Good afternoon, Members, and welcome back to the Assembly. I hope that it was a productive March Break - speaking with constituents, spending time with family and friends, and getting out on the land to start of spring in the North.

Members will note some changes in the legislative Chamber. Today, the Legislative Assembly will host its first hybrid sitting, with Members participating remotely.

Pursuant to Rule 10.1(2)(b) I have, at their request, allowed the following Members to participate in part of this sitting remotely:

• Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
• Member for Kam Lake.
• Honourable Member for Yellowknife South.

Pursuant to Rule 10.2, these Members will be counted for the purpose of determining quorum, are considered to be in attendance, and may vote on any matter in which they are entitled to vote as though they were participating in person.

For those Members attending in person and visitors in the gallery, you will be required to use a headset on channel 2 to hear Members who are participating remotely. Without a headset, you will not be able to hear these Members.

Also for Members in attendance, pursuant to Rule 10.3(2), all votes on readings of bills and any other motion that requires notice will be conducted as recorded votes.

Members, our first hybrid sitting will be a challenge but I know you're up to it. Members have a busy and full week of work ahead of them with important matters before you. This work must be done.

I ask that today, and every day, Members exercise patience as well as resolve any technical issues that arise. Also, it is more important than ever that we talk slowly and wait for your microphone to turn on. And if you do not, the interpreters or those appearing remotely will not hear you.

As always, I expect the respect and courtesy shown to each other will continue throughout this hybrid sitting. Thank you, Members.

Ministers' statements. Honourable Premier.

Mr. Speaker, the current invasion of Ukraine by Russia is a stark reminder of the importance of Arctic sovereignty. We share a unique border with Russia - the Arctic Ocean. As the Arctic takes a more predominant role on the international stage, we want to ensure that the needs of Northerners remain a priority for Canada. It also means that the aspirations of Northerners be given appropriate attention and that we eliminate the gaps between northern and southern Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, Russia has broad interests in the Arctic, including advancing a claim under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea that comes to the edge of Canada's 370-kilometer exclusive coastal economic zone off the coast of Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut. Canada has also submitted a claim.

Territorial Premiers recently wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Council of Federation Chair, BC Premier John Horgan, to convene urgent discussions on Arctic sovereignty and security. We believe that this issue needs to be a priority for all Canadians moving forward. I will be tabling both of those letters later today.

Earlier this month, I attended a confidential briefing with officials at the highest level of military, security, and intelligence branches of the federal government. I've also met with Anita Anand, the Minister of National Defence, and Dan Vandal, the Minister of Northern Affairs, to discuss Arctic sovereignty and security and how we can work closer together moving forward.

The strategic importance of the Arctic has been increasing due to climate change and the opening of Arctic waters, as well as the wealth of resources that the Arctic holds, Mr. Speaker. This heightened interest is not only from Russia but other world powers, like China, the United States, and other Arctic nations. It is paramount for Northerners that we are involved in decisions that impact the North.

The Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to supporting Canada in its efforts to show leadership in asserting Arctic sovereignty by empowering and equipping communities to be both resilient and responsive in the changing geo-political landscape. From a Northwest Territories perspective, peace and cooperation among circumpolar countries are essential for healthy and vibrant Arctic communities. This is something we value.

Mr. Speaker, northern security is not just about a military presence. It is also about building strong resilient communities through significant investment in critical infrastructure like roads, telecommunications and energy. It also means strong healthcare and education systems and the elimination of gaps between north and south. Decisions about the North must be made by Northerners. After all, Northerners have the biggest stake in a strong and sustainable Arctic.

As outlined in the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework, the Government of the Northwest Territories has a vision of strong, self-reliant people and communities working together for a vibrant, prosperous, and sustainable Arctic and northern region. By achieving this vision both at home and abroad, it supports Canada's enduring Arctic sovereignty.

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to working across borders and with Indigenous Northerners to improve the economic, social, and cultural well-being of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Ministers' statements. Minister responsible for Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I am very pleased to share the details of a safety certificate training course for new and young workers available through the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission.

Workplace accidents and injuries happen to employees in various professions and age groups but younger workers with less experience are often at greater risk of getting hurt. The Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission has developed a 2-hour interactive online course that will give young workers the basic knowledge they need to help start their working lives safely.

The course training covers the rights and responsibilities of workers and includes important safety topics that are useful for youth, including safety while working on the land.

When they complete the course, they will also receive a certificate.

There are also useful course guidelines available to help teachers, instructors, and anyone working with youth, to help them prepare for their first job. The training course and instructors' guide are available at no cost on the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission website.

Employees play a very important role in promoting and maintaining safety and a healthy workplaces. By educating employees on workplace safety when they are young, we are helping them to build a safer, healthier, and more efficient workforce for their future.

I'd like to also include a thank you to the staff of the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission for putting this website course together.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to speak about the government's plans to resume work on the runway extension at the Inuvik Mike Zubko Airport. This contract is funded by the Canadian Department of National Defence as the airport is a forward operating location for CF18 operations and will also expand the airport's capacity bringing great economic benefits and employment.

Mr. Speaker, the tender was awarded to a company jointly owned by Inuvialuit Development Corp, EGT Northwind, and the Gwich'in Development Corp.

Shockingly, it has come to my attention that work on this incredibly important project has recently been stopped or delayed by our government. It has been stopped at a time when Arctic sovereignty is top national priority in light of Russian aggression in the Ukraine and despite the fact that Captain Cameron Hillier of NORAD has said the runway will allow a wider variety of military aircraft to deter, detect and, if necessary, defeat future threats to North America.

It is my understanding that they have stopped work on this project because of detailed engineering budget provided by consortium is approximately $40 million higher than the government initial costing, which was without transparency regarding its details or core assumptions, and before COVID-19 caused disruptions to the global supply chain and increases to the cost of steel and other materials.

It is also my understanding that they are refusing to allow an extremely time-sensitive phase of this work to be completed this spring despite the consortium's offer to perform work concurrently to a third party review of the budget, keeping the project timeline on track, protecting Indigenous obligations, and local employment. They have repeatedly flagged the impacts of work stoppage on the overall project timeline. They have repeatedly requested to sit down with our government to find a solution. They have repeatedly requested details on the government's costing to help identify disparities. They have repeatedly offered productive solutions to reduce GNWT risk in the matter and keep this project on track. And yet, our government has not sat down with them, has not provided any details about costing and has not done anything to prevent this unnecessary delay. All our Premier is publicly requesting meetings with the prime minister to discuss Arctic security, and today in her Minister statement as well.

