Mr. Speaker, no one has been terminated. And coming back from leave without pay, really, it just depends on the reasons why they're on leave without pay. For those -- and I'm assuming the numbers that I have are reflective only of those who may be on leave without pay likely or very likely because of the federal travel requirements or federal regulations on their federal -- federally-regulated locations, as such we may be in a situation where we're waiting on the federal government to modify their policies. And I did certainly take note of the Member's statement earlier about ensuring that we are doing our part to on top of what's happening in that regard. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister confirm what discussion, if any, has taken place been your department and -- her department and the federal government with respect to how the federal government vaccination policies is affecting not only employees and contractors but potentially our communities as well? Will the Minister commit to asking the federal government for relaxation on air travel in the NWT? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The lead thus far in terms of ensuring that communities and residents of the Northwest Territories continue to have access to the necessary services that often involve a flight has really fallen thus far with the Minister of Health and that -- as was I think discussed earlier in the Member's statement, there are concessions available for individuals who are not vaccinated so that they can get access to medical care and have family reunification.

As far as seeking adaptations of the regulations solely for the handful of employees who may be choosing to not get vaccinated, Mr. Speaker, I don't know that that's going to get us very far. I will certainly commit, as I've said, to ensure that we continue to monitor, that we are staying on top of what's happening with the public service federally but also with other jurisdictions. And as we've done throughout the policy, this vaccination policy for the public service will be flexible and responsive as the pandemic continues to evolve. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Oral questions. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.

Thank you. Since 2018, the federal government has allotted $20 million to the GNWT to advance the Taltson Expansion Project. It's important to note that this is 100 percent federal funding. The funding has supported the establishment of partnerships with Indigenous governments as well as the collection of information to be able to define the project and move it towards so that we could get our regulatory applications. The discussions with the federal government are ongoing in regards to the continued financial support so that we could get this project moving forward. Quyananni.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what is today's estimated cost of the total project, and what is the status of securing that funding as federal funding? Up here in the Northwest Territories, we love 100 percent federal dollars, and we will take as many as we can get our hands on. Thank you.

Quyananni. A preliminary cost estimate for the project renewed in 2019 estimated the project construction costs in the range of $1.5 billion. It is very important to note that this is preliminary costs estimate which will be reviewed and refined as our work to define the scope is advanced. Significant financial support from the federal government is key, again, to move this project forward.

The GNWT maintains active communication with both Canada infrastructure bank and officials from the Crown Indigenous relations as well as Northern Affairs Canada so that we can have potential -- so that potential funders are informed on the project as it progresses. Discussions and correspondence at the political level have also occurred. There is much interest from the federal government in this green energy project. Quyananni.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to the status of discussions to secure partnerships on this project. In order to make this project really worthwhile for the NWT, the GNWT is going to need to secure both purchasers and also ensure that it has the support of partners like Indigenous governments. Thank you.