Katrina Nokleby

I'm good. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I am having a computer issue. Could you move on? Thank you.

Thank you for that, Mr. Chair. I am just looking at the active positions. Again, seeing that there have been 10 positions added to the headquarters, again, not to the regional offices, could the Minister maybe speak to why a decision was made to increase headquarters staffing versus putting those positions elsewhere? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to look at page 181. I am looking at the contributions generally to NGOs and other organizations to support Northwest Territories residents. I notice that we are really stagnant to our standard budget and not a lot of line item increases, other than the Health and Social Services Authorities funding. I am disappointed to see that. I think that we have had a lot of conversation around mental health and addictions supports and such. I know that NGOs are really good at making their money stretch and are being very effective in our communities, recognizing that a...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes. I do appreciate that there is a huge chunk of employment in this department that is not in Yellowknife. However, as we have adapted to COVID, we've seen we've been able to move to a more virtual and online world, so 82 positions that all sit in headquarters. Perhaps at some point, there could be a look to see if any of those could be moved out to communities, to give opportunities to people in other locations to rise up through this program. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Rather than the monetary amount, I would like to get a feel for how many people did move around. I know that there have been people who were hired from out of the region into that region. I just want to know if there is a way to characterize that happening, but it doesn't sound like it. Maybe I will follow up, then, with the Minister at a later date. Thank you. I'm good.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can the Minister tell me how many of these employees for the enforcement team are ex-RCMP officers? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do agree with the Minister that the department has some really great staff to help out with the exploration industry. What I didn't hear the Minister say was that she is going to be a real loud squeaky wheel with the federal government to get more money for our mineral exploration sector, so I will just take that as a given, and I will continue to work with her on that. My last question is that it is my understanding that a critical minerals and metals action plan is being developed for the Northwest Territories. Can the Minister comment on the timeline for the...

I'm not going to say it's good news, but I am glad to hear some people are still working. We have been hearing from companies that there is still a gap in the relief for some of the exploration companies that are required to do work on their claims to prove their claims, including drilling. Will the Minister commit to waiving all of the mineral claim work requirements for the upcoming years until COVID restrictions are lifted?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In 2019, mining, oil, and gas dominated the Northwest Territories' economy by accounting directly for 21 percent of the overall GDP in the North. However, when we look at the spin-off industries and benefits, this number is much closer to 40 percent of our economy. There has been a significant downturn in mining-exploration spending due to COVID restrictions. Many exploration companies have been able to retain claims but are not able to do any work as access is cost prohibitive and will be so into the foreseeable future. The mining industry continues to be at risk...