It is clear we cannot have any confidence in the safety and security of our region as our government won't do anything to ensure the safety and security of our country, I will have questions for the Minister of Infrastructure, thank you.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a decade ago the Supreme Court of Canada released a unanimous decision recognizing that learning to read is not a privilege but a basic and essential human right when it found that a BC student had a right to receive the intensive supports and interventions they need to learn to read. This year the Ontario Human Rights Commission released the right to read inquiry report on human rights issues affecting students with reading disabilities calling for critical changes to Ontario's approach to early reading and curriculum and instruction screening, reading interventions, accommodations, and professional assessments. The report includes over 150 recommendations to address systemic issues and affect the right to learn to read including making access to interventions equitable for all students, improving access to professional assessments, ensuring greater consistency and transparency in the assessment process.

There are certainly differences of opinion on the best way to teach a child to read but regardless on what end of the science of reading that you follow, the need for access to intervention and supports are consistent.

Many students' reading difficulties are not being caught early which has significant consequences. Age 4 to 7 is a critical window for teaching children foundational learned reading skills and is when intervention is most effective. Many students who are not progressing as expected in reading are falling through the cracks and not getting timely intervention and supports, Mr. Speaker.

Literacy does not only have consequences for a child's ability to excel in learning, struggles with literary are directly linked to depression and anxiety, school avoidance, acting, being bullied or victimized, and self-harm. Literacy levels can have negative impacts on employment and lead to lower incomes, poverty, homelessness, and higher rates of involvement in crime and incarceration. Learning to read isn't a 'nice to have' skill; it's a 'need to have' skill and a lifeline, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in elementary school aged constituent of mine is now nearing their audiology appointment after a year and a half and this wait time is standard. Lack of access to speciality services impacts all of our residents, especially our youngest ones and not only with regard to literacy. These services are fundamental to the development of neuro divergent children and youth, to people with Parkinson's and MS - the list of it is exhaustive.

Mr. Speaker, the right to equal education includes the right to read, and the right to read and being educated depends on access to support services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Members' statements. Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during this session, and all throughout this term for that matter, I've talked about the economy and about the need for our government to put greater emphasis on the economic recovery for the people of the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, when I talk about the economy and economic recovery from the effects of the pandemic I you refer to the economy as a whole, to all sectors, to large and small businesses alike within the NWT. We cannot focus on any single industry alone. We must consider the big picture and envision the long-term goals of what we want to achieve overall. We need to think big and we need to do all that we can do to bring back and revitalize areas of our economy that have faltered in recent years.

Mr. Speaker, we need to welcome back all sectors of the economy into the NWT. No economic sector should be blocked from pursuing business interests within the NWT. All areas need to be welcomed back with open arms. Simply put, we need to open the NWT up for business.

We need to rebuild's international reputation as a desirable location to do business. For the last several years, the NWT has been the only northern territory to experience a decline in our GDP levels. Both Yukon and Nunavut have had steadily increasing levels of their gross domestic product than the NWT has. This needs to change.

The NWT cannot remain as an outliner among Canada's territories as a negative economic output as we currently do.

Mr. Speaker, exports, imports and business investment for the NWT all continue to trend downward. Government spending continues to be the bulk of the economy for the NWT, which is not sustainable at all. The NWT cannot rely solely on government for economic activity. The economies of all provinces and territories around the NWT are doing very well for themselves so why can't we be doing the same? How is that the Yukon and Alberta can balance their budgets yet we can barely achieve an operating surplus for the NWT?

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Mr. Speaker, among the issues that the NWT faces is a lack of revenue and a large amount of spending. The government renewal initiative will likely help to cut some our spending and may help create more efficiencies of our programming. However, we need to be doing more than thinking out of the box for our economy.

Mr. Speaker, we need a strong and diverse economy that can withdraw a storm like COVID-19. If our provincial and territorial neighbors can come out of this pandemic stronger than before, then so should the NWT. I will have questions for the Minister of Finance at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Members' statements. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the mineral resource sector plays a significant role in the development of the Northwest Territories. This 19th Legislative Assembly recognized that fact and committed support to increase resource exploration and development.

Mr. Speaker, over the last several decades, the community of Hay River has played an integral part in the development of the North. For years, Hay River has been a staging point for goods and equipment transported to the community by rail and truck prior to loading on barges for points farther north. Not only are remote northern communities dependent on the marine transportation services offered by MTS, the oil, gas and mineral resource sectors have and continue to rely on those services.

Mr. Speaker, for the next two to three years Cheetah Resources will be moving approximately 5,000 tonnes of rare earth mineral concentrate from the Nechalacho North T pit. Pending receipt of authorization for the Tardiff expansion from the Mackenzie Valley Land & Water Board, and a bankable surface lease from the GNWT, the shipments would increase to 25,000 tonnes per year in 2024-2025.

Through use of marine, rail, and truck services, Cheetah's Rare Earth Resource Project will have a significant and positive impact on the community of Hay River. Concentrate will be shipped via barge from the east side of Great Slave Lake to Hay River where it would be stored waiting further shipping south via rail and/or transport trucks.

Mr. Speaker, next month, Cheetah is making a trial shipment of 500 tonnes of rare earth concentrate to its extraction plant in Saskatoon. This will provide Cheetah an opportunity to evaluate the intermodal systems this project will require going forward.

To put these quantities into perspective, 25,000 tonnes would be 25 to 35 of MTS's 1000 or 1500 series barges. With three barges per tug, this would be eight to twelve sailings a year. If all the southbound shipments went by rail, it would be about 500 southbound railcar loads and, if by truck, it could be as high as 1300 trucks per year. Ideally, back hauls from the diamond mines would be utilized to avoid an increase in the number of trucks emitting CO2 into the atmosphere. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Mr. Speaker, the impact on MTS would be increased fleet utilization and additional revenues to offset current operating losses.

Mr. Speaker, for the community of Hay River, it would translate into additional jobs, opportunities for local businesses, increase utilization of the marine training centre, and solidifying Hay River's position as the marine transport hub for the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Members' statements. Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I wish I had done my statement on Cheetah today as well.

