Rylund Johnson

Thank you, Madam Chair. Part of my concern with this entire project is that, I think in 2001, there was a business case. There has been years of talking about this, and it made probably complete sense when the diamond mines were in full operation. It would have saved them millions of dollars in not building the ice road every year. I am concerned that even if we built phase 1, which doesn't get us to the diamond mines, by the time we actually get phase 2 built, we're into 2027 would be my guess at the earliest. Most of those mines are ending the life of their operation.

There is kind of this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier, I spoke about the importance of supporting our entrepreneurs, and one of the best ways we do that presently is through our SEED program through ITI. My question for the Minister of ITI is: can we top up the SEED program funding this year to make sure that no applications are denied? This could be central to our economic recovery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. I understand, yes, there are the multiple phases. First, we are going to Lockhart. Then, we are going to go to Lac De Gras. Then, we're going to maybe go to Nunavut. Then, maybe Nunavut's going to go to the ocean, and then, maybe they're going to build a port. I understand there are multiple steps. My question is: the $40 million we got, are we going to environmental assessment on just to Lockhart Lake, just that first step of construction, or what are we bringing to environmental assessment? We had this problem with the Mackenzie Valley Highway, but we proposed...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The NWT regularly has one of the highest GDPs per capita in Canada, and we would regularly be in the top 10 in the world. No doubt that impressive figure has helped many of our residents get ahead and has helped this government fund many life-saving services. However, sadly, with many of our diamond mines facing closure and the economic recession of COVID-19, that economic prosperity is likely to diminish. To be honest, Mr. Speaker, there is only so much we politicians can do about that. The further we head up the economic ladder, the less ability we have as a...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to ask a number of questions about the Slave Geological Province Corridor there. I believe we got $40 million from the federal government to advance this, and I see there it's for environmental assessment for Lockhart Lake, the first section of LASR as some people are now calling it, I heard the other day. Can I just get clarification? Do we expect it to cost $40 million to put just the LASR part through environmental assessment? Can I get a breakdown on how that money is going to be spent? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to try one more time. Is this possibly money for renewable diesel, or is it just for getting communities that are on off-grid diesel to some other renewable source, and how much money is it? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to switch gears a little here. The ice road to the diamond mines, does the Department of Infrastructure have any role in that? Do we pay for that? Can I just have an understanding of how that works? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I see the line item "Renewable Solutions for Off-Grid Diesel - ICIP" money. I am glad to see this. I am really excited for some of the potential for off-grid diesel and renewable solutions there. Can I just get the Minister to expand on what that item is, how much it is, and what it's trying to accomplish? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. In that list, I didn't hear roads and bridges. My understanding is that this is a giant figure, but if we also included all the maintenance and the O and M on our roads and bridges over the next decade and our needs assessments, our total infrastructure gap would be well beyond this. It is what it is. I think we're all aware of our infrastructure needs, and that we are one of the lowest and most behind in Canada. My specific question, though, is: deferred maintenance is on assets, and when we're doing O and M budgets, the Department of Finance has a formula for...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to switch gears here to the Taltson expansion pre-construction. Right now, in the South Slave, they have a surplus of power. They actually have the cheapest power in the NWT, and Taltson expansion is a plan to make more power to an area with a surplus. Can I just get a sense of: this Taltson expansion pre-construction money here, I assume it's federal dollars. When is the quickest timeline we would see that, after expansion, it actually connects to somewhere we could sell that power, whether that is down south or whether that is in the North Slave or to a...