Debates of Oct. 23rd, 2025

Thank you. Does the Minister responsible for Strategic Infrastructure, Energy and Supply Chains wish to bring witnesses into the chamber?

Yes, please, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Does the committee agree?

Thank you.

Would the Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the chambers.

Would the Minister please introduce the witnesses?

Oh, my witnesses. Oh dear. Just -- you know, Mr. Chair, let me just get my notes out because I have a problem with names when I sit in this chair.

Gaeleen MacPherson associate deputy minister, Strategic Infrastructure, Energy and Supply Chains. And on my right, Kim Wickens, assistant deputy minister, energy and strategic infrastructure.

Thank you. The committee has agreed to forego general comments. Is the committee agreed to proceed to detail contained in the table of documents; is the committee agreed?

Thank you. Committee, the Department of Infrastructure begins on page 54. We will defer the department totals and review the estimates by activity summary. Please turn to page 59, Strategic Infrastructure, Energy and Supply Chains with information items on page 60. Are there any questions? I'll go to the Member from Range Lake. Sorry, Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So many lakes and we miss Ms. Wickens immensely.

When it comes to, and I should note I'm only asking -- anyway, sorry, my apologies, Mr. Chair.

Are there, if the Minister can tell me if there are any concerns when it comes to the Whati transmission planning and design line item, and if there's any concerns about the persistent low water levels throughout the Snare hydro system and implications that might have for this project. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, at this point this is still at a planning stage. I would say no, there is not concerns in the sense that we know that the Snare system does tend to have a cyclical low water event. Nonetheless, Mr. Chair, it is still anticipated that even considering that this isn't anticipated to bring about GHG emissions reductions up to or in the range of 25 percent over the course for the community of Whati, if this is successful, but also I'd note, Mr. Chair, there's also part of a longer term effort here where Lac La Martre has for a long time had a hydro project that's been looked at and this could also factor into a future build in this regard. So it's -- I guess, in short, Mr. Chair, it's part of a longer term strategy and it's the first piece of something happening in that region.

Thank you. I'll go to the Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yeah, no concerns with activities happening in that region, that's for sure. Just wanting to make sure that the science is there to back up the fact that we want to do that work there and we don't have low water levels dogging the project.

Mr. Chair, also on this page is the Taltson pre-construction planning "(CERNAC)." So far, Taltson is 100 percent funded by CERNAC. Can the Minister tell me if the GNWT has had conversations about what a funding arrangement will look like after the planning phase is completed? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, those conversations certainly have begun, but I can't say that they are -- I'm not going to suggest they're far advanced at this point. This is a project that does continue to move as a partnership. The GNWT is but one member of the steering committee, and then there's a working group that's established with staff and officials from ourselves, as well as from all of Indigenous governments around the watershed both north and south of the lake at the landing points as well. And that is one of the items that's sort of next in line, if you will, for a key item that needs to happen in the next -- well hopefully over the next year is to start to look at what a funding stack might look like. And one of the things that we're quite hopeful with major projects office that's been announced with the federal government is that this is an entity that can provide us a direct link in to the federal government who fundamentally have to be a partner here. And the sooner we have an understanding of where they might fall in as a partner, that can help our partnership, the MOU partnership, in terms of understanding who would need to put what in and who would bear what risk, but knowing where the federal government might come in in a more organized fashion could help those discussions in this way. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I'll go back to the Member from Great Slave. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And yeah, no, I can appreciate that. And I appreciate that the Minister does keep Regular Members updated about the status of Taltson quite regularly. Does she have an estimate of when, beyond the next year or so, when she hopes that those pieces might be concluded with Indigenous governments in Canada? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So key milestones that we're expecting for 2026-2027, which is the money that's being advanced or proposed for advancement at this point, would be to get us to the beginning of an environmental assessment process. So, and to get there, we are partners on both sides of the lake are responsible for doing some of the environmental preparatory work in terms of determining exactly where the landing points would be on both sides. I understand that work is at least underway, does need to be completed before we can go to an EA, obviously, for the coming fiscal year. And along with that would be finalizing associated permits and some design packages all towards that work. We are still targeting a potential construction decision for 2028, which would come about once we know what the EA results are and what a final design would look like. I think there was something else, Mr. Chair, in the question that I've forgotten but maybe the Member will remind me. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. If there was, I didn't catch it, so.

Moving forward to another item under this Minister's page is the Fort Simpson power plant replacement, relocation I suppose. And that is, I believe it says here through ISIP, which is another federal piece. If I recall correctly, it is 75 percent federal, 25 percent NTPC.

Can the Minister confirm whether, and maybe this is the wrong time to ask but I hope it isn't. Can the Minister confirm whether NTPC will construct the capital project or will its role be limited to ownership and O and M? Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I do believe that we are expecting to flow the money here to NTPC via the GNWT so they would overtake or be responsible primarily for the construction of the plant. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I'll go to the Member from Great Slave.

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. Nothing further.