The recent announcement on the childcare fee reduction, CCFR, subsidy, will reduce fees by 50 percent on average for families with children five years of age and younger. This only applies for those attending licensed programs where the provider has opted into the program.

Since the announcement of the subsidy, several issues have been raised by providers and parents about ECE's plan - concerns around the timeline of the rollout, as well as the pressure being placed on providers to sign on without clear information.

Many questions about policy and procedure remain unanswered and caregivers are burdened with trying to explain the new program to parents when they don't have a clear understanding of it themselves.

A restriction on fees means providers are unable to give their staff the raises they had planned that was to result in them receiving a living wage. Additionally, there is an increase in the administrative burden on what are generally small businesses or NGOs.

The government promises that childcare will eventually be $10 a day and 230 new spaces are to be created which raises questions. With $50 million coming from the federal government, how much is going to be used to physically create daycare spaces in communities that current don't have any? Where are we going to get the people to work in these facilities, new or existing? We already have issues with recruitment and retention and now we are capping the ability of day cares to create revenue for themselves through fee raises. This puts the provider in a hard position of hiring lesser qualified staff and leading to a higher incident of turnover. Staff, I may add, that is traditionally female. Was our new government-wide gender lens applied when it was decided to cap fees prohibiting providers from giving raises? And what happens in communities where there are no providers?

Again, the unique situation of the North has been overlooked in what is a southern Canadian solution. Many parents in communities rely on family members or unlicensed homes to take care of their children. How are they supposed to access this subsidy? Why hasn't the GNWT fought for an exception from the feds to allow all NWT parents to benefit from this subsidy, not just those in our wealthier capital or regional centres? Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.

---Unanimous consent granted.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, providers and caregivers continue to write to us, hoping to be heard, and for ECE to really work with the providers to determine the best path forward so that relief can be found and looking for supports so that they can continue to provide an essential service to our community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the past two years we have seen the evolution of an ambitious innovative mining project in the Tu Nedhe Wiilideh riding. The Nechalacho rare earth mining is the largest private sector project in the riding, and it is having a significant job to business impacts for us.

The project began last summer 110 kilometers southeast of Yellowknife. By the end the first season. Nechalacho had a mine of 5,000 tonnes of crush concentrate over a thousand tonnes of exceptionally highgrade rare earth ore. At the end of the season, 500 tonnes of concentrate of exceptionally high grade ore was shipped by our government marine transportation to Hay River for intermodal train and truck shipping to Saskatoon for further processing. This valuable NWT resource will be further processed for sale to international refineries in Norway and likely Alaska.

Mr. Speaker, this project marks the NWT and Canada bold entry into the global markets supply chain for critical rare earth elements. When we drive our trucks, use our cell phones, click on our computers, or build fibre optic lines, we are using rare earth. They are essential for our clean tech and high tech industry, and the need for them is growing at an incredible rate. The proponent are Vital Metal Limited of Australia and it's Canadian mining company Cheetah Resources Corporation, headquartered here in the NWT.

They have designed one of the most efficient environmental low impact mines in Canada.

They have impressive social benefits including 70 percent of Indigenous employment among their workers and management. Mr. Speaker, many are from my community of Wiilideh and Lutsel K'e and Deninu Kue.

It's also the first mine in Canada to concentrate on an Indigenous-owned corporation. The Yellowknives Dene First Nation Det'on Cho Corporation to conduct mining on its own traditional territory.

Nechalacho is Canada's first rare earth mine. It's starting out small, Mr. Speaker, but as early as 2024, it plans to move to a much larger deposit with potential to be a multi-generating producer. This expansion -- this can have both long-term benefits for the NWT struggling mining economy.

At the appropriate time, it will be my pleasure to introduce our project senior executive to the Assembly and to ask questions to the Minister of Lands regarding our role in government in enabling this project. Mahsi.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. Although some Members of this Assembly supported a priority to increase resource exploration and development, I believe that subsidies are not the best tool to achieve this. Increasing our over-reliance on resource extraction is not my priority but if we are going to provide subsidies, these should be properly configured and evaluated. So I recently reviewed the guidelines and applications forms for the Mining Incentive Program. I'm going to offer a number of observations and suggestions for improvement.

In the last mandate progress report tabled earlier in this sitting, Cabinet says it has completed a review of the Mining Incentive Program but it has not been publicly released, nor has the response to any recommendations been made public.

I've also asked before about a monitoring and evaluation framework for the program which should form the basis for annual public reporting.

I know our mining minister is a big proponent of ESG, or environmental, social and governance criteria, as a way to promote the NWT as a great place to do mining. However, the Mining Incentive Program applicants are not required to disclose or agree that they are in compliance with laws and do not owe governments any money. Clearly applicants should disclose any land use permits, water licences or other environmental approvals granted to support their program and then ITI can check for compliance itself. There should also be a specific declaration at the end of the application where applicants confirm that they are in compliance with all existing federal, territorial, Indigenous government, and municipal permits or authorizations, and that they will secure any additional requirements before they proceed with work. It should be clear that noncompliance must be disclosed to ITI which can then decide to cancel or withdraw support on any current and possibly future applications. Noncompliant applicants should not be funded or rewarded.

I believe that any applicants should not knowingly be in debt or owe any taxes to federal, territorial, municipal or Indigenous governments. This requirement should also be built into the application forms through a self-declaration and then checked by ITI.

Lastly, the detailed criteria in the guidance documents do not recognize or incorporate any scoring or evaluation with regard to environmental best practices or innovation to reduce environmental disturbance for any exploration or development work. I'll have questions later today for the mining minister. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The debate for shorter workweeks is not a new one. In 1926, Henry Ford brought in the five-day workweek, and it wasn't until 1960 that Canadian formally adopted a 40-hour workweek. And Mr. Speaker, I believe it is time that the NWT be a leader in introducing the four-day workweek.

The pandemic has brought the debate of the four-day workweek back into light as workplaces seek to find a better work-life balance and, as we all know, many workplaces have struggled with recruitment and retention. The GNWT is not alone in that.

Mr. Speaker, numerous municipalities, including Guysborough, Nova Scotia and Sackville, New Brunswick, have switched their staff to a four-day workweek. They found that sick days went up and, in some cases, so did productivity, Mr. Speaker.

Numerous tech companies across the world are introducing summer Fridays where they introduce the four-day workweek across the summer, Mr. Speaker. I believe this is a step we could take; perhaps a great follow-up to the infamous Donny Days.

