Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department does not currently have any employment plans for graduates from the Aurora College heavy equipment program. However, having said that, we will always welcome applications from the graduates who graduate from Aurora College heavy equipment operator program and to apply on any of the positions that we have opening. Also, we encourage the applicants to reach out to our departments, regional managers, supervisors, to see if there's any upcoming positions.

I want to note, Mr. Speaker, highway operator positions are critical for maintenance of our highways, safety of the travelling public, and any vacant positions that we have are immediately filled. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And mahsi to the Minister for that. Mr. Speaker, in the years 1975 to 1982, there was a federal government highway construction project out building the Liard Highway. The program was called Hire North. The program provides on-the-job training opportunities to many Northerners, young and old, on heavy equipment and experience building a highway. Has the department considered such a program for the road to nowhere project in the Great Slave Geological Province? Mahsi.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our department is always interested in maximizing training employment opportunities during the construction of the Slave Geological Province Corridor. Having said that, we are in the early stages and regulatory applications have yet to be submitted. Because we're at such an early stage of this project, we have yet to identify any programs related to training that could take place as part of the construction phase of the project. So once we get to prior to advancing the construction phase of the project, we will work hand-in-hand with GNWT departments, Indigenous organizations, and other parties who are interested to be able to identify ways to maximize training/employment opportunities for this very important project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And mahsi to the Minister for that. As this project may be on the books and upcoming, it's a great time to plan at least to get a stretch of the road anyways for training opportunities because we need experienced operators all the time in the job descriptions and lots of these people are going back to the communities with nothing to look forward to, that there's limited positions in the communities.

Mr. Speaker, there's been a lot of conversations and initiatives in advancing the Mackenzie Valley Highway from Wrigley to Tulita and points beyond. Can the department ensure training opportunities for new AGO graduates and others to gain valuable experience on heavy equipment and the art of road building? Mahsi.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. We have -- we are doing this. I mean, we are working on the Mackenzie Valley Highway. As I mentioned in my Minister's statement, taking a drive up there you see local employment. There are people from some of the other regions that are participating right now in building that road. We have -- the ongoing commitment is the employment opportunities for the Prohibition Access Creek. So since January, the Sahtu residents have participated in over 1,000 person hours of training that's related to this project, Mr. Speaker. That's good news. The training isn't just specific to heavy equipment operator training but to other variety of skills that are needed to be able to make this road complete. So it's things like surveying, drilling, blasting operations, construction laborers, to name a few, Mr. Speaker. So I want the Member to be assured that this is something that our department will be looking into going forward as we advance any infrastructure projects. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Final supplementary. Member for Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And mahsi to the Minister for that. As she's stating that there's currently contractors working on that road and as the contractor, their bottom line is profits, and rarely will you ever get a contractor to hire people just fresh out of AGO program with no experience because it'll affect their bottom line. So perhaps the government has to look at a different avenue and encourage apprenticeship opportunities in there.

Mr. Speaker, investing in our young adults as they chart their own course in the heavy equipment world is an important step to self-sufficiency and gaining very valuable experience. Can the Minister commit to ensuring the department provides AGO summer student employment in the communities for the graduates? Mahsi.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. In 2022, Infrastructure hired 51 students. 51, Mr. Speaker. That's a pretty good number, I'd say. While I can't commit to committing to providing heavy equipment summer student employment, as the Member has requested, we would ask the graduates again to apply when these positions come open. One example, Mr. Speaker, I do want to take the time to express that the Tlicho had received some federal money for apprentices. You know, there are Indigenous groups that are going out there, seeking federal money to be able to do this. And we're here to partner, and that's what we want to do. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Do our child and family services systems and income security benefits program work together to support youth who are aging out of the GNWT child welfare system? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have details on sort of that operational matter of how the two departments might work together, but I can get back to the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When we talk about early intervention and education of child and family services, what we do not see is how the government supports these youth when they age out of the child and family services. Does income security have specific programs for applicants who are also accessing the child and family services? Thank you.

That's not my understanding, Mr. Speaker. I believe that it would actually be health who provides the supports as they transition out of the system, not ECE providing supports as they transition in. Thank you.

Yes, I was trying to find out what kind of supports that we have in place for youth aging out of the system, so thank you.

Can the Minister advise if ECE income security is working with health and social services to ensure there is a pathway for youth to access programs when they become adults. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have that level of detail on me right now. I can get back to the Member, though. Thanks.

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

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The number of commercial office leases that the GNWT has with Northview has not substantially changed in the last year. There was one lease that was for storage space that was renewed when Northview was successfully a proponent of an RFP process.

Mr. Speaker, I do want to add that there was one RFP for space for health and social services for which Northview was unsuccessful and we were able to give it to a local supplier. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know what, I guess I'll be satisfied that it hasn't substantially changed and we're just hanging around with that $20 million a year. I guess to me, step one of this is the leasing of improved real property policy. It hasn't been reviewed since 1998. I'm not actually convinced we're even following the policy currently. It does require for every single lease averse a comparison to ownership. But I guess, can I get a commitment from the Minister that we will review and make changes to the leasing of improved real property policy? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is a whole-of-a-government approach. I can't commit right now because we need to have a look at the procurement review. Once it's been completed, Mr. Speaker, we can work with EIA to be able to see if there's changes required to the policy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm really hoping that the procurement review leads to come changes there. I think it has been suggested multiple times that leasing be reviewed as part of procurement and there are some recommendations there in the initial report, so I'm optimistic.

I guess, as much as I rant about this, it's not necessarily a simple path and the Department of Infrastructure, for its part, largely just receives requests from departments when they need office space and they go out and tender it. But I think a clear strategy/action plan, whatever the GNWT is so famous for creating, needs to be brought to diversify our commercial leasing. And is the Minister willing to create some sort of plan that allows us to bring diversity to our commercial leasing portfolio over the coming years? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.