Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is my hope too, and that is why I continue to have this conversation with the federal minister to perhaps give us a response. Once we get the response, then we're able to set timelines. I know we talked about perhaps starting this summer to be able to get some of the work done.

I do want to highlight, Mr. Speaker, that we've been working -- we did this bathymetric study. We're currently looking at some of the data, the water elevation information indicate we have 200,000 cubic metres of sediment that has to be removed to be able to have normal navigation of that harbour. It's extreme, Mr. Speaker. You know, we recognize that once we get the funding, we will be able to start some of the work, get the regulatory permits in place, get federal -- our licenses. There are a number of things that we have to do. But I understand the Member's concern about how immediate this is for not only the community in Hay River, but for the communities up the valley. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm trying to -- I got nine minutes. I just got one -- I mean, a question to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Simpson.

Now that we have the federal minister here for infrastructure, I just thought maybe I'll take this opportunity to remind you if we could work together trying to get a new school for Dettah. And it's been the 1970s when that school was there. And it needs to complete the school in Dettah. They've been asking and asked that question this year. So I just thought maybe if we could work together in trying to get the Government of Canada to buy into this so that we could try to get some money to start looking at building a new school in Dettah. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And just to clarify what I said earlier, education is in the purview of the province and the territories and when there is a sort of this constitutional split of responsibilities, we try to stick as closely as we can do that split and so the provinces and territories are generally responsible to billion education infrastructure. That being said, as I stated earlier in my comments to the Member from Monfwi, if there's an Indigenous group that feels like these types of initiatives are part of reconciliation, then that's something we can work on. So I'd be happy to work perhaps with the Member and leadership in his community if that is their interest. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These questions will be for the Minister of MACA. Mr. Speaker, again, the flooding in Hay River, you know, it was devastating, and it's going to take a few years to recuperate. And so far, you know, I think that this government and the federal government has stepped up. They provided funds. They've done a good job. You know, it takes time. You know, we lack -- you know, we lack, you know, the contractors in the community to do all the work all at once. And, you know, and then the supply chain, that's still a problem. So there's a few issues.

But one real issue is in areas such as Paradise Valley and there's another location where they had seven to eight feet of water. And for them to mitigate damage, they've got to billion a -- say, a pad probably ten feet in the air, or they've got to put their houses up ten feet in the air with, you know, on steel piling. So one of the options within the DFFA -- or DFAA, was properties -- or was property acquisitions, which would allow this government or the community government to buy back properties where building should not be put on. So I'm just wondering -- I'd asked the Minister has his department considered this. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I got six minutes and 28 seconds, so I'm going to take the time to answer this question.

Mr. Speaker, when the Member talks about maybe putting houses up eight to ten feet, I can tell you right now in other communities that had the same flooding the previous year in 2021, that's what we had to do. We had to put homes up eight to ten feet. In my riding, in Jean Marie River, we had to actually do that.

In regards to the question that the Member has asked, he's asked this numerous times in this House, we're looking at the various options available for the residents and we're working with the federal government on how we can move forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I left five minutes and 40 seconds on the clock.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the Minister giving me a little more time here. And, you know, when I talk about putting those houses up, but these are properties primarily where there's agriculture going on, where this government has supported them through ITI and all of a sudden they're going to have to move, or something's going to have to happen. They've got greenhouses. And I don't expect those greenhouses to be 10 feet in the air. And so it's a bit of a different -- different than just putting somebody's House in the air. So I think that that's got to be given some consideration.

The area is mitigation. You know, what happened last year was an anomaly I guess, because I never thought it was going to happen and I've lived there for my whole life, 32 years -- oh sorry, 66. So anyways, like mitigation, we've got to look at doing something. And so I'd ask the Minister what mitigation measures are we looking at that will be supported by the federal government? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I live down the street from the Member so I guess I've been there for 32 years too. So I appreciate that.

Mr. Speaker, we've been working with the federal government to come up with what mitigations are available. The Member needs to understand, and as I said this previously in conversations with other residents, and Pathfinders have talked to residents, if it's not impacted, the disaster did not impact them, ie the roads and stuff like that, the disaster assistance policy doesn't work for that. So as for the mitigation, we've reached out to them. We've had conversations. And each individual has a different situation. So they work on that. When he talks about agricultural land, we have in -- coming in April, ITI and Municipal and Community Affairs staff will be reaching out to those impacted so we need to work with them on that. The other challenges that we need to understand, though, is in Hay River and on the reserve, we don't have as much land available. We have, the KFN and the Metis trying to get their land in negotiations, so withdrawn lands. We have that impact. So we are working with them. The mitigation part is -- again, it's very specific to each individual. So we need to work with each individual to have that opportunity to help them move forward on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, I understand, you know, what's required for mitigation in Hay River. And it's a very -- variety of things. For instance in one area, which is known as Cranberry Crescent, they -- there's houses there, and they're pretty expensive houses and they've all got basements. And they got flooded. Yet, there's no way they're going to lose their basements and raise their houses up. So what they need is a berm and raising the road. So in that sense, what is the government doing to ensure that's done? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when we talk about Cranberry Crescent, so when we talk about mitigation, sometimes it's not about the berms; sometimes it's about the ability to move the furnace or the boiler up on to the next floor there on that. So we're working on that.

