Thank you, Member. Are there any further questions under asset management from Members? Seeing none.

Department of Infrastructure, asset management, infrastructure investments, $83,595,000. Does committee agree?

Thank you. Next, turn to page 59 for energy and strategic initiatives with information items on page 60. Are there any questions? Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you. I see we have some pre-construction engineering regulatory activities for Taltson Expansion pre-construction. Do we have a rough cost estimate of what we think the Taltson Expansion will cost? Thank you.

Thank you, Member. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the Member might recall that a preliminary business case was shared with the standing committee and did have in it some initial cost estimates for both generation and transmission. More recent to that, as of May, a final business case was prepared. It does, however, first go to the MOU signatories who we are contemplating as being the partners on the project. I understand that Members may wish to have access to that. I don't have the ability right here to speak to that. So I'm not able to speak to the numbers that are in that cost estimate. But, again, I can assure the Member that that work has been done, along with quite a lot of other work to get us to the point where we are looking at doing some of the pre-construction. So engineering, environmental, and regulatory activities which is what is contemplated in the 2024-2025 plans. Thank you.

Thank you. Member for Yellowknife North.

Can I get an over/under on $2 billion? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. No, I'm not doing over/unders. Thank you.

Member for Yellowknife North.

Yeah, you know, I don't want it in confidence. I think this is just completely undemocratic. We're heading into an election, and the next Assembly has to make the decision to do the same thing we did where you put the three major infrastructure projects in your mandate or to pick one. And there's strong arguments on either side. You know, there is some argument the way you get these built is you just kind of always keep them on the books and you play the lottery with the feds and, you know, you try and get the money based on what their priorities are. There's also an argument that maybe we should just pick one and try and get it done. But I think it's really unfair to the public, to everyone who's running, and to the next Assembly to not have an idea of the costs of the projects. It's worth noting that almost every hydro project everywhere goes over budget and over time. I don't think one's been built in Canada in the last decade that was on budget. So even if we're saying it's $2 billion, I think, like, 2.5, we'd be lucky. But I'm making these numbers up because the Minister will not share them. And I don't want them; I want the public to know how much it costs to build the Taltson Expansion. I guess I'll try and ask some other questions.

It's 60 megawatts. We did this over a decade ago. At that point, it was $1.2 billion, and we abandoned it because we couldn't get any long-term power purchasing agreements. Do we have anyone who wants to buy this power? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So part of what -- a significant portion of the work that was done was an analysis of the potential mining needs for -- really, for the entire region. I think people sometimes presume it's just for Slave Geologic only, but it does go far beyond that. I know that NTPC have already entered into MOU agreements with Pine Point and I believe with Norra Zinc, although I could stand to be corrected about that. But are also in discussions with some of the other mines in and around -- in the South Slave but also then through the North Slave and, again, not only with respect to Slave Geologic but also with respect to some of the gold mines and gold projects. You know, examples being, you know, Nighthawk for instance. They are similarly interested, of late, the mining project -- and I don't it in front of me, I'm forgetting the name, just outside of Yellowknife, a gold project. And then also the lithium companies that have been coming in and looking in and around Yellowknife. So the challenge that we do get into, Madam Chair, and I think -- if I may, 30 years ago got into, is do you build it and then hope that someone, you know, will buy the power, or do you wait for someone to promise you that they're going the power? We are at risk of being in that situation yet again and at risk of missing out on the opportunity to resolve the energy sustainability challenges that we have in the Northwest Territories, whether that is through an expansion of the hydropower capabilities that we have or whether it is because we decide we need another alternative. One way or another in the next ten years, we need an alternative because what we're doing now is not going to work and is not green and it is not cheap, and the federal government are only taxing us more. So we can certainly come to the conclusion of expanding the hydro capacity that we have in a way that will not include any further flooding, looking at that as an option and considering whether that's a priority, and then putting a final number to it when we've made that choice or not. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Member for Yellowknife North.

Yeah, that's all fine. I get the debate. I get the debate when to build it and, you know, this debate if you build it they will come. You know, I just don't understand why we can't have a rough estimate of what it's going to cost. It just doesn't -- it's like I'm having a debate with no idea. I don't even know what to ask next. Do we know the route yet? Did we make a decision on whether it's submarine or going around the lake? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So Madam Chair, that is, I think, probably the critical decision that needs to be made at the steering committee. And so, again, I suspect the Member knows, but for the public, there's a steering committee that is composed of the signatories to the original MOU, aside from the Salt River, who at the present moment have opted to not participate although are certainly welcome back, and that the steering committee is composed as the leadership and then the working group is composed of the officers or officials from GNWT as well along with those other governments. And that is part of my struggle with -- I don't disagree that the public has the opportunity in a territorial election to state their preference for a future economy, for energy resilience, for how we go about building big projects. But we are in a situation where if this project is going to be done differently and done right and done well and not get into a situation of, you know, extended blockages or concerns amongst the governments on whose traditional lands the project would be, doing it through the MOU and the steering committee process is taking some time. That is, back to the original question, it is precisely that. It's to ask when -- you know what that routing would be. We're down to a couple of choices. And with that in hand, it's deciding what that might look like in terms of an agreement between governments. Thank you.

Thank you. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you. You know, I think this requires a very fulsome public debate. How much are we selling the power for? How much power are we selling? How long -- how many mines do we need to exist to buy it? What's the payback? You know, what is -- what are these projects doing in other jurisdictions? How much are their cost overruns? How much is it roughly going to cost? I just can't believe I'm being asked for money without any of that information. I guess can I have how much money right now is the government asking for this Taltson Expansion pre-construction? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Finance.

Sorry, Madam Chair. Let me take that to Mr. Brennan. I may have just missed the question there.

Thank you. Mr. Brennan