Katrina Nokleby

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...

Yes, I appreciate that, that there would be specialist-type situations or positions that would need to be with their fellow. I think we talked about that a lot in engineering collaboration. However, some of the items that you listed that these new positions are covering have to do with the administration. They have to do with things that sound very computer-oriented, very much sitting at a desk, I would just maybe again, as a comment, urge the Minister to consider, given our priority and mandates to increase employment in small communities, that we look at thinking outside the box and looking...

Thank you for that. That doesn't really answer my question. As all of these groups are where these projects or this funding can be accessed by these community organizations or whomever, that, to me, seems like an area where we would want to be focusing more money, given the current situation of what's going on, particularly if this is something that different organizations can access. The conditions around them could be made a lot more flexible, given the restrictions of COVID and the inability of a lot of organizations to operate in the same way that they have in the past. Maybe they could be...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm good.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm just wondering, I look at page 175, the active positions, and just note that all of them are in headquarters here in Yellowknife. I'm just curious if the Minister can speak a bit to whether or not there is any opportunity to move any of these positions outside of the capital and put some of this employment into our smaller communities. Thank you.

Thank you for that, reiterating the Premier's point again. Thank you. I look forward to getting that information. Can you speak to how much money was spent relocating people around within the territory to take these positions, i.e., people being moved to the Beaufort-Delta region rather than hiring locally there? Thank you.