Thank you, Member from Mackenzie Delta. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Housing NWT has many programs in place to help homeowners with any type of repairs they require in their homes provided they fit the core need income threshold and the policy around these repair and maintenance programs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The local housing authority conducts annual inspections on public housing units to cut down on major costs. Can the Minister and/or the department direct local housing authorities to have their maintenance staff conduct annual inspections on these few elders' homes within their respective communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Housing NWT can book a trip into Tsiigehtchic, and other communities in the near future, to meet with homeowners interested in applying for the program or requiring program assistance. We will advertise well ahead of time and also communicate with the MLA. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister consider contracting an Indigenous government or company to conduct these inspections? This is just to bring comfort to the elders. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We recently signed the collaborative agreement with the Gwich'in Tribal Council, with Housing NWT. So this might be an opportunity to work with them and work with the elders in the communities for homeownership repair. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Final supplementary. Member from Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister. I am aware of the agreement. Can the Minister provide programs that these elders are eligible for and provide those directly to the homeowners by mail? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have a number of programs with Housing NWT to encourage elders to age in place, including our preventative maintenance program, our repairs program, our mobility program, our seniors' program specific to seniors, and we also have an emergency repairs program. We can provide this information to the MLA and all the MLAs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Oral questions. Member from the Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of ITI. Dene Fur Clouds is a successful example of a locally owned and operated business. How is this department working with Prosper NWT to expand subsidiaries into other communities? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Minister for ITI.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would definitely like the opportunity to see a lot more entrepreneurship across the territory, especially ensuring that we're supporting the development of entrepreneurship in our small communities.

With the subsidiaries that currently fall under Prosper NWT, they employ roughly eight full-time positions annually, and they cost Prosper NWT about $1.3 million a year. And so one of the goals that I have throughout the term of this Assembly is to work with the very skilled board members of Prosper NWT, who bring a lot of entrepreneurial experience with them, in order to ensure that we're making or creating an opportunity for these subsidiaries to become as independent and sustainable as possible. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that. What tourism development or economic development initiatives have taken place in my region, the Deh Cho region? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, within the Deh Cho region, ITI spends about $1.3 million, and that's divided up between community futures to the tune of about just over $200,000, through the community transfer initiative to the tune of about $150,000, SEED contributions at roughly $734,000, economic diversification using the northern food development program at almost $57,000, the Canadian agriculture program as well as other various contributions account for almost $165,000 as well. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you to the Minister for that response. How does the department work with successful artists and entrepreneurs to encourage more of the development of more entrepreneurs?

Thank you, Minister of ITI. Final supplementary. Member from Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the department track the number of business startups? Can the Minister commit to providing a list of businesses in the Deh Cho riding and the number of businesses that have started in the last three years? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, some businesses start up and quietly happen from people's living rooms. And so I would love to know exactly who wants to become an entrepreneur and ensure that they have the support that they need. But I can certainly commit to providing the Member with any information we have, especially when they relate to BIP'd companies and entrepreneurs. But any information that I am able to provide the Member from both ITI and Prosper NWT, I will certainly be happy to do so. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of ITI. Oral questions. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the 19th Assembly I brought forward a concern that was brought to my attention about the burial sites located in the Taltson River area and where the hydro dam is, and the elders have told me that the burial sites in that location are buried almost 60 feet underwater. And so, Mr. Speaker, I brought this issue up to the 19th Assembly Minister of Infrastructure Diane Archie, the Minister of the day, and I just wanted to find out if the Minister of Infrastructure here today could give me an update on this. Thank you.

Minister for Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have some good news to report in a broad sense. The project for the Taltson watershed area and the potential expansion of the Taltson is proceeding under an MOU. And it's an MOU that involves the Akaitcho First Nations as well as Metis governments of the region and of the Taltson watershed. And we've had more than one steering committee already in the time of this government. One, in fact, in person, where the group travelled to see what underwater tables would look like along with members of the steering committee as well as members of their council. I say all of that because I want to emphasize the fact that this is not a GNWT project. It's not GNWT led. We really are one party at that table. And under that MOU, there is funding for Indigenous governments to conduct their own investigations to understand the traditional knowledge of the region, both from a permitting perspective but also to understand the legacy. I've said very clearly to our partners, and I'll say it again, this project will not advance if legacy issues are not resolved.

So as far as the specifics of what individual groups might be doing, I believe there's -- and I know that there has been work conducted by individual members of the steering committee, individual First Nations and Indigenous governments of the region. I can't speak, as I say, to what their work is. I know there's contribution funding, and I know they're working on it. So I'll certainly commit to the Member to try and get that information put together so that both of us have an up-to-date list of what's happening. Thank you.