This is page numbers 5615 - 5640 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was know.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of ENR. Mr. Speaker, within the work hours currently going to southern workers, I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to whether or not there are trends in the type of work hours that are going to southern workers over northern workers? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, ITI completed an analysis of the GMRP arson contract in June of 2022. The results showed 68 percent total spending had gone to NWT Indigenous businesses and that is on par with the diamond mines. Categories of spending that has gone to southern businesses include construction, air quality monitoring programs, medical sampling and analysis, minerals such as lime, sulfate and dust suppression, drilling and installation specialized equipment, specialized water pumps, and pylons I think -- I guess I got that one wrong. This helped us identify opportunities for the GNWT and NWT business to help build capacity in these areas, but it is important to note much of the work is specialized. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I'm happy that the Minister was able to read my mind because I just realized I gave him zero context about what we're speaking about. So just for Hansard, we're talking about Giant Mine. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering if the Minister can provide some clarity as to what rate these work hours are going to southern workers because of available northern workers are either being underbid versus there being no NWT bidders? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, ITI analysis showed that the reason contractors went south included not receiving the highest score on the contract evaluation, no northern companies submitted a bid, non-competitive processes work, technical capacity is absent in northern firms. These contracts were limited to the specialized equipment items. Through Indigenous Opportunities Consideration, or IOC, the Giant Mine project aims to provide benefits for all work packages to the Indigenous community in the area of the contract. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement today I spoke about how it can be difficult for local proponents to be able to bid on the large scale of work that is happening out at Giant Mine, and this can be because there's just not the required clarity around the size, scale, scope, and timelines associated with some of the bidding that's happening out there. So I'm wondering will the Minister push the federal government to provide a more detailed budget and timeline so that local proponents can properly prepare and bid on this work? Thank you.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, ENR along with ITI and ECE participated in the socio-economic working group and the socio-economic advisory body group. These groups provided the Giant Mine project with specific geo-economic advice and input. ECE, with the support from ENR, has developed the North Slave regional training hub to support trainers and funding responses to large scale projects. Canada and Yellowknife Dene First Nation are in the process of finalizing a procurement framework agreement which will finalize Canada's commitment to providing socio-economic benefits to the Yellowknife Dene, by confirming the procurement approaches that will be used for the project, giving the Yellowknife Dene First Nation a role in the decision-making process by reviewing and commenting on planning procurement methods before they are implemented and creating a mechanism way for projects to monitor and report to the Yellowknife Dene socio-economic process. The project is currently in discussion with the Tlicho government and the North Slave Metis on similar agreements. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I was furiously writing and so I am going to have to go back through Hansard as well. And I appreciate that the government is working with YKDFN on a socio-economic agreement. One of the things that I am hearing, and that I'm talking about right now, is that there's not really a clear understanding of whether or not a project is going to be $1 million, if it's going to come out and be a $100 million, and the capacity of northern businesses to be able to kind of play ball in those ball fields is much different, right? If you need a team of five people versus a team of 50 people, well, you're talking about much different projects there.

And so what industry is looking for in the territory is a better idea of what is coming down the pipe - what is showing up at the doorstep and coming out in tendering processes so that they can actively be part of that. And so I'm wondering and asking the Minister if he will be an advocate for northern industry and advocate to the federal government for more clarity on the size, scale, scope, and timelines associated with the projects so that Northerners can participate in the remediation of the mine? Thank you.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the GNWT is part of the Giant Mine Remediation Project team and is involved in all work planning, including consideration of timelines. The GMRP timeline has recently been lengthened to maximize Indigenous and northern business opportunities. The GNWT will continue to pursue opportunities associated with the Giant Mine Remediation Project that will create opportunities for Indigenous and northern businesses. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure. Can the Minister tell me if she's aware of, and what they are, the activities that her department is doing to celebrate Engineering Month this month given that all of the NWT or the GNWT's engineers typically reside in the Department of Infrastructure? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm doing a Minister's statement next week to acknowledge all the engineers so I'm very proud to be able to do that. In terms of what the department's doing, we've got a number of things happening I'd be quite happy to share with the Member. Thank you.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would appreciate that, but I'm disappointed the Minister can't tell the public right now what they are.

Another issue within engineering is that there are only about 13 percent of engineers in Canada who are women, and this is a very stagnant number. When we look at the Department of Infrastructure, it does counter a lot of the other GNWT departments in that it is not a department that has a lot women and particularly not a lot of women that are in technical roles.

Can the Minister speak to how the department is working to increase the diversity of the workforce, particularly around gender and non-gender conforming people, in the department? Thank you.

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do recognize within the Department of Infrastructure that it is, you know, predominantly one gender positions and, you know, we are as a department looking out -- reaching out to try and get a more balanced equity. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the events that NAPEG, which is the regulator here in the Northwest Territories for engineers and geoscientists, puts on during Engineering Month is the popsicle bridge building contest.

Will the Minister commit to taking part in the popsicle bridge building contest and constructing her own popsicle bridge for demolition during NAPEG's event week? Thank you.

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am going to have to have a chat with the Member just to understand what this popsicle event is because I'm -- off the top of my head, I'm not familiar with it. I'd like to understand a little more of it before I commit to doing this because -- yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Well, Mr. Speaker, I'd be happy to tell the Minister about what the popsicle bridge building contest is. So for years now the engineers have been sending out to all out of the communities, all the school groups, if they would like to participate a set and series of popsicle sticks and through that they have to construct a bridge. They are provided with the means to transport the bridges back to Yellowknife if they themselves cannot come to the event. I think Canadian North is usually a sponsor of that shipping. And then they bring them here and we use a machine and we crush them, and we see which bridge withstands the most pressure in the crushing. So this is a great way and a very easy way for children and youth of the Northwest Territories to be exposed to what engineering is and to really put their minds to how buildings and structures are constructed. So I think it would be a wonderful opportunity for the Minister to show her department that she is involved with this and is committed to it. Thank you.

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the Member's description of what this means. It sounds like fun. It sounds like something I should be a little more proactive in. You know, building bridges in the Northwest Territories falls within my department so I'd be quite happy to build with popsicle sticks. Perhaps when we get to actually building bridges, it's not with popsicle sticks. We'd rather do it with steel, which is going to cost money and so on, but I'd be quite happy to do this activity and, you know, invite anyone else who wants to build popsicle bridges with me, I'd be quite okay with it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In order for my dream to come true I actually got to get ahold of a piece of land, which is not an easy task. You know, there was a cabin lottery, after decades, in 2015 and it was a real long shot whether you could actually win one.

So my first question for the Minister of Lands, does he have any update to this House on whether there will be another cabin lottery? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

It's Friday, and I feel like I'm crushing dreams here, so I apologize to the Member. I'm aware of strong interests for new recreational lease opportunities. The Member has brought this up to the House a number of times. Now opportunities need to be carefully planned and that's what we're going through. We also have to reach out to our Indigenous governments, and that's what we're doing. We're working with our Indigenous governments, doing section 35, to be able to do this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.