Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it should be clear that the current bilateral water management agreement with Alberta is not an effective mechanism to protect our waterways. We have heard from the Minister that there have been two separate incidents at this oil sands mine between the 5.3 million litres of industrial waste spillover in February and then a separate incident where oil sands tailings ponds, with contaminants over the regulated guidelines, have seeped into the groundwater and surface water since May 2022. According to the news reports, the premier of Alberta has gone on record to state that the Alberta government, through the 2005 Bilateral Water Agreement, have no obligation to notify the Government of the Northwest Territories. Our ability to create stronger environmental protection mechanisms with other jurisdictions is very limited as noted with the current bilateral agreement.

Mr. Speaker, the impact to our watershed and aquatic life is at risk. Our way of life is at risk due to another jurisdiction's inactions to protect the waterways at all costs. The Alberta government do not believe that water is life and is sacred to the well-being of Indigenous nations that live on the waterways. The Indigenous nations have never been consulted nor have any meaningful consultations prior to the development of the tar sands for oil extraction. I will have questions for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources at the appropriate time. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And mahsi to the Premier for that. It's very imperative that, you know, I want to reiterate that we need -- as you're the Premier of the Northwest Territories, you're our biggest leader in this government, you need to engage the Alberta Premier who's never met the Indigenous people of the Northwest Territories. And we need to extend that invitation. You can do it how well you want to do that but extend that invitation to meet all Indigenous leaders of the Northwest Territories, not just the Intergovernmental Council, not just the NWT Council of Leaders, but everyone because there's three claimant groups that are excluded from those tables.

Mr. Speaker, the Premier of Alberta mentions the 2015 agreement in which the Alberta government does not need to inform the Government of the Northwest Territories of any spills or leaks because the leaks from the tailing ponds do not reach tributaries nor our drinking water. Yeah well, tell that the residents of the Northwest Territories. Tell that to the people of Fort Chipewyan who have been fighting the Alberta government for decades with no success.

Mr. Speaker, will the Premier approach the Alberta Premier to have frank discussions in redrafting the agreement to honour the voices of our First Nations people in the ultimate protection of our waters? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And mahsi to the Premier for that information. It has never been okay since the beginning of the tailing ponds. The issue has never been okay there, yet we've been sending a Minister to do the big leader's jobs, to address this issue and I kind of don't like that; she's downplaying it and passing it off to the Ministers.

Mr. Speaker, the position of Premier holds the highest power in this Legislative Assembly and to stand strong on behalf of the residents of the Northwest Territories, as this case may well be, can the Premier extend an invitation to the Alberta Premier to come and meet with the Indigenous leadership of the Northwest Territories to hear their concerns with the tailings ponds and the protection of our waters? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are related to my Member's statement on the recent findings of a tailings pond breech at the Alberta tar sands projects. This may well be a common occurrence until there is no more freshwater to drink, no protection of our wildlife, and our precious marine ecological systems to survive.

Madam Premier, can you apprise this House as to what actions you will take to rectify this situation of nonconformity of the sharing of information by the Alberta government? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I too would like to recognize the Member of Parliament, Mr. Michael McLeod, and welcome him to the House. But this House is my House so he's actually a constituent, Mr. Speaker. And I'd also like to welcome back former colleague, Mr. Jackson Lafferty, who is now the grand chief of the Tlicho Nation. I'd like to congratulate him on that venture and hope him success in many fronts. And I'd also like to recognize Sholto Douglas who is the vice-president of the NWT Sled Dog Sports. I wasn't sure he was a vice-president because he always says he's the boss, so I don't know about that then. I'd also like to recognize Curtis Earhart. My colleague recognized him and advised where he was from and that he is racing with Brent Beck Racing Team. And this weekend too, Fort Smith is hosting a sled dog racing weekend to their carnival. They have one of the largest pools around. And we got ten-dog racing teams and an equal number, if not more, for the six-dog racing, so I wish them well, good luck this weekend in Fort Smith. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have spoken several times of my concerns with the Alberta tailings ponds and the toxic sludge contained within them. Tailings ponds are manmade open reservoirs, the size of lakes, that hold toxic waste from the oil extraction, and they contain arsenic, dissolved heavy metals and hydrocarbons. These tailings ponds are large enough to be seen from space and are some of the biggest human made structures on earth.

