Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to recognize Mark Heyck for providing services there and efficient means of programs and services to the Sahtu through the Arctic Energy Alliance program. Mahsi.

Thank you, Member from the Sahtu. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My colleague beat me to the punch here, but I also wanted to just recognize executive director Mark Heyck from the Arctic Energy Alliance. Thank you for being here.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I'll get on the Mark Heyck train as well. I'd like to recognize former Yellowknife mayor and current Arctic Energy Alliance executive director Mark Heyck. It's good to see you here today. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Recognition of visitors in the gallery.

If we missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to your chambers. I thank you very much for allowing us this honour to represent the people of the Northwest Territories. I hope you are enjoying the proceedings. It's always nice to see people in the gallery.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Acknowledgements. Oral questions. Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to follow up with the Minister of Infrastructure. Last week, she issued a statement about the Connecting Families initiative, shared the exciting news that 1,870 households in the NWT are now eligible to receive internet services for $20 a month. Could the Minister just elaborate on this point. Which households will be eligible, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased to see the federal government finally extend this to the North. The eligibility is determined by the federal government, by ISED, so we don't have a lot of ability to control that. But it does extend to families who receive is the maximum amount of the child benefit. It also extends to seniors, Mr. Speaker, or seniors who are receiving the maximum amount of their guaranteed income supplement. So with that, Mr. Speaker, that is where we get to 1,870 families or households in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister. Mr. Speaker, how do residents find out if they're eligible? How are they going to find out how to apply for this program or if they're eligible for it and how they go about receiving this benefit? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in sort of an unusual approach, perhaps, the federal government is -- they issue invitation letters. So anyone who is eligible does receive, in the mail, a letter from ISED, I-S-E-D. That's the industry, science economic development. So people do need to be watching their mail for these letters. Those letters were going out over the fall and into December of last year. If someone thinks they are eligible, so if they fall into one of those categories, there is a process. It's on ISED's website about what to do if you lose your letter. And so, Mr. Speaker, I won't read all that out here, but perhaps what we'll do is just make sure that we can share that on social media channels and would certainly welcome people to share that information. So it's not -- the matter's not closed if you've lost your letter or thrown it away, but there would be a process that folks would have to follow to get themselves back on the radar of this federal opportunity. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Oral questions. Final supplementary.

Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions today for the Minister of Infrastructure. So the Arctic Energy Alliance has experienced major funding reductions in recent years and struggle to meet the huge demand from NWT residents, businesses, and community governments for its programs and services. And as of October of 2024, they had actually run out of money for their energy rebate programs and were no longer accepting applications. So given the reductions in federal money for energy efficiency rebate programs, has the GNWT considered stepping in with territorial money to support those programs, especially where this could directly save the GNWT money in subsidy payments? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we were quite disappointed to see the federal cuts to the low carbon economy funding that had a significant impact on the Department of Infrastructure and on our energy programs and particularly with respect to the funding that's provided to Arctic Energy Alliance. So it was a significant impact on our budget. We have not -- we don't have other or additional independent funds necessarily to come up with in areas where we could realign. Obviously the department's budgets are under review right now, and certainly I would look forward to answering some questions in that regard. But there was not a new source of funding identified, so we don't -- other than what is being presented in mains estimates that are before the committee, we don't have any new sources of funding from which to draw. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So there's also been a huge demand to Arctic Energy Alliance for home energy evaluations to find efficiencies that could save homeowners money, but there's been a huge backlog, especially since COVID, due to a shortage of certified energy advisers. So what role could the GNWT play in helping to train or bring in more energy advisers to help address this backlog? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, Mr. Speaker, without being able to source some additional funding, it's difficult to come up at this point in time with a simple answer or simple solution. We certainly do look forward to continuing to work closely with Arctic Energy Alliance. They're a critical partner in terms of delivering programs in this space.

Mr. Speaker, I'd already actually spoken to the Member with respect to setting up my own meeting to make sure that we can do what we can to work directly with Arctic Energy Alliance, identify where the shortcomings are, identify if there's particular communities that have specific needs, and then perhaps, you know, firstly and certainly advocate more effectively when we are advocating together, and if there's an opportunity to work, even within schools or within our own training programs for our staff, certainly be open to do that. But if it's an independent budget line item, again, Mr. Speaker, what's in our budget proposal right now is on the floor, and it is -- it's unfortunately a bit what it is without -- with the significant drop in federal funding. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I mean, one area that the GNWT did manage to find funds in the last year was for Arctic Energy Alliance to work with homeowners in Norman Wells to look for energy efficiency opportunities. So I wonder if the Minister could explain what successes or lessons learned have come from that initiative which we were able to find funding for this past year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do have a bit of information with respect to some of the work that was underway in Norman Wells. I don't know that we have a full evaluation done or an analysis done, which would certainly be helpful in order to determine what that might look like for others. But there was a program that was undertaken with Arctic Energy Alliance staff for a winterization walkthrough. It really is an opportunity to help, particularly folks from low or medium-income households, understand some simple solutions. So examples in that regard would just be even insulating window plastic which can have a fairly significant impact on heating costs. Weather stripping around doors, similarly, was something that came out of this which, again, they're simple solutions, Mr. Speaker, but sometimes those simple solutions don't cost very much; people just need to be educated. So, again, happy to follow back up, see if there's other specific items that came after that initiative in Norman Wells, and we'll make sure to get that out so that others can benefit from that. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I heard from a constituent today who had to wait nine -- or sorry, had to wait 11 months for an ultrasound appointment. He tells me that it's a 9 to 10 monthly wait for a routine ultrasound. We've recently changed the appointment system here in Yellowknife. It was supposed to speed this up. We heard early reports that we were getting more people into appointments, not less. Why are we continuing to experience such a great backlog for people who are just trying to get routine appointments like this? We're not talking about major surgeries; we're talking about an ultrasound. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister of health provide an answer?

Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is the first time that this has been brought to my attention, so I don't have any answers for the Member at this time on wait times for ultrasound. Thank you.