Mr. Speaker, in February, the country of Belgium announced that it would be introducing the four-day workweek, along with a right to disconnect and ignore messages from employers outside of work hours. I would love that right, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I applauded the Minister of Finance when she brought in the Work From Home Policy and I believe it is time that we introduce a four-day workweek. There is a lot of different ways this could work, Mr. Speaker. One option is four 10-hour shifts, so the amount of hours is not actually worked but people can take Fridays or Mondays off. Another option is to shorten the days and hopefully we can negotiate actually lowering the pay, Mr. Speaker. At some point, I don't believe that our retention issues are going to be solved by paying our public servants more money but I think offering them a four-day workweek might really help our recruitment and retention, Mr. Speaker.

Later today I will have questions of the Minister of Finance about whether we can become a leader in this area and one of the most flexible employers and encourage our private sector to do so as well, so people can get out there and enjoy long weekends all summer, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Returns to oral questions -- oh, sorry. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sorry about that.

Mr. Speaker, spring jamborees and carnivals have been a fixture of the social calendar of many NWT communities throughout the year. This is a time for residents to gather for traditional skills competitions, dances, games, and most importantly tame together to catch up. Unfortunately, the last couple years have been seen a modified or cancelled jamborees or carnivals across the NWT. Many factors were considered on how they would run the event during the COVID pandemic. Ultimately, it was about protecting the health and safety of Northerners and our civil responsibility to help stop the spread of COVID-19 that helped them make the final decision.

As the pandemic restrictions are being eased now, this means a lot especially with the gathering in our small NWT communities. As in the past, there has been opportunities to host the jamborees and carnivals, allowing us to see familiar faces from around the community and region, and people really look forward to these times.

I am happy to say that Beavertail Jamboree, held in Fort Simpson March 6th to the 13th, the organizing committee was able to host several events such as the family snow sculpting contest, the hockey game, basketball tournament, a snowmobile drive, snowmobile races, radio bingo, a chili cook-off, crib tournaments, pancake breakfasts, drum dance and fireworks. I am happy to say that everybody that enjoyed their time. And I am very tell everybody my son did win the chili cook-off. I am very proud of him of this. It was very hot from what I have heard so I am very happy to say he's learnt to cook well.

The two events that were not scheduled were the youth and adult talent show and dance, and they would be looked at maybe holding them this summer.

Mr. Speaker, what I have been told from varied residents, people are very happy we had that opportunity to get together.

Mr. Speaker, the hamlet of Fort Liard will be hosting Cabin Fever Days from April 15th to the 18th. They have developed a jam-packed weekend. This, they will be hosting a poker tournament, drum dance, hand games tournament, outdoor games for adult and youth, two community barbecues, a bazaar, Johnny Landry Band will be there, Easter egg hunt, and crib tournament, and jigging contest, drum dance, and sliding party. I wish them a good time and good weather. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Nahendeh. Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize a visitor from Australia is Mr. Geoff Atkins, chief founder and the managing director of Vital Metals Limited, the parent company Vital Metals Canada and Cheetah Resources. Mr. Atkins brings to Canada an extensive career of experience in the rare earth mining and marketing industry. If you could maybe put your hand up.

Also, Mr. Speaker, well-known businessman David Connelly and vice-president of strategy and corporate affairs of Cheetah Resources Corp. Cheetah is headquartered here in Yellowknife, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Connelly is one of the team responsible for bringing the Nechalacho project to the market. Mr. David Connelly.

Mr. Speaker, Bill Braden is a former elected Member of this Assembly, and has found life after politics as a freelance writer and photographer. He is here today as the media relations manager for Cheetah Resources. Mr. Bill Braden.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, Cody Drygeese is a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation and is the environmental officer for Cheetah Resources and Nechalacho project. Mr. Drygeese has extensive experience in the environmental field in the diamond industry here in the NWT. Mr. Cody Drygeese.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Recognition of visitors in the galley. Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too would like to rise to acknowledge the members from Cheetah Resources that are here, as well Mr. Bill Braden is my constituent in Great Slave and formerly held my seat. I did not do my statement on Cheetah Resources today, but I think everybody knows how I feel about our resource extraction industry and I can't support them enough. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, I guess this is a Cheetah day here, so. I had the pleasure of meeting George Atkin. He spent 40 hours on a plane. He missed the, because of flight connections he was long overdue at airports, but he had the opportunity to meet with me and Minister Wawzonek and the Premier today at lunchtime, as well as David Connelly. I also understand that Cody Drygeese is here as well as Bill Braden, from Cheetah. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Nahendeh. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess I would be negligent if I didn't also recognize Cheetah Resources in the gallery today. As stated earlier, my family has been in the industry longer than I have been born, over 60 years. I think our previous MLA Bill Braden, BradenBurry, was part of the resource sector, indirectly, as well, so a lot of knowledge in the gallery today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Range Lake. Recognition of visitors in the gallery.

Colleagues, I too would like to welcome Mr. Bill Braden, former Member of Legislative Assembly. Welcome back. It's always good to see you. Also if we've missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to the Chamber and I hope you're enjoying the proceedings. It's always nice to have an audience. Mahsi.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Acknowledgements. Oral questions. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure.

Work has been stopped or put on hold on a project that has major implication for local employment and national security. Is the Minister aware of the pressing timeframe issue regarding the next phase of work and that if a one cubic meter trench is not completed before this spring's thaw, the project will be delayed for at least one year, jeopardizing the project's timeline and national security related to Arctic sovereignty; yes or no?

