Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our homelessness department within Housing Northwest Territories works closely with encampment individuals, works closely with partners, with the City of Yellowknife, with the Salvation Army, with the YWCA. We do have a Yellowknife partnership committee that meets regularly, along with the NWT fire marshal, along with environment and climate change officials. So we do this constant communications and outreach including visits with the encampments. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister dovetailed perfectly into my next question. I was driving by the museum the other day and saw the old stove type barrelling smoke, Mr. Speaker, unregulated I am sure, Mr. Speaker, and the Minister said fire marshal. Mr. Speaker, when has the fire marshal officially given their stamp of approval that these two encampments are safe? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since the NWT fire marshal doesn't report to me, I don't have that information at this time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Housing NWT. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Mr. Speaker, she is the one saying we're working together so there must be some information she can supply this House or this Member in particular. Mr. Speaker, I ask again, would the Minister prove that the fire marshal is comfortable and confident that those two locations are safe and Yellowknifers are -- and these individuals are not put at risk. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, working closely with Yellowknife partnership's committee and the homelessness division. I think that there's constant communication and outreach, and we can provide details to the Member with the question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is in Yellowknife, so you're not wrong.

Mr. Speaker, a number of my constituents have had very concerning power bills over the coldest months of the year with some of their -- some of their bills doubling, and it's very concerning. I've mentioned it before. We subsidize power rates. It's clear that the structural fixes are going to take far more time than we have to provide relief to Northerners who are struggling every day. Can the Minister of -- responsible for NTPC tell me how -- or what subsidies are available to shield Yellowknifers in my riding from the rising cost of power? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister responsible for NTPC.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is a new cost of living subsidy that is being applied directly to all customer utility bills in the Northwest Territories meant to reflect the changes that came about following the general rate application last year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the cost of -- I believe it was the cost of living subsidy. So will that directly impact the bills that my constituents are paying? Because that's what it -- because that's where the rubber meets the road. Are they going to see increasing costs, or are they going to see a stabilized cost going forward where they're not going to see these shocks month on month; that's what they want to know. And I am hoping the Minister can tell me. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, so at the conclusion of the general rate application process, there was increases that were instituted by the public utilities board to reflect a variety of increases in costs which they go through a public process of reviewing. At the conclusion of that process, they did determine that there would be increases to everyone's rates, and that is what people are seeing now, is the conclusion of that process. The GNWT doesn't completely cover all increases to all utilities costs but they have instituted the cost of living subsidy to mitigate those increases so they're not as great as they would otherwise have been. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister responsible for NTPC. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It seems like the majority of subsidies are going to diesel zones rather than hydro zones. So is the Minister willing to implement a new rate subsidy for customers in the capital? It's half the population. There's a lot of people paying higher bills. Will the Minister bring forward enhanced subsidies to lower the cost for my constituents? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's in fact the folks down in the Taltson zone who are seeing the largest rate impacts. They had been paying an amount that wasn't reflective of the impacts of having increased infrastructure in their region and as a result of that, Mr. Speaker, it's actually that area that's seeing the greatest increase, not folks who are in the northern zone on this particular occasion. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister responsible for NTPC. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have another set of questions for Minister of Health and Social Services.

So the ten-year contract for air ambulance services in NWT was signed last May with Access Air Ambulance, a joint venture between Air Tindi, several Indigenous development corporations, and Advanced Medical Solutions, which was bought a few days later by a non-northern company. The total value of the latest contract was $425 million, almost three times the value of the previous ten-year contract for air ambulances.

So my question, through the contract Access Air Ambulance has committed to achieving substantial levels of NWT content as per the Business Incentive Policy. Can the Minister tell us what does substantial levels of NWT content mean exactly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for -- or sorry, Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so according to the BIP online, substantial levels means the contractor must show meaningful, not token, use of northern capacity; for example, through NWT registered subcontractors, local staff, and services delivered from the Northwest Territories. The goal is to maximize economic benefit for the Northwest Territories residents, support local jobs and skills, and recognize the higher cost of doing business in the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister tell us what happens if HSS or the health authority or GNWT decides that the contractor has not achieved substantial levels of NWT content; what happens in that case for a ten-year contract such as this? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as this is an essential service to the residents of the Northwest Territories, it is where our most vulnerable are having to be moved from small communities to the regional centres, regional centres that need to have access in the capital, and to the southern -- to Alberta. Within this -- you know, I'd have to get back to the Member on how procurement is done. I am very familiar with a lot of the portfolios; however, procurement is not one of the things that I delve down into on a day-to-day basis. So I would have to get back to the back. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can certainly appreciate that so I appreciate the Minister getting back to us.

And so, finally, particularly given that the number of air ambulance rides that are required has actually been slightly decreasing over the last three years, can the Minister commit to providing detailed justification for why taxpayers are suddenly paying three times the amount for this contract? For example, what new services are going to be provided, why those new services are necessary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.