Wally Schumann

Absolutely. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Let's make it quite clear on the record. That is why we are sitting here today, discussing these things. This was based on an application for the National Trade Corridors Fund, the amount of $400 million that was carved out for the three northern territories. Based on that application, that is where my priority would be. It would be under the Slave Geological Province. It doesn't mean that the bridge is not a priority. This fund is just for the three northern territories with a carve-out, as I have said. There are only a certain amount of dollars left in there...

As I said, I can have a quick conversation with our staff. Everything that I have talked about previously on this particular type of project, and particularly on Great Slave Lake, as I said, the safety standards and pressure ridges and unpredictable situations that could happen on Great Slave Lake, the department clearly told me that they do not think that it would meet our current safety standards. I can have that conversation internally with our department and get back to the Member on what the possibility would be. At this point, it clearly shows that this would not be possible.

Mr. Guy.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As I said in my comments there about the consultation with industry and looking at replacing it, we made the decision to have a look at that. We have spent some money on the Frank Channel bridge to try to get a little more life out of it while we look at trying to access funding from the federal government to replace this thing. It is roughly $60, $70 million, if I remember correctly the number for it. We presently have an application out of the National Trade Corridors Fund, which we would have shared with committee on our application around with that and the Slave...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 37, An Act to Amend the Oil and Gas Operations Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Technology, energy, and green metals are already on the radar, particularly of this Government of the Northwest Territories, and particularly of our department, through the NWT Geological Survey. We are trying to get a better understanding of what role that the Northwest Territories and our resources can play in this global movement towards these types of resources. The early work on the knowledge economy has also identified the importance of leveraging and taking advantage of the world demand of green metals, and I am definitely prepared to find opportunities to work with my colleagues and...

As you know, we introduced our bill here last week, so I want to speak very carefully about what I am going to talk about here, because it is in the standing committee's preview right now of the bill.

In our bill, we proposed benefit agreements, not impact benefit agreements. There is already a process laid out for that, and that is through the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act. When you look at our proposed bill, the benefits side of things, we want to make --

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All resource projects in the Northwest Territories are reviewed in the same laid-out regulatory regime that we have within the Northwest Territories, according to their scale and scope. We have a multifaceted regulatory system in the Northwest Territories. There is a process to adjust the requirements and make changes within that process, but also, in the Northwest Territories, we have a lot of players. We have the Government of the Northwest Territories and our departments; we have the federal government and their departments; and we have Indigenous governments in the...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 36, An Act to Amend the Petroleum Resource Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, as I said, the bill is with the standing committee, and in it is a benefits agreement, not an impact benefit agreement, as clearly laid out, as I said, in the process under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act.