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the Minister's department are knowingly causing a delay to a project of major national security importance. Minister, what has the government done to avoid this delay and to move this work forward on its intended timeline in the interests of national security and to assist with post-pandemic economic recovery of our local businesses? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the senior officials from Infrastructure, as well as the contractor, and National Defence, are meeting this afternoon to have that discussion. And may I further add that as the Premier's statement earlier mentioned that, you know, she's having discussions with the briefing officials at the highest level of military/security/intelligence branches of the federal government and also met with Minister Anand on the -- Minister of National Defence, and Minister Vandal as well. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, it's -- it's really hard to have some positive with this -- this Minister right now because before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, you know, this wasn't even at the surface. This delay has been going on. This is not anything new. And we're only looking at it now because we've been raising the issue. You know, I -- I -- Mr. Speaker, with everyone looking at Arctic security, will the Minister use her power to direct her department to stop holding up this important phase to get the contractors on it ASAP and not to delay this project by a year? It's been delayed long enough. Our local businesses need to get to work on this project.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned there's a meeting that's currently underway as we speak at the deputy minister level, and we'll be providing an update on the joint venture once we have concurred on a way forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

My final supplementary is this: Minister, you know, with the amount of this phase that's been allocated, it's a small amount that needs to be done before the thaw. You know, I know it's cold today but it can change next week. So what I'm asking is this Minister to direct her staff to release that $8 million to get going on this phase that we won't lose a year. The rest of the project, the -- you know, after the meeting today but will she commit to that today?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Member mentioned, the project came in significantly over budget; more than what the GNWT estimates and more than a third party estimate that used information that was collected by regional contractors. The -- you know, it's -- I understand where the Member's coming from. I mean, Inuvik is my community as well and this is something that, you know, we push at the Premier's level, to have that discussion with National Defence so we don't lose the time. So I'm hoping for a favourable outcome today as a result of those meetings. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

[Remote] Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services.

Some people experience with accessing or working to access support services feel that support services from NTHSSA are at an all-time low and are very siloed in today's environment. Schools are currently trying to find funds to pay out-of-pocket to secure access to support services like speech language pathology, occupational therapy, but this is incredibly costly.

So will the GNWT work with schools to fund access to support services if it does not have the capacity to deliver those services in house? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the Member bringing this question forward. We recently reorganized speech language pathology to focus on more equitable service delivery for children in age birth to five years old. So we did that knowing that this is a critical period of a child's development and that there are considerable wait times for rehabilitation services, and we wanted to make sure that we could improve the turnaround time for these basic screening tools that practitioners use with this group. So equity is really our concern here, and the refocus of service in speech language pathology is the means that we're taking.

We have high staff vacancy rates in these rehabilitation service areas, and so as a result we have long wait times. The problem is that as with other healthcare professionals, there is a very strong demand for these -- for these professions and not a very robust workforce and so we, like everywhere else in the country, have experienced a shortage of people in these areas and the result is unfortunate wait times for patients. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the Minister's willingness to have this conversation together. Today, many schools are fall -- are finding that they -- they follow the process to reach out to secure support services within NTHSSA but that they don't necessarily hear back from NTHSSA about the appointments, the timing to wait for them, or the availability.

And so will Health and Social Services commit to service standards for schools so that schools are able to communicate not only with students and families but also understand what is required to access supports for students? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not going to be able to make a commitment to service standards knowing that we are short-staffed and that the answer may be greater spending which we don't have in the budget at this time. But certainly I don't see any reason that people who call and ask for appointments can't receive accurate information about their wait times so that they can make informed decisions about what their next steps are. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the Minister's comment. Some of the problem, though, is that without the service standards, some people aren't receiving that phone call back or that email back to let them know that it's going to be a year or a year and a half or two years before a student receives services. So the schools are really unable to make alternate arrangements or alternate plans for the care and the learning and development of that student.

And so will the Minister commit, then, to response service standards for school professionals so that NTHSSA is committing to responding to schools within a certain amount of time so that they can move on to other alternative approaches? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think that what I can commit to is to learn more about the detail of this area and to consult with my colleague from ECE to sort out how we can handle these requests more efficiently so that parents have a clearer idea sooner in the day about where they stand accessing rehabilitation services. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate that this is a bigger conversation, and I welcome having a larger conversation with the Minister for sure. And one of the things that might be helpful for both schools and residents alike is having a public reporting mechanism where people can really see what the realistic wait times are for different specialty services in the Northwest Territories. And then from there, are able to either make alternate arrangements or look at other interventions in the meantime, especially when it comes to learning and development of students across the Northwest Territories.

So is the Minister willing to commit to public reporting of wait times for NTHSSA specialty services? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the question. I know that the department does track wait times in both the Beaufort Delta and through Stanton Territorial Hospital for these specialties, rehabilitation services for children. I am not clear how this information is shared with the public. But I would like to find that out and I, on the face of it, would like to advocate that this information be shared with the public so that people can make appropriate decisions about alternatives. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

What is considered to be a living wage in each of the communities where childcare is expected, and what is our plan to ensure that childcare providers can pay that wage to workers as part of the subsidized program? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So as most people are aware, we recently signed a deal with the Government of Canada for around $50 million, and that is to help us transition to a system of universal childcare. There are a number of aspects to this. The first aspect that is rolling out across Canada is to reduce fees for parents by 50 percent on average.

The Member raises some good points. There are other issues. Staffing has always been an issue. And in terms of a living wage, we don't have -- I don't have the stats for living wages in every community. I know that in some of the regional centres, it's around $25 an hour.

Currently, ECE provides retention bonuses or additional subsidies to early childhood staff based on their level of education and so those staff do receive up to $12,000 a year in subsidies from ECE. And starting in the upcoming fiscal year, which is just around the corner, there is going to be an additional retention incentive bonus for all early learning and childcare staff, and that is until we get a wage grid in place so that early childhood educators are recognized for the work that they do and are paid appropriately. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm glad that the Minister answered my next question so I can have one additional one.

So my next question is with the ongoing housing crisis in the NWT, we have a shortage of day home spaces that are available in several of our communities, as well there may be issues with housing any workers that we may be able to recruit given low wages and not meeting the living wage. How is the department working to remove the barriers in place to create new day home and daycare infrastructure? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And for the past couple years, we've had an early childhood infrastructure fund. It's a million dollars a year. There's been great uptake on that. But the fact is that we need third parties to want to provide childcare. In many communities, there -- it's already happening - Indigenous governments are doing it, non-profits are doing it. But some of the difficulties in communities without childcare is the lack of a provider, and in other communities there's just no children under the age of five. There's no need for childcare. And yet other communities, they would prefer that their children stay with family members. So there's a number of reasons that some communities don't have childcare facilities, and that may be always the case.

In terms of what we're doing to increase the number of family day homes, now is an opportune time to get the word out there that running a family day home is a good business opportunity. And we are trying to expand childcare spaces and so we want to encourage people to look into that opportunity. We have funding. If you want to become a day home provider to make the necessary renovations, do some of the upgrades that are required, and I believe in the future we're going to start doing more promotion of that because we want more people to get into that industry. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, the Minister raises some other issues that I sort of struggled to wrap my head around.