In regards to the question that the Member has asked, because the road wasn't impacted by the flood, we are now working with the community. We are actually doing a survey on that road and seeing how we can work with the federal government on other programs that are available. If we're able to access that funding, then we're going to be able to work on that road. It's not -- we're not going to be building a berm. We're going to be looking at enhancing that road, making it bigger, taller, whatever, wider, whichever you want. And it's going to be a little bit longer because right now people are heard saying it's only needs it for, you know, a kilometre. It actually -- if you look at it, it actually goes down to the pump House station. So it goes that far so we need to look at building that road. And we're working with the Infrastructure on this to get this job done. So, again, it's a collaborative approach. We are working with -- our staff are working with the Town of Hay River. But we're also working with Infrastructure because that's the department that's working on that road there so we are working with them on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, mitigation. Like, you know I understand that there's -- you know, for private homes, raising the furnace, okay, that's fine, that's easy enough to do. And, you know, there's some other things they can do. It's mitigation for places like Cranberry, like the road. That's great. But we're coming into a season where breakup's going to happen here at the end of next month and we have done limited work within the town. If the same thing happened, people who had fixed up their houses are going to be in the same -- basically, you know, in the same position. So, you know, what is the timing to actually look at kind of an overall mitigation plan for Hay River? And I know you've got to work with the town, and you've got to work with K'atlodeeche as well, and I think it's important that, you know, it's got to be collaborative. But, you know, we need some type of timeline because we don't really hear -- get the information back. So can you provide that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we been working with the Town of Hay River and K'atlodeeche First Nation on things moving forward. In regards to mitigation, as long as there's a plan in place, then we're able to use our disaster assistance policy if the situation happens. The old adage is prepare for the worst and hope for the best. So we are working on that. The timeline, we're working with the town and the reserve, and it's with them. We have to be able to work with them to come up with a timeline. That's on their speed. We're not going to rush and do it wrong. As the Member said, we're getting close to breakup, but we are working on it, and I've had the opportunity to be in Hay River as they're prepared for their flood preparation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Colleagues, our time for oral questions has expired. Written questions. Honourable Premier.

Mr. Speaker, I'm going to try one more time. I seek unanimous consent to return to item number 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery with unanimous consent. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Premier. The Premier's seeking unanimous consent to return to item 5. Are there any nays? There are no nays.

Madam Premier.

That was a long wait, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I want to start by recognizing one of my favourite federal ministers. It's true. It is true. Minister Dan Vandal is the Minister of Northern Affairs. He's the Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and the Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development in Canada. Minister Vandal is not from the Northwest Territories but he's an Indigenous man, and he, like grand chief once told me, he not only listens, he hears our needs. And so he's always welcome to the Northwest Territories, and we'd love for you to move here if -- any time you want. We need the income from the capita.

I also want to recognize some of the staff that came with him, the director of communications, Mr. Ryan Potter, excuse me if I say that wrong. Senior policy advisor Anna Bodnar. And the MLA who nayed me I believe, this guest here is not from -- I don't think he lives here but he owns a house in the MLA's riding, Mr. Matt Spence, the regional director general, is with us today.

I made a commitment, I believe it was yesterday or the day before, that I would bring to the attention that MLAs did want to meet with ministers. I followed through with that commitment this morning. I did ask him after what he just experienced being nayed in the House and being slaughtered -- I'm not sure if he'll take them up on it anymore, but I did fulfill my commitment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for coming to the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Welcome, federal minister, Mr. Vandal. It's always good to have ministers -- federal ministers in the House. It's probably the first time I think in our Assembly here. So welcome, and I hope you're enjoying your visit to Yellowknife and you're welcome any time.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also want to say the same thing as the Premier, welcome everybody from the -- the Minister and all his colleagues and staff here to the House. And I'm glad that they were able to listen to what we have to say in our riding. And it's very important. Also I just want to say that, you know, you come out to Dettah this coming weekend and enjoy your time out there. Mahsi.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too would like to recognize Minister Vandal to the House. And just to acknowledge that the two oldest federal day schools that are left standing in the Northwest Territories are both from my riding. One is 64 years old and the other one is 60 years old. And they were connected to the residential school situation. But just for acknowledgement that, you know, we talk about all these things, but I always do it through process. You know, I want to -- there's processes that we have to follow here, and I adhere to that, and I want to just thank him for coming to visit Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories. Thank you so much.