Mr. Speaker, many First Nations downstream from the Alberta tar sands tailings ponds have expressed time and time their concerns with the tailing ponds breaching their dikes.

Unbeknownst to any First Nations, nor the Government of the Northwest Territories, this is exactly what occurred in May 2022. This government only found out last week, and the information did not come from the Alberta government nor the Alberta premier. This information came from the affected First Nations near the tar sands tailings ponds in Alberta.

Mr. Speaker, there's a story in the Edmonton Journal newspaper dated March 6th, 2023, in which the Alberta premier states not only her concern with the spill but to also state that Alberta had no obligation to notify the Government of the Northwest Territories of the spill.

Mr. Speaker, this is preposterous. In this day and age of supposed collaboration between the governments of the province and the territory, and the territory gets the rotten egg. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions not for the Minister of MACA, not for the Minister of ENR, not for the Minister of Lands, but for the Premier of the Northwest Territories and how she will stand up and defend our most precious resource - the water. Mahsi.

Mashi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Ambassadors of Deh Gah Elementary and Secondary School have returned home safely from a recent trip to Mexico. The Fort Providence contingent made up of 11 students and seven chaperons made the trip February 4th to the 12th. The trip was spearheaded by the school's child, youth and care counsellor Daphne Blanco-Sarlay. Daphne's idea is to create at cultural exchange between two Indigenous communities impacted by colonialism in what's called Connecting through Kindness. The city of Tulum, Mexico has a population of under 20,000 residents and is one hour south of the resort town of Playa del Carmen. Tulum has a history of Indigenous Mayan culture. The students fundraised for the past three years to help the small community rebuild their secondary school and loved getting their hands dirty for a great cause. The students raised $10,000 and were beaming with pride as they understood this will benefit the education and future of the Mayan youth that hosted them.

Although there was a language barrier, the students immediately made friends with their counterparts and managed to communicate in their own ways. Together they jumped rope, played hopscotch, hide and seek, tug of war, and shared many moments together cementing their friendship. Students toured various places of interest but most of all enjoyed the walks on the beach, the water park, snorkeling through underwater caves, and swam in the ocean where the water was so crystal clear they could see the bottom of the sandy ocean, the ocean floor.

This was a trip they will never forget as they never imagined they would be in sandals, short-sleeved shirts and shorts, especially in the month in the February and are reminded of the temperatures back home in the North.

The students of Deh Gah School look forward to hosting the Mayan students this coming summer. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And mahsi to the Minister for that. As she's stating that there's currently contractors working on that road and as the contractor, their bottom line is profits, and rarely will you ever get a contractor to hire people just fresh out of AGO program with no experience because it'll affect their bottom line. So perhaps the government has to look at a different avenue and encourage apprenticeship opportunities in there.

Mr. Speaker, investing in our young adults as they chart their own course in the heavy equipment world is an important step to self-sufficiency and gaining very valuable experience. Can the Minister commit to ensuring the department provides AGO summer student employment in the communities for the graduates? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And mahsi to the Minister for that. As this project may be on the books and upcoming, it's a great time to plan at least to get a stretch of the road anyways for training opportunities because we need experienced operators all the time in the job descriptions and lots of these people are going back to the communities with nothing to look forward to, that there's limited positions in the communities.

Mr. Speaker, there's been a lot of conversations and initiatives in advancing the Mackenzie Valley Highway from Wrigley to Tulita and points beyond. Can the department ensure training opportunities for new AGO graduates and others to gain valuable experience on heavy equipment and the art of road building? Mahsi.