Thank you, Madam Chair. Okay, so that does make sense to me with what we were talking about last time. However, then, I was not aware that the plan was to reuse the existing diesel plant in the new combination one. And if there is a relocation with the $3 million, is that still happening? So we are going to be repurposing old equipment or infrastructure from the old plant rather than going to new diesel equipment? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Finance.

Madam Chair, I'll certainly take this back to ADM Brennan, but the information I have is that is actually part of the challenge right now, is NTPC is trying to still work through the relocation and get a proper cost estimate as to how that relocation takes place given that with a relocation you may or may not be able to reuse the equipment. So, again, happy to redirect that as well. Thank you.

Thank you. Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Member. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I would suggest that asking about the contingency plans for GNWT's, and really the NWT's energy security, is probably a reasonable question for every community in the Northwest Territories. I don't know that there's anything particularly more or less urgent here. You know, the current plant does still have life. It is still functional in that regard. It is at least at the planning stage to move forward for a more secure long term and sustainable location. We, you know, again are taking that message to the federal government because any projects that we had planned, in this case interrupted by a flood, you know, now the cost of everything have gone up quite significantly. So, you know, the backup plan is to get this plan moving and to make some decisions so that it can be relocated in a way that makes sense to use the assets that are there if possible and, if not, to have an estimate that is current so that that can be brought back here to determine if that's where we want to go. Thank you.

Thank you. Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Madam Chair. With all due respect, I wonder if the Minister's actually gone out and seen the roadway and looked at the amount of erosion that has occurred at that site in the last two years. And I think it's all pretty safe to say that it's not going to get any better. You know, I just have to reiterate I have no faith in the fact that this is a department that over four years has failed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in money to the point where the federal government has said they'll cut our funding off and we have to use pots that have already been promised to us but we get no new money promised because we can't spend what we've got. And then here I see that we're -- we've had money, we've known about this problem. I knew about this problem as a consultant in Fort Simpson when I worked there in 2012. So for us to now be sitting here waiting on NTPC to figure out what they're going to do with this falling down plant and can they salvage some of it because they have no financial stability, I have to wonder what the village of Fort Simpson is going to do. Yeah, I think that they're all going to find themselves with no power at some point in the next few years or a very piecemealed-together project. And, really, this is a failure of this department to exercise and to get their mandates and their work done. This department hasn't moved for four years. And that's not all the pandemic. That is not all the fires. That is a lack of will and push to get things done and get the money spent that could have kept our economy going through COVID and other things. I have nothing else to say. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Member for Frame Lake.

Yeah, thanks, Madam Chair. I want to thank my colleague from Yellowknife North for raising a number of concerns and issues, particularly around the Taltson project. But I guess I just want to go on record as well. This is the area of the capital budget that I have the most difficulty with, and folks in this House are not going to be surprised to hear me say that I think many of these projects are very dubious value. I don't think they're all -- it's not possible for them to all go ahead at the same time. I think it was a mistake to try to say to the public that we're going to get these three projects going at the same time, the three big ones in particular. And through the work that I've done here, when you actually see the contracts that are out for, certainly Taltson Expansion, the Slave Geological Province, the planning work mainly goes to southern companies. So I think the economic value of these is really quite dubious. And I would much rather see the money being -- and effort that's going into these projects put into housing. We need to start treating housing like it's a big infrastructure project. I have said that many, many times in this House, and it's just water off a duck's back.

Now, I do want to talk -- or ask some questions about the Slave Geological Province funding that's in here. I'd like to know how much of this is our own money for the next year. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Let me go to ADM Brennan. He'll know, I hope, of the exact numbers -- or the exact cost sharing ratio. Thank you.

Thank you. ADM Brennan

Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.

Okay, thanks. I think I knew that but how much are we spending of our own money then in 2024-2025 on SGP work? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We'll just get that number for the Member. So, well, looking at $9 million, that's the total that's being spent, Madam Chair. That's inclusive of the amount coming from the feds. Thank you.

Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.

Yeah, okay, thanks. Yeah, so there is some of our own money going in here. This is one that's experienced very significant slippage. Quite frankly, I just don't think we should be doing it for a whole variety of other reasons; I might get into some of that. But at what point will this project be in by the end of 2024-2025; what's the status of the work going to be and what will we get out of the 2 or $3 million of our own money that we're putting into it? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The federal money that was secured was intended to support work up to the point of an environmental assessment. And anticipating where this may well go, there, of course, is the regional strategic environmental assessment that is now also underway. That is not falling under the same pot of funding but that -- to the extent that there is -- I wouldn't say slippage but perhaps a delay in the work, as that work also needed to get done and needed to be considered. But, again, the funding is provided for the purpose of being ready to put forward the environment -- or to complete the environmental assessment work. Thank you.

Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.