As we look at this subsidy, one of the things that I've been hearing is that in the communities without licensed daycare spots, a lot of times it's family, it's grandparents, all of that, that are providing the daycare or the services. So to me, it seems to make sense if we could look out -- a way outside of the box in order to pay family members in those communities so that the communities can actually get some benefit out of this subsidy.

So is the government committed to finding a way to look at different methods of childcare and thinking outside the box as we don't tend to fit that southern Canadian model all the time? And are we going to look at maybe paying grandparents and other relatives to take care of children? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And this has been raised a number of times. And no, we are not going to be exploring those avenues. There has been a desire from some people to have us subsidize more than just licensed centres, so unlicensed centres or family members, but unfortunately we can't be everything to everyone and we have to pick our lane. And so what we're focusing on is early -- licensed early learning childcare spaces. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions, final supplementary, Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's my understanding that over this weekend that there has been meetings of day home providers, etcetera, to discuss the government's plan. It is my understanding that they are not happy with what is happening with the fee subsidy.

Can the Minister commit to arranging a meeting with those stakeholders in order to hear from them directly what their issues are and perhaps modifying the roll-out in order to address their concerns? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since March, probably March 5th, there's been a number of sessions, a number of meetings between day home providers and staff, and those meetings are going to continue. The difficulty is that, you know, we have a lot of childcare centres and those centres are non-profits, and they are there to -- for the purpose of providing childcare. They're not money making ventures. And so they already have the idea that they want to do what they can to make childcare accessible.

And so the family day homes, on the other hand, are -- they're businesses. And so it's -- perhaps they have -- they have some different motivations. And we're asking them to do something for the greater good but it's not necessarily their role as some of them see it. And so there have been some -- some difficulties. We are trying to work through those. I've asked the department to ensure that we are being as flexible as we can and that we are ensuring that parents aren't going to see any -- or the parents are still going to see that reduction that we promised, that 50 percent on average. So there's ongoing meetings. There's -- we're happy to have as many meetings as we possibly can. We want to get the information out. We want open lines in communication, and we want parents to see that 50 percent reduction. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, according to the budget address for 2022-2023, business investment for 2020 was down minus 34.9 percent for the NWT.

Can the finance minister tell us what the government's plan is to turn those numbers around and increase business investment for the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for Finance.

You're on mute.

Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm going to just confirm that I'm being heard? Okay. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So I am quite conscious of the fact that there's been a reduction in the GDP over the last couple of years. We've obviously been through the pandemic and certainly in the last two years, that has been the predominant reason for that. Nevertheless, I think everyone's heard me say that we were in challenging times long before the pandemic and that we had to start looking at our economic situation. So I'm happy to have this question. Mr. Speaker, there's a couple of things.

Firstly, there's the mineral resource sector which continues to be one third of our private GDP contribution, and a lot of work is happening on that side to increase investor confidence, to increase awareness of the geological potential that we have, to incentivize early exploration and to incentivize advanced exploration.

There's also, of course, the other side of more general economic development that's going to diversify our industry. And in that regard, Mr. Speaker, just briefly, we have regional economic development plans underway. We have the Tourism 2025, which will hopefully bring back what was a growing sector and a lot of activity in that regard with the borders reopening. And certainly, Mr. Speaker, I'll make note of the fact that we've had very significant capital budgets in the last couple of years signalling that we are going to do as a government what we can to use our financial muscle to make sure that we're moving projects forward and giving access to those projects across the territory, which of course provides opportunity for local contractors to be involved but also builds up some of the infrastructure that we're hoping will then support continued growth and diversification. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, according to our recent budget address, the NWT's real GDP level was minus 10 percent for 2020. In fact, for three out of the previous five years, the NWT has experienced a decline in the GDP growth.

Can the Minister tell us what the government's plan is to reverse course and increase GDP growth for the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So Mr. Speaker, again, I'm certainly following the numbers as well, and I'm pleased to have an opportunity to speak to them. You know, and again, certainly for the last couple of years, a lot of the impacts were seen largely as a result of what was happening internationally and nationally because of the pandemic. That said, there's -- there was, again, some pre-existing -- this is particularly within the mineral resource sector which is such a significant contributor to our GDP and which has such a direct impact on the numbers that are being raised here. So the fact that there's been also a very good recovery post-pandemic or at least -- maybe not post-pandemic but in the last year or so as the pandemic has evolved and changed, I would hope gives us a good signal that we are going to be on a good track.

You know, as far as what we're going to do going into the future, my last answer I already outlined some of what the government is doing. The final -- final impacts will depend a lot on what happens in the private sector but what I want to emphasize is to the extent that we have levers that we can pull, whether it's in capital spending, whether it's in other elements of trying to increase investor confidence, whether it's in supporting the small business sector, you know, through the spectrum of everything from BDIC to seed supports, those are all the types of things we're going to be looking at. And there's not one single thing that we need to do; it's all of the things that we need to do. So I'm conscious of that, and I'm happy to have it made reference of it on the floor. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister has been promoting the new government renewal initiative as a means to reducing costs for our government.

Can the Minister provide any estimates, any dollar amounts or projection data, which states how much money this initiative will save the government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the government renewal initiative was never intended to be an expressed budget cutting initiative or government jobs cutting initiative. It has always been an effort to say, you know, that we look at it having an over $2 billion budget and yet continue to see needs, continue to see challenges in various -- you know, in various programs or services, and so what we wanted to do was to take a step back and say, look, what are we doing with $2 billion that can better align with needs, priorities, values. Are there programs that we know are successful that could use more money and programs that perhaps could be shifted and have those resources directed to areas that are finding more success. So that's always been the intention of government renewal, is that we're bringing that culture of evaluation across departments, that we're bringing the culture of understanding what we do, why we do it, how we do it from the front lines, who are being the folks who do the front lines are being interviewed as part of the government renewal, all the way through to the senior management levels where they too, of course, are being interviewed and participating in government renewal. We're on track. The first step is to just get a real handle on the full inventory of what government does, and then the second step is to do the evaluation process. It is taking a while. Again, we're 11 departments. We're a 6,000 strong public service. But if -- to the extent that evidenced-based decision-making is how we want to make those decisions going forward, this is going to give us the evidence to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have heard from many of my constituents about the rising cost of living, the reduced purchasing power for people, and the historic levels of inflation, and it affects all consumer goods. Does the Minister of Finance have a plan to address this issue and help alleviate some of these extra costs for the people of the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am quite live to the fact that February 2022 saw an inflation level at 5.4 percent higher than last year. I've certainly been watching inflation not only since 2022 began but since the fall. We've been watching what's been happening geopolitically obviously, as I know everyone has in the last few months, but also even before that with respect to supply chain issues. So, you know, I certainly want to be clear that the Department of Finance is aware of the challenges. We're aware of the financing impacts. We're looking at the impacts also from the perspective of what that's going to do to the government's revenue situation and our expenses, and there was already matters in the mandate to look at the cost of living and the impact that has on residents, the impact that has on businesses.

