Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to note that this matter is before the courts, and I don't have a lot of detailed information that I could share on the floor of the House. I do want to note, though, that I have shared detailed information with the Member to be able to go through the whole process on what's happened on this project. I also want to note that direct payments to -- that are made by NT Energy to the subcontractors would not offset outstanding contract amounts between the primary contractor for access to the road and its subcontractors. Mr. Speaker, this could result in NT Energy paying for the same goods and services twice and at the detriment of NWT taxpayers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my colleague has just said we as a territory are planning on wanting to build probably more than a $2 billion project. I would feel sorry for those contractors now because are they going to get paid for any of the work that they do? So I want to know how this Minister's going to fix this. And sending my small businesses to go and find a lawyer to fight things in court is not an answer. They need to be paid, and I want this Minister to make sure and commit in the House that she will rectify this before our term is up. We don't have much longer, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to see these local contractors paid as soon as possible. We are working with the contractors to be able to direct them to be able to get their payments. You know, this is in my riding as well, and I'm doing my best to be able to ensure that, you know, we start this process. Right now it's just in the -- it's before the legal system so my powers are very limited. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like this Minister or her staff, or whoever's listening behind that's going to be there, you know, if she's the Minister of something else next time, or you know, she's on this side or whatever the future holds for us, that this project is looked into so that way when we move on to the next project that we're doing on this energy strategy, that we don't make these same mistakes so our local contractors, if they're going to do work, they're going to get paid. You know, they can't be sitting out. So I would like this Minister to commit that she will have her staff make sure that there is a detail of what not to do next time. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, I can commit to continuing to keep the Member in the loop. I want to do note that, you know, as a result of this project we've had challenges. You know, I've been on the floor talking about some of the challenges. We have had lessons learned. So in the future should we have major infrastructure projects, we can look at some of our lessons learned. That's the whole idea of having this lessons learned document. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. There are no new mining regulations, so we're stuck with what the federal government gave us for mining, as bad as that was. The Mineral Resources Act was passed four years ago that gave the Minister extraordinary new powers, but not much of anything has been completed or implemented. Can the Minister tell us the status and the development of the mining regulations? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the extent of the work -- the Member's quite right, the extent of the work to see the implementation to the Mineral Resources Act is extraordinary. It is huge. And I'm happy to say I will be putting forward to the House a full summary status report detailing all the different pieces, all of what's been worked on with the technical working group, with the Intergovernmental Council and in order to show a pathway that we're on and where we would -- what we've achieved over the last four years. There is quite a lot that has been done. I will have that tabled in the House. Perhaps I can get it here for tomorrow, Mr. Speaker, and so we can have that fulsome document before you and for the Member to see, again, exactly how much work has been done and how far we've come. Thank you.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I'm trying to contain my drooling here, but I've asked numerous times if the new regulations will change our regulatory -- our royalty regime to ensure a more balanced approach between competitiveness and fair return. Can the Minister tell us whether there is anything to report on the royalty regime, or are we stuck with what experts have called the, quote, "world's most charitable fiscal regimes where", quote, "the NWT sells its nonrenewable resources more cheaply than most other jurisdictions in the world." Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there will be changes to the royalty regime. It's part of the regulatory process that we're undergoing. Whether it will necessarily be what the Member wants or visions for it, I can't say. Obviously, the process isn't done. It's one that we are going through, and I will detail it at some length in the summary report showing the process that is followed with the Intergovernmental Council. I can say from the recent mining and Minister's -- or energy and mining Ministers' conference that I was at that there's been some work done at Enercan, looking at all of Canada, to determine where we all fall in terms of the kind of costs that are associated both in taxation as well as from royalties. They looked at all the Canadian jurisdictions. They used much the same methodology that we use. And by doing so, they found that we sit quite squarely in with the rest of the jurisdictions of Canada and, as such, you know, whether or not there needs to be change or what that change will look like, we'll be taking into account all of that kind of expert information. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. I asked for that study last week. I'm still waiting. But the engagement to date done by the department has been done very selectively with the mining industry with secret meetings where information is shared internally and not made available to other interests. So can the Minister tell us what, if any, public or industry engagement is going to take place from now until a new Assembly is elected on November the 14th? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since 2017 the level of engagement with respect to the Mineral Resource Act, and then now the mineral resource regulations, has been extensive. In particular, of course, and leading that work has been with the Intergovernmental Council and the technical working group there, and the status report I want to put before the House will detail all of those meetings, including some of the hours that were spent on some of those meetings.

Mr. Speaker, between now and the election, there's not anything that is out for public review. The process -- the policy documents -- the policy intentions document did go out earlier, back in December of 2022. That details the direction that we are going to the regulatory process. That did go out for public consultation. And now we're at the stage of wanting to get that out to drafters so the drafters can put pen to paper and get this thing done. Once they've got it drafted, it does go back out yet one more time, but they are under -- that work is underway right now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Final short supplementary. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. And I contrast the public engagement undertaken in the Yukon with what has happened here. In the Yukon, there was a thorough discussion paper with policy options outlined, public meetings were held. It was a public process, Mr. Speaker. So can the Minister tell us what lessons have been learned during the four-year long process to develop mining regulations that is not yet complete here? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm hesitant to try to stand and draw comparisons to the Yukon, and the reason is this: This Mineral Resource Act regulations was the first resource -- first of all of the projects in the Northwest Territories land and natural resources sector that relied on the Intergovernmental Council process. There were a lot of lessons learned on what that process could look like, how it could work. In the end, it's actually -- and my understanding from reading the summary report that I've seen is that the technical working group composed of the Intergovernmental Council members are positive about the experience. They took a point to get there. There was some learning that had to go in. That learning now is going to help inform the work of all the land and natural resource departments as we move forward, whether it's under the Lands Act, the Forestry Act, other future work that needs to happen at ITI. So this is -- and, again, it's something that, I think, ultimately the Northwest Territories, Government of the Northwest Territories, and IGC will be proud of. It's a process that we will be proud of. And when we -- you know, that's the lesson learned here. So do we want to compare it to what's happening in the Yukon, again, I don't think their process is what ours is, but I think ours is one to be proud of. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is for infrastructure. Mr. Speaker, my colleague mentioned the Whati Transmission Line. Could that Minister please provide an update; we haven't seen any update or anything like that with SCEDE. So I just wanted to ask the Minister about that. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd be happy to provide the Member with detailed information on the Whati line. We're still in discussions and looking for some partnerships along the line. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Not just to me, but to the SCEDE would be much appreciated. When is the construction expected to be complete, and how much is it going to cost? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are looking at the transmission line to partner with Tlicho. We have had that discussion with the Tlicho government, looking at partnership, the cooperation agreement. The intent is to advance this project in a way that benefits Tlicho communities, businesses, while also helping GNWT achieve our energy goals and our priorities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I did ask that, you know, when that construction is expected to complete and how much it's going to cost. So the next question is that will this be part of the Tlicho infrastructure agreement? Will it include subcontractor and support services. Thank you.