Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise the House that the Honourable Shane Thompson will be absent from the House for today and tomorrow to attend the federal/provincial/territorial Ministers for conservation, wildlife and biodiversity meeting in Ottawa, Ontario.

I also wish to advise the House that the Honourable Caroline Cochrane will be absent from the House for today and tomorrow due to illness. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the Premier to announce two new government policies on how the Government of the Northwest Territories supports resident who have been evacuated from their communities for extended periods of time and communities that support them. As of May 24th, nearly 2,000 people from Hay River and the K'atlodeeche First Nation Reserve have registered as evacuees in Yellowknife, with additional evacuees staying in other NWT communities including Enterprise, Fort Providence, Fort Simpson, and Fort Smith. Currently, residents who must evacuate their home community receive transportation, meals, and accommodation at the evacuation centres. Income assistance clients are also provided emergency funds of $500 to $1,000. However, we know that not everyone is eligible for support through income assistance and being away from home can result in unexpected expenses that are particularly challenging for those who experience an interruption to their income.

Today, the Government of the Northwest Territories is launching two new programs to support registered evacuees and community governments: The Evacuee Income Disruption Support Program and the Community Government Hosting Evacuees Grant.

The Evacuee Income Disruption Support Program assists individuals who have lost income due to recent community evacuations. This program aims to provide targeted financial relief during evacuations. The Evacuee Income Disruption Support program is available to all NWT residents who are subject to an evacuation order over seven days and have suffered a loss of income because their employment has been disrupted due to the evacuation order. Eligible individuals will receive a one-time payment of $750.

With yesterday's announcement from the Town of Hay River, many evacuees are now planning to return home. Still, I assure those residents that if their income has been disrupted, they will still be eligible for this program even if they returned home. Information on how to apply is available on our website and on the GNWT Facebook page.

Mr. Speaker, it is also important to note that we support our community governments at this time; most notably, the Town of Hay River, the K'atlodeeche First Nation, and the communities that have welcomed residents since the evacuation orders were issued on May 14. We understand that some evacuees have chosen not to come to Yellowknife for a variety of reasons and were being supported by other communities in the South Slave and the Deh Cho. We commend these communities for taking in, feeding, and supporting evacuees during such a challenging period.

In order to assist communities who have been unable to secure funding from other sources, the GNWT is launching the Community Government Hosting Evacuees Grant, which is a grant designed to help eligible community governments cover costs associated with supporting registered evacuees, including staffing, lodging, meals, and the provision of essential services. Municipal and Community Affairs Minister Shane Thompson has already sent letters to relevant communities advising them of this funding, which is separate from what is provided to communities operating official evacuee centres. Communities seeking the Community Government Hosting Evacuees Grant will have up to 30 days from the date the evacuation order is lifted and/or community residents are able to return home to apply for a grant through this program.

We announce both programs today, and more information is available for residents and community governments on the GNWT website or our GNWT Facebook page. We know this wildfire season is going to be challenging. The evacuation event for Hay River and K'atlodeeche First Nation serves as a reminder to all of us to do everything we can to be ready for emergencies. This includes being prepared for evacuation on short notice and, wherever possible, having plans in place to safeguard personal health and safety as well as economic well-being, and your family members and pets as well, Mr. Speaker. This is an exceptionally challenging period for many NWT residents, and we must continue to lean on each other in the days and weeks ahead. NWT residents and communities have this government's full support.

The GNWT is incredibly grateful to the community and the residents of Yellowknife, who have welcomed so many evacuees with open arms and open hearts. I also want to thank everyone involved in supporting evacuees at the multiplex here in Yellowknife and in Enterprise, Fort Providence, Fort Simpson, and Fort Smith, as well as any other communities that have welcomed evacuees. Your compassion and time have not gone unnoticed.

Further, on May 18, the GNWT announced its commitment to supporting fire evacuees from Hay River and K'atlodeeche First Nation through a donation matching program through the United Way NWT. The GNWT is matching donations up to $150,000 providing critical assistance to those affected by the ongoing community evacuations. One hundred percent of donations raised through United Way NWT's 2023 wildfire response fundraising campaign will go towards supporting evacuees. The community and corporate support we've seen for this campaign has been truly inspiring, and I want to thank the donors for their generosity.

On behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories, I want to give our heartfelt thanks to the crews on the ground, the pilots, the air attack officers, and tanker base teams for their incredible support to combat these wildfires. Quyananni, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too would like to join my colleagues in acknowledging the service of Mr. Tim Mercer to this institution and Members of the Legislative Assembly, past and present. When I first met Mr. Mercer, as a newly elected MLA three and a half years ago, whereupon he tried to jam 500 years of western parliamentary procedures and 60 years of NWT Legislative Assembly procedures into my brain over a course of a week, my brain still hurts, Mr. Speaker. Sitting on Board of Management, I saw firsthand the quality of work that Mr. Mercer and his staff produce for our consideration, and I always saw his advice as sound and reasoned, even when I didn't necessarily agree with the proposed course of action.

Politics -- Mr. Speaker, politics is a contact sport. Bruised egos, hurt feelings abound. Mr. Mercer acted as a father confessor, as an impartial referee, and a procedural guide to all of us either at one point or another and while keeping in the best interests of the institution and this consensus government in the forefront.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, it is clear that Mr. Mercer, the Assembly's respected gratitude and admiration for an excellent job as clerk over the past 20 years. Personally, I would like to wish Tim all the best in any future endeavours and thank him for his service. Quyananni. Mahsi cho, Tim.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is my hope too, and that is why I continue to have this conversation with the federal minister to perhaps give us a response. Once we get the response, then we're able to set timelines. I know we talked about perhaps starting this summer to be able to get some of the work done.

I do want to highlight, Mr. Speaker, that we've been working -- we did this bathymetric study. We're currently looking at some of the data, the water elevation information indicate we have 200,000 cubic metres of sediment that has to be removed to be able to have normal navigation of that harbour. It's extreme, Mr. Speaker. You know, we recognize that once we get the funding, we will be able to start some of the work, get the regulatory permits in place, get federal -- our licenses. There are a number of things that we have to do. But I understand the Member's concern about how immediate this is for not only the community in Hay River, but for the communities up the valley. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, we have the proposal in under the Ocean Protection Plan. We had a lot of community support up the valley, all the way from Aklavik. So I mean, this is a priority. Once we get a response on the funding, then we will start some of the work that's much needed to complete the harbour restoration as well as, you know, in our funding proposal, we asked for some money for double haul barges. We asked for four years of funding for the Hay River restoration. So, I mean, once we get that approval, that sets the stages on how we proceed with this project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, everybody was tuned in on Tuesday to the federal budget. And I was very happy to see a number of things mentioned, more specifically the Taltson, which I was excited to see, but we did put in a funding proposal under the Ocean Protection Plan. You know, I met with Minister Alghabra when I was in Ottawa for FPT. We had one-on-one discussions on, you know, the need to have the Hay River harbour restoration completed so that we can get our tugs all the way up the valley into Nunakput. You know, we had struggles this year. We were late. We had, you know, a number of issues trying to get our supplies of fuel, equipment, into the communities. That's important for us. We put this proposal together. Going back to the budget, I was really excited to see that Mackenzie River was on one of the -- one of the listed projects for the budget. So I'm hoping that's what that is. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I was in Hay River in the fall, we had a community meeting. We talked about harbour restoration, otherwise known as dredging, but I'm not going to say that today. I'm going to call harbour restoration just for sake of having our Minister here. We did send -- we did some work, Mr. Speaker. We had money. We had bathymetric studies done. We spent over $150,000 to get some of this work done, mostly because it helps us set a business case to put towards the ocean protection plan. So I'm going to just stop right there in case the Member has more questions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct. We do have the communities currently serviced by marine transportation services for the annual supply of fuel, construction, marine, and dry goods. Trucking fuel on the ice road over the Great Slave creates significant environmental risk, which would increase cost of fuel. So there are technical challenges, Mr. Speaker, of building an ice road across the lake. As I mentioned earlier, I understand where the Member's coming from and wanting to look at, you know, future development -- future road into the community. You know, we do have capital processes that we do as a government. So I hear where the Member's coming from. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member and I have had discussions in the past on the Lutselk'e ice road request. We did look into it. The Member's correct, it was going to cost about $2 million annually to have a look. And with that, there was a number of things. You know there's a short window. There's a number of risks going across that lake. And, you know, we will continue to discuss. I know the Member's wanting to have further discussions with perhaps the federal ministers on how we can work together, perhaps find some funding, to be able to look at, you know, other ways to get -- get the road done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.