So having just answered three questions about the growth of the economy and the growth of business, I can't answer those three questions without always keeping in mind that the realities of supply chain challenges, the realities of inflation rising, those things are going to impact on all those other efforts. So, I mean, the plan is really one that is whole of government. The plan is one that is whole of department in that we don't -- we can't be looking to grow all of these other areas and pretend that we can have economic diversification, economic growth particularly in the small business sector, without knowing that we're going to have to continue to look at what gaps there may be, what funding opportunities we need to be seeking out, whether in partnership with the federal government or otherwise, in order to meet the reality that everyone, from small business to large business to government, are going to be potentially facing some major increased costs over the next year. So I mean, there's not a silver bullet here, Mr. Speaker. I'm not going to pretend that there is. You know, there's a couple of governments who might be giving a few hundred dollars out and for some that might be helpful, and for others that certainly won't be enough. So there's -- I'm not going to pretend there's a silver bullet, Mr. Speaker, but I want to make everyone very clear and very sure that we are going to be watching this and monitoring this, and as we've done throughout the pandemic, doing our best to fill in the gaps. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Lands with devolution.

Mr. Speaker, our government assumed increasingly authority for the responsible management of lands in the NWT, including the administration of mining and exploration land use. Would the Minister outline for the Assembly what those responsibilities are? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister responsible for Lands.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll try to do it from here but it's probably going to miss some few things that we do at the Department of Lands.

As the Member for Thebacha was talking about, we're trying to get the regulations done for the -- so we can then do the public lands enforcement. We're modernizing the land use only policy, revised project assessment policy. We talked about securities, project assessment. We were working on industry surface review. So we're working out there, land use and sustainability. I'm missing one, sorry. I had it written down here.

We're also doing a review of the securities. We are working with that. We have reached out to the Department of -- or the Chamber of Mines to coordinate it, and we have one interested company that's specifically asking to do that. We are also doing enforcement. And most importantly, we are trying to deal with rights-based cabins and unauthorized occupancy, but. And then we also do land use plans working with Indigenous governments and the federal government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Specific to the Nechalacho project, could the Minister outline the current status of the Nechalacho land use permit? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member for the question.

The department executed a seven-year industrial lease for Cheetah to support the demonstration mining project on April 23, 2021. Cheetah's now seeking a potential for a 30-year lease for mining proposals as they are working towards the mining phase of the project. The department has been working collaboratively with both Cheetah and the Department of Justice to ensure that draft release continues to protect the GNWT for liabilities related to the proposed plan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's my understanding that we have -- we are in the discussions with Cheetah Resources about securing a bankable long-term mining lease. This is an essential requirement for any mining project to ensure it has secure tenure and protect its multi-million dollar investment. Could the Minister advise us on the status of the discussion? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member for the question. So we've been going on for about two years from -- as me from being the Minister. There's been constant communication. As I said today, we did have a productive meeting with Cheetah this morning -- or this afternoon at 12, me and Minister Wawzonek and the Premier. We had a conversation with them. We're getting really close to hopefully coming up with a final agreement. But at the end of the day, we need to make sure that we protect our environment for future residents. It's about our children, our grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. But in the conversations with Cheetah, I think we're very, very close, and I appreciated Mr. Atkins coming all the way back -- or all the way up from Australia to have these conversations and hopefully we can have closure to this and move forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If necessary, would the Minister commit to advising the Assembly on future progress in terms of enabling this project to proceed? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm more than willing to meet with committee to give an update once we finalize it. I don't want to talk about the work and the process it's in right now. I want to be able to get a final closure to it, and then I'm more than willing to bring that information to committee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if we ever expect to realize living wages for NWT workers, we need increased resource development to move that initiative forward, because we can't rely on finite federal funding to prop up the economy forever.

So Mr. Speaker, the Premier previously stated that the Northwest Territories requires investments and strategic infrastructure that can help to unlock our natural resource potential when seeking commitment from the federal government for 100 percent flexible infrastructure funding. Can the Premier confirm where this government is with respect to achieving those goals? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Honourable Premier.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to defer that to the Minister of Infrastructure. She's taking the lead on the infrastructure funding. Thank you.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm happy to report that progress has been made on all three of our strategic infrastructure projects: The Slave Geological Province Corridor, the Mackenzie Valley Highway, and the Taltson Hydro Expansion.

Our work is supported by over $250 million in combined federal and territorial support to advance these three important projects. Funding to date has been 75 federal for Mackenzie Valley Highway/Slave Geological Province and 100 percent federal for Taltson.

While all three of these projects are currently at different stages ranging from a feasibility and planning to environmental assessment, they are all advancing. You know, some of the key milestones for these projects this year include Mackenzie Valley Highway, submission of the developer's assessment report to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board this fall to advancing environmental assessment, advancement of Prohibition Creek and Mount Gadet access road projects.

For the Slave Geological Province Corridor, advance of Indigenous knowledge, environmental engineering work to support future project applications, discussions with Canada and Indigenous governments regarding a request by the Tlicho government to undertake a regional strategic environmental assessment of the project.

Regarding the Taltson Hydro Expansion, routing selection, Indigenous knowledge, environmental and engineering work to support the future project applications, working with our Indigenous partners to discuss commercial structure for the project.

Mr. Speaker, we continue to talk with communities and Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations on these important projects so they are prepared to take advantage of future economic and social benefits. Quyananni.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That was a mouthful.

Mr. Speaker, extraction of resources is one component of oil and gas and mineral resource development. Refining the product is another. The community of Hay River, with its railhead highway access and marine facilities, is strategically located to accommodate such infrastructure.

