Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried. Consideration in the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, 2025-2026 Capital Estimates, total department is deferred.

---Carried

Thank you, committee. And thank you, Minister. Sergeant-at-arms, please escort the witnesses from the chambers.

Committee, we have agreed to consider Tabled Document 193-20(1), Capital Estimates 2025-2026, Department of Infrastructure. Does the Minister of Infrastructure wish to bring in witnesses into the chamber?

Yes, please, Mr. Chair.

Does committee agree?

Committee, thank you. Sergeant-at-arms, please escort the witnesses into the chambers.

Would the Minister please introduce the witnesses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, on my left I have Robert Jenkins who is an assistant deputy minister with the Department of Infrastructure. And on my right, I have Celeste MacKay who is an assistant deputy minister in the Department of Infrastructure.

Thank you. The committee has agreed to forego general comments. Is the committee agreed to proceed to the detail contained in the tabled documents? Agreed?

Thank you. Committee, the Department of Infrastructure beginning on page 53. We will defer the department totals and review the estimates by activity summary beginning on page 54 with assets management with information items on page 55 and 57. Are there any questions? I'm going to go to the Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister explain which kind of highway repairs would fall under capital versus which might fall under operations and maintenance? We see a number of different highway projects listed here under asset management. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. If I could direct that to assistant deputy minister MacKay, please.

Thank you. I'm going to go to the deputy minister.

Thank you. I'm going to go to the Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And so for the public to understand better for each of our highways how much money it actually takes to keep up these highways each year, you know, and some of those repairs might be small and some might be big, do we have any document or something that we could see that would show us for each highway how much we're spending on that highway each year to -- basically for asset management, small or large repairs, or reconstruction, just to keep that highway passable. Does that information exist, or could it be produced for committee? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I'm going to go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We certainly can produce that. The information that's presented in this format wouldn't necessarily show it the way that I think the Member's looking at. So we'll produce that. And I think just better than that is I propose I'll probably table it in the House since that does seem like information that would be valuable. Thank you.

Thank you. I'm going to go to the Member from Yellowknife North.

I definitely appreciate that. So when the department is considering new highways, new capital highway projects, is the data about how much it takes to maintain and repair a highway each year -- is that taken into account in terms of predicting future O and M and capital costs for a highway; is that taken into account before embarking on a new highway capital project? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I mean, that response is probably not dissimilar for highway roadways as well as any other project that goes through the capital planning process. And so, for instance, obviously there's a ranking system that we would go through in terms of understanding what kind of issues is at heart. For instance, whether it's protection of people or protection of assets. And there's a secondary criteria that you go through. The projects all go through also whether or not there should be any MACA or economic considerations where you would get into, you know, understanding the different values of different projects, land management discussions are there, have -- are there planning needs, is it going to run into difficulties in terms of not having the right, you know, establishment in the background of having access to roadways, having access to the area that's -- that is required for a road, climate change considerations. I mean, all of these things are considerations that take place within any decision, including a highway. And as for the operations of it, again certainly that is a factor and there's a best estimate that is given. I would note that until an asset, including a highway, has been in operation, any estimate is just that, it's not -- it's an estimate, and it's only through the period of operation of the asset that you would then know with more certainty what forced growth there might be or if is to be forced growth. But if it makes it through as a necessity as a project, then it gets put into the operations bucket as well for the business planning process. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the Member from Yellowknife North.

Thanks to the Minister for that. And I do look forward to us, when we are discussing new highway projects in the future, hopefully having some data at our fingertips about the full cost of repairing and maintaining our existing highways, we'll be able to take that into account fully when we consider new capital projects.

My only other question on this section has to do with the deferred maintenance part. I definitely support us allocating money to maintenance to -- of assets to protect life safety. I guess I'm wondering why such projects that often seem so urgent and so important to protect life safety don't otherwise rise to the top of our list of projects that we need to consider and have to be slotted and sort of compete for other -- with other funds under the category of deferred maintenance. Can the Minister explain why the types of projects that end up in deferred maintenance wouldn't appear otherwise at the top of the list of things that we need to fund in our capital budget? Thank you, Mr. Chair.