Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can't change the cost of fuel. I can only impact on the costs of the tax and rebates for the tax. And to that extent, our rebate system was taking into account the higher costs of the tax. So the rebate system we design in fact more than paid for the average cost of impact of carbon tax on average residents in the Northwest Territories. Anyone that paid or filed their taxes saw that rebate in October, saw a rebate again in January, and they will see another rebate coming in April adjusted with the heating fuel impacts here.

So, Mr. Speaker, we aren't backdating because people did receive those rebates. That doesn't change the cost of fuel but I can't change the cost of fuel. All I can do is adjust based on the carbon tax impacts and, again, as I've said, they have received those higher rebates to account for that higher amount of tax. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Finance. Member for Range Lake, final supplementary.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister. So the Premier, the Honourable Premier, has made public statements calling for a blanket exemption for the Northwest Territories. Has the Minister or her department started those negotiations with Ottawa to get an exemption for the carbon tax in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm conscious that you want us to stick to our times. So I'll try to be brief, but this is a source of some frustration for myself and for the department.

Yes, the Department of Finance certainly has engaged with officials from ECC or Environment and Climate Change Canada. We've made the case. We've pled the case. We were told quite frankly that no, we will not get any extension in the amount of time that we can offer an exemption. No, there will not be any blanket exemptions. No, there will essentially be very little that accounts for the realities of costs of living, costs of heat, and costs of fuel in the Northwest Territories. We need to continue to fit ourselves in. Mr. Speaker, the fact that they've changed these goalposts is exactly why I wanted to hang on to the carbon tax administration here in the Northwest Territories so that we can continue to adapt as we need to as much as possible to conform to what the realities are that we see here for residents in the territories. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I earlier spoke to strengthening the nonprofit and charitable organization report. My question is for the Minister of EIA. What progress has been made so far, if any, on implementation of the recommendations from the strengthening the nonprofit and charitable sector report? Thank you.

Thank you, Member. Minister of EIA.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, I don't have that information at my fingertips. I'll be happy to get back to the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, that's unfortunate. I had a couple of follow-up questions that I won't be able to go through it. But in particular, we have a number of nonprofit and charitable organizations who have been operating for many years in our territory and are delivering ongoing programs which will be needed for the foreseeable future. What can we do to decrease administrative burden and secure long-term funding for these organizations? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So in the past government, we did take the step of providing two- and three-year contribution agreements to a number of NGOs, which was a big step. You can't plan with just, you know, one year of top-up funding assured. And I do recognize the importance of NGOs and the work that they do. I talk a lot about partnerships and the fact that the GNWT can't do it alone. We can't do everything alone whereas NGOs they have a lot of expertise. They do a lot of things the government can't. So going forward, we will have to work more closely with NGOs, strengthen that relationship, and ensure that these nonprofit organizations are fiscally sustainable. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What is the plan and timeline for full implementation of all the recommendations from the strengthening the nonprofit and charitable sector report? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And similar to the first question, I don't have that at my fingertips. I suspect that the priorities set by this Assembly may impact any timelines that do exist. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And just in response to that answer, I ask has the department began to action this report, and is there an intention to action the report, or are they simply sitting on it and waiting for priorities to come from this Assembly? Thank you.

Thank you. No, it is my understanding that work is happening on the report. It's not just sitting on a shelf collecting dust being ignored. Thank you.

Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said in my opening Member's statement, there's concern in Inuvik that the regional director position is not filled. The question is for the Premier, Mr. Speaker, why hasn't the department filled that role since the current person retired in 2020? Thank you.

Thank you, Member. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, Mr. Premier, for the answer. Does the department have a timeline for when they see this position filled, and is it something that is now actively being advertised?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And there is not an active competition. I think the department wants to look at all of our options, understanding that we are going to begin working with Indigenous governments and in a different way going forward. We want to ensure that the supports that we put in place are appropriate for that new way of doing business. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, Mr. Premier. Given this important role, there are positions in the region, I'm sure in other communities as well, in other regions, will the Premier commit to having the department do an assessment of senior leadership positions in the region at a whole, in its entirety? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't want to task the department with a bunch of work at this point. Once we get those priorities in, then we're going to have the opportunity to do that work and we will be looking at positions all across the North, funded positions, unfunded positions, vacant positions, filled positions. We really want a good overview of the positions that we have and how they're working and how they're supporting the regions. Thank you.

Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.