Can the Premier confirm what effort or incentives this government puts in to encouraging natural resource development companies to establish processing or process extraction facilities in communities such as Hay River? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The responsibility for new businesses is the Minister of ITI. I'd like to defer the question to the Minister of ITI. Thank you.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Madam Premier. Mr. Speaker, we're always looking for opportunities. We are happy to work with any proponent, whether that's as a pathfinder of our own processes and our own regulatory processes, whether it's as a pathfinder of understanding what the federal processes might be. Mr. Speaker, obviously, for -- I shouldn't say obviously, but for any larger scale programs they are typically on the mineral resources side, they would involve often IBAs, SEAs, social economic agreements, impact benefit agreements, and so certainly to the extent that they're able to provide value added in terms of, you know, increasing the amount of northern component, then that will, no doubt, be a benefit on those fronts. So, you know, we're certainly happy, as I say, more than happy to work with any project that is looking at developments here in the territory. I expect, really, Mr. Speaker, we'd wind up being whole of government, and we'd probably see Lands involved; you'd probably see ENR involved. And certainly in my experience in the last two years, the LNR departments - Lands, Natural Resources departments - are now actively meeting, actively working together and quite ready to look at those kinds of opportunities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we know the resource sector wants certainty respecting complex regulations along with restrictive land use planning legislation and policy - something this and past governments have discussed for years with little to no resolution on how to soften it.

Can the Premier tell me what this government is doing to streamline processes or at least to lay the groundwork for future governments to ensure long-term resource development and processing takes place in the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, that question's for the Minister of ITI. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Minister responsible for ITI.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's sort of two parts there. In terms, Mr. Speaker, of knowing the processing side, that's much more complicated. It involves large tracts of land potentially. But, Mr. Speaker, with respect to the regulatory processes we have here in the territories, we already have the client services/client relations folks within ITI who are system navigators and well known to help proponents get through our system. There's a Mackenzie Valley operational dialogue that's happening right now with the regulatory bodies as well as with government to ensure that we are all working together to make regulatory processes achieve their goals but also being -- achieve their goals of being protective of the interests that they need to protect but of course of being understandable and to the proponents who are going through them. Then, of course, Mr. Speaker, there's the Mineral Resources Act that is currently seeing its regulations being developed which to the extent that we are responsible for our regulatory processes, that is a system that's being codeveloped and worked through the IGCS, the Indigenous governments -- the Indigenous governmental relations. And last thing, Mr. Speaker, you're seeing the same thing happening with public lands. So really our system as a whole now is becoming whole of government, and it's one that is already evolving significantly to be more clear, more transparent, more involved, and will continue to do so over the next couple of years of this government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with closure of mines and oil and gas facilities come opportunities for reclamation, a discipline where Indigenous and northern-based companies can provide this service.

Can the Minister tell me what supports or plans are in place to ensure that Indigenous and northern companies are prepared to take this work on? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with that regard, again, we're looking at multiple departments all working together. ENR does have the lead in terms of developing right now and actively right now developing remediation economy document and strategy so that we best understand where the opportunities lie. ITI and ECE work together in terms of understanding what training opportunities exist and what our labour market needs are going to be over the next few years, including in the remediation sphere. So both of those things are underway. Again, all three departments are actively involved in discussing, one with the other, to make sure that we're also keeping in touch with industry and private sector so that we're not just off developing these things in a vacuum; we're developing these things in lockstep with what's happening in the private sector and so that we can, of course, best take advantage of those opportunities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to start just by commending the GNWT for some of the creative options it already has such as deferred leave where a worker can take a reduced pay cut for a number of years and then have a year off with leave without pay, or options such as flex days where workers can increase their working hours in a day to get an additional day off. All of which are great programs that cost the GNWT no money but help with retention.

However, Mr. Speaker, I believe we need to go further and try and formalize some policy around a four-day workweek. I have talked to workers who have requested to work four days with the reduced pay cut and have been told no, and those workers have told me they're not already -- they're already not working full time, Mr. Speaker; they're just sitting in a chair, and I don't see why we wouldn't approve them to get that time off. So I think there's a number of different ways to do this but we need to review our policies.

And my question for the Minister of Finance is whether we will review our current leave policies with the aim of allowing more workers to work a four-day workweek? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I heard the Member's statement earlier, I already had a thought of pointing out the fact that there's the ability to work a compressed schedule already. There's the work -- the ability to work a flex schedule already. There's the ability to look at, you know, having deferred leave. There's actually a very flexible set of opportunities in many regards for the employees in the public service. So, you know, whether it's a question of there being some specific employees who may have requested access to some of those programs and being denied, those specific requests should probably come in so that they can be examined individually. I'm not sure that this is necessarily the time to say that the entire system itself isn't being flexible enough when, as I've just noted and as the Member already said, there's quite a number of flexible opportunities already in existence.

At the end of the day, there's operational needs. Some positions aren't going to have the operational capacity to be as flexible as others. Again, I can't say whether or not those are the examples that are being provided here by the Member. But that's always going to have to be an examinations that fundamentally we need to make sure we're providing our programs and services and providing the positions and the staff to do so. But beyond that, Mr. Speaker, we have quite a flexible array of options already and would encourage people to make use of them. Thank you.

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that and, you know, I get that certain positions perhaps need the one-off policy, but I think we could really be a leader here and we could find positions and pilot a four-day workweek. Perhaps it's a -- it's a summer Fridays model, which is becoming more common. And then I think we would need to do it as a pilot project and evaluate things such as, you know, were less sick days taken; was there a decline in productivity. I know many workplaces have actually found that it would increase in productivity when shifting to a four-day workweek. So I think we need to be a little bit more conscious of how we are granting that leave to people. And so my question for the Minister of Finance is could we find some units or some appropriate positions and pilot a four-day workweek? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's no plans right now to be piloting a four-day workweek. There are plans right now and work underway to develop a GNWT-wide public service strategy, government -- you know, human resources strategy. So to the extent that we'll be engaging and available to members of the public service to have feedback and to discuss where and what they see as some of the challenges in terms of our -- you know, whether it's morale, whether it's opportunities to be better engaged, whether there's learning plans, whether there's other options, you know, that -- that's the kind of feedback I'm interested to hear. I am not -- as I say, right this moment, there's not a plan to introduce a pilot workweek other than to say that I would certainly encourage folks who are thinking about flexibility to look at the programs that exist and to make those requests, and that might be a good initial step to make sure that they're accessing the programs that are already there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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