Tom Beaulieu

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thanks for that response. On page 240, Mr. Chair, I want to just ask some questions around the local community roads. Community access roads, generally, I think, are used for all seasons, to maybe create an all-season road to various traditional areas that individuals would wish to access. I have a question for the Minister: could this money be used for winter roads? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, committee would like to consider Tabled Document 322-18(3), Main Estimates, 2019-2020, considering the Department of Infrastructure and the Department of ITI, time permitting. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The reason I am asking the Minister if he will discuss with the local people is that what I am told by the people in Lutselk'e is there is a short window, a small window, maybe, or a short time frame in which the road would be okay. It could be as short as two weeks, like I indicated, and it could be as long as a month before the pressure ridges start to come.

Again, I am asking the Minister: he said he could get the staff to look at it again. I am asking if there is at all a possibility that maybe it would not be an ice road that would be constructed for regular traffic, but maybe something...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member's statement, I talk about the possibility of a winter road to Lutselk'e on Great Slave Lake. I would like to ask the Minister if the Minister would do an internal look at the possibility of constructing a winter road on the Great Slave Lake to Lutselk'e. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to do a Member's statement on a winter road to Lutselk'e. I had just been thinking about it and thought I would talk to the Minister briefly and advise him that I would like to talk about the benefits of a winter road to Lutselk'e.

I recognize that we are getting late into this season to be able to construct a winter road. I think most of the winter roads are already constructed. A little bit different here, if there was an opportunity to put a winter road in next month, the situation is a bit different than other winter roads in that the...

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Well, that is something to work on for me. It has increased quite a bit. I do appreciate that the department has been serious about looking at putting more money into this area because, maybe four or five years ago, it was $300,000, so it has grown quite a bit. It has become something that the communities really find a good program for short-term employment, even training the equipment operators and so on, so it is a very good program. I think that, in the future, the Assembly or the department could look at increasing that amount, maybe even doubling that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister discuss the possibilities of technology, energy, and green metals becoming a focus of research and study with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment? Thank you.

Specific to that project, will the Minister work with the governments, regulators, and firms like Avalon and Cheetah to facilitate an accelerated timeline at Nechalacho to achieve small-scale production?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to talk about the benefits of small-scale mining and value-added processing. Small-scale mining developments are increasingly being seen as the best way to develop new technology materials and specialty material deposits, such as those found in the NWT's rare earths and lithium resources.

Mr. Speaker, new demand for clean technology is creating new uses for traditionally un-mined materials. Investors in spin-off industries are very intrigued by the potential opportunities that are associated with unlocking new rare earth minerals. However, in order to...

As these companies move forward, the potential for ownership with the Indigenous governments and Indigenous groups, will there still be requirements for impact benefit agreements should these companies have ownership along with the Indigenous governments?