Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There's no doubt that the focus these days is on the economy, and that's across Canada. You know, because we're facing a threat from an external actor who is really threatening our economic stability and viability of our country. So the economy is going to loom large with the role of the senior envoy. And the purpose of this role is to have a connection with Ottawa so that we can move things along. There's big projects that we can't do ourselves here in the Northwest Territories. Things like the Mackenzie Valley Highway, we'll definitely need federal support for that. The Taltson Hydro Expansion, we'll need federal support for that. And so it's ensuring that we have those touch points with our federal counterparts. There's also things like the North of 60 mineral exploration tax credit that we have been pushing. And that's another thing, that we can't do that, but the federal government can do that, though. You know, there's also the opportunity to meet with industry. Industry is always in and out of Ottawa lobbying, and there's opportunities for the envoy to have those types of meetings with industry and discuss what's going on in the territory, and to support Indigenous governments in their economic -- their pursuit of economic opportunities that involve Ottawa. And so there's a number of Indigenous governments in the territory with great relationships in Ottawa, know how to get into a Minister's office, a federal Minister's office, but we have a number of Indigenous governments that don't have settled claims, don't have that level of capacity or integration with Ottawa, and the envoy will be able to help them as well. And if we help an Indigenous -- if we support an Indigenous government to advance their economic opportunities and the economy in their region, that helps the entire territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
R.J. Simpson on Question 638-20(1): Northwest Territories Economic Engagement and Strategies
In the Legislative Assembly on March 12th, 2025. See this statement in context.
Question 638-20(1): Northwest Territories Economic Engagement and Strategies
Oral Questions
March 12th, 2025
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