Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thanks for the response to that there, deputy minister. And my other question is that I participated in a virtual led by the Sahtu Renewable Resources Board on the many sumps that -- waste sumps that are out there on the land in the Sahtu. So they're doing an inventory similar to what they did in the Beaufort Delta, and it'll help diversify our economy by creating this clean-up. So I would suggest the department, if they want to reach out to the Sahtu Renewable Resource Board in Tulita, to see how they can help. If you got a big sump that's out there that's left prior to legislation not allowing those anymore, it'll create some winter seasonal access jobs to recap these sumps. By legislation, you need a meter cap on top of these sumps, so you'd be hauling some material there. So that'll be the economics in compliance with the sumps out there. And you have the well watch program with OROGO, so maybe ITI could take a lead in partnership with OROGO to initiate those discussions. Maybe even having a one-on-one meeting in Tulita with the Sahtu Renewable Resource Board. So that's a suggestion.

And getting back to the remediation opportunities that is going to be coming, I would also suggest the department to participate into the opportunities, and maybe even go one step further and updating the report that was done on the remediation economy back in the 19th Assembly, to identify what is not identified in that study or in that report. I think this whole remediation economy is really on the verge of a prosperous project throughout the whole territories.

And to give you an example on the magnitude, the magnitude of the Norman Wells clean-up, it hasn't really been identified to what scale it actually is because there never was a subsurface geotechnical study done. The whole purpose of drafting your scope for clean-up would be to identify the depth in the area of the clean-up itself, and once you know how deep it is and what the surface area is, that'll give you an area of impact as to what the remediation plan should do to address that area. And it's going to be huge. It's going to be huge. And you think we have to prepare for that. As everybody knows it's called a nonrenewable resource for those reasons. It's not renewable. So it's going to require the clean-up. Sure, the Esso -- Esso company has taken a lead role in filing their closure and reclamation plan similar to Diavik, but Diavik seems to be one more step ahead by having collaboration. But it seems like with Imperial, they're not. So maybe this department could help in that area.

And then once the identified opportunities are in place, how do we prepare our workforce for those opportunities? And it seems like, you know, in every jurisdiction of the Northwest Territories, aside from the Sahtu, there is some level of activity there. Like, I respect the fact that Inuvik has a knowledge economy and a research institute, which is very important to the science collected by that office. But that's just an example of what they have, and we don't have, so to speak. So I think we have to -- as the Minister said, we have to look at what we have and where we're going to go and design a scope accordingly to help diversify our economy. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I'll take that as information. Are there any further questions? Okay, I'm going to go the Member from YK Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to build off in a different direction than my colleague for Inuvik Boot Lake and on the last question or the last matter he raised.

Mr. Chairman, I think in some ways, maybe, the question should be what trigger or what needs to change to reestablish those positions there? Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, right now we're evaluating I guess to start off with what are the immediate needs of the department. The immediate needs right now of the department are to implement the Mineral Resources Act, and the big piece of that is the regulation work. So that is the primary focus and the primary, I guess, driver of funding right now, getting that done is going to be huge for the territory and has a huge focus. But we are constantly assessing what positions are in high demand and high need within the department and ensuring that we can essentially pivot to accommodate those and to accommodate the demands of the territory to make sure we are being responsive in the economic environment that we are currently in. Thank you.

Thank you. Yellowknife Centre Member.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd say thanks for the answer, but I'm not really sure -- I appreciate the answer, but it doesn't really focus on what the issue is, is what needs to change in order to reestablish the position there. All of that work could be done there. So is there something holding back from being able to do that work in Inuvik? Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, it's no secret that in this Assembly, there is a huge desire to have conversations about what positions can be placed within communities and outside of the capital city. And that is work that will be done over the course of the next year, and so I can assure the Member that it is a live conversation within the department. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just for the record, how many people are currently working in that office in Inuvik? Because I was there on the weekend. Although it was the weekend, so it was closed, but the sign sticks out like a sore thumb.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. There are five people. Thank you.

Thank you. Yellowknife Centre Member.

And how many people support that office in terms of employment or PYs? Thank you.

I'll go to the Minister.

How many -- well, I would say that a -- everybody works together and supports one another. There's five staff specifically within the mineral resources petroleum sector. Sorry, could the Member be more specific about what exactly he's looking for. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Does the office work in isolation by itself as a nuclear unit, or does it have a support team that it works day to day with, say, like, for example, a specific division in headquarters?

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. And thank you to the Member for the clarification. So the mineral and petroleum resources office that's there has five staff. They work in concert with the mineral and petroleum resources division that is based in Yellowknife, and they also have close working relationships with the regional office as well. Thank you.

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

Not intending to hold you to the exact number unless of course you have it, so how many people would that represent? Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.