Caroline Wawzonek

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I am happy to present the GNWT’s 20232024 Capital Estimates.

These capital estimates total $328 million to support and continue infrastructure investment in our communities. Major highlights of the plan include:

$95.1 million for highways, winter roads, bridges and culverts. This includes funding of $13.4 million for the Frank Channel Bridge, $12 million for the Prohibition Creek Access Road, $19.8 million for the advancement of the environmental and planning work for the Mackenzie Valley and Slave Geologic Province AllSeason roads;

$45 million for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure that the lessons learned here are necessarily the ones that the Member's expecting insofar as in this case, Mactung actually has turned out to be a fairly strategic and important critical minerals and metals project; it has been sold; it's been sold with the liabilities transferring to the owner. And hopefully, we'll actually see the development of a critical minerals and metals project. So in that sense, it actually has all gone quite well, which isn't to say that the government generally wants to go out and be the buyer of a mine. But in this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, both the letter of intent as well as the asset purchase agreement would be binding on future owners should Fireweed Metals not be the owners of the property. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think that the MLA is referencing discussions that were had between myself and colleagues on the other side when we were preparing the main estimates and passing the main estimates. And I certainly can, you know, provide I believe this information has been provided, but I'm happy to go through it again.

There were increases, at the conclusions of those discussions, made to various program budgets within Housing NWT. It was, I believe, $6.6 million that was committed in addition, as part of the main estimates’ discussions, to fund projects that are specifically...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, one of the sources of, you know, concern that's been raised has actually been colleagues in the federal government who have said, you know, why aren't you spending more? What are you spending? You know, and they want to have accountability for the dollars that they are committing to the Northwest Territories. So if there are projects that are delayed or stalled, again for a variety of reasons, but it may well but for whatever reason it may be that attaches to any particular project, you know, they would rather know that when we have a properly sized budget...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, so, you know, there were updates that were provided back in, I believe August, when we were preparing for this session. As I said, numbers related to the information that was received through the spring and summer as flood remediation work was ongoing certainly were being updated through the course of time. All of the information does go into the main estimates documents. I can see if we can put some sort of package together, you know, more urgently than that, you know, without having anyone from the department here in front of me and even if they were...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, let me try and answer it, and I am sure the Member will let me know if we need to bring the witnesses in. There are finance witnesses in the witness room.

Madam Chair, yes, it's 174 I don't have that number in front of me, but it does sound approximately correct from my recollection. But I think the question is really getting at what that does to our fiscal situation. And, yes, having an over hundred unexpectedly over $100 million in costs associated with the floods takes out the surplus that we had been projecting for 20222023 and puts us into a situation...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, subject to there being any legal reason that I can't do that, I would not have a problem doing that on a confidential basis. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. 

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The property's actually relatively undeveloped and as such well, I mean, I can't speak for what the company may have decided upon but I can certainly say that the GNWT is selling the property as is, and that was part of the that will be part of the asset purchase agreement, that they all the liabilities, to the extent that there are any, will be transferred and that, of course, is the basis on which the agreement is moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can confirm that the initial $1.5 million payment from Fireweed Metals was received in June of this year. And further to that, Mr. Speaker, they were given 18 months in order to do some due diligence work. I understand that there has been some work done over the last exploration season this past spring/summer and that we are expecting that the final agreement will then be signed or rather the purchase agreement will be signed which will trigger the further payment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.