Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Northwest Territories Power Corporation has signalled a Memorandum of Understanding with Osisko Metals to use excess power at the existing Taltson hydro facility. So revenues generated from that industry sales would be used to mitigate some of the increased cost of power. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The problem with the theme day is sometimes your questions get asked and answered ahead of you getting your opportunity, so bear with me. But I'm really excited to hear that one of the routes that the Minister says they're looking at is the west side of the lake. I just want to emphasize that given my statement today, about allowing for future development, I would prefer that versus going across the lake; therefore, we could have expansion off the power lines on the west side of Great Slave.
That being said, can the Minister please tell me where the total costs for the Taltson Hydro Expansion Project is at; how much of that funding is secured and how much are we still waiting on? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave.
Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Power Corporation.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, and I'm happy to know that the Member's quite excited about one of the two routes because when we first had these discussions, there was several routes that were contemplated. So, you know, we will continue to engage. Right now we have the federal government has allocated about $20 million to the GNWT to advance this Taltson expansion project. So funding is being used right now to develop Indigenous partnership, talk about some of the planning, the regulatory and feasibility work that needs to be done. So in addition, additional support from Canada will be needed to move this project to the construction phase.
Mr. Speaker, we don't have that final number yet. We're still such in the early stage of looking at this project. And, you know, I'm sure it will cost a lot of money. I just don't have that in front of me right now without having some of the work done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess it's good that there's been no final number before now so that we don't have to listen to how the cost of the supply chain has driven that number up and that's the reason why nothing has advanced on the project. So I'd say that's a good thing here.
Can the Minister speak to how much of that $20 million will be retained using northern businesses and how much of it is sole sourced to former bureaucrats? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'm always happy to hear good things that are happening on this side. So I mean, when you hear that that's very exciting that we're doing good things, such as working with Indigenous groups, looking at MOU, starting all this planning work, until we know the exact costs of what's the project going forward, I don't have that number in front of me, Mr. Speaker. That's very technical, and I just won't be able to answer that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Minister was responding to my question before that one. I asked how much of the $20 million that has already been secured and is being used towards all the work that she's listed, like the regulatory and the prefeasibility, how much of that is being retained with northern businesses and how much is being sole sourced to former bureaucrats? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I really don't have that number in front of me. I'd be happy to get back to the Member and respond so I'm just going to have to take notice on the costs. I just don't have that in front of me. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Notice is given. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I have questions for the Minister responsible for NTPC about greening I know, it's a shocker about greening our electricity mix without making rates less affordable than they already are.
One of the GNWT's main policy tools to green the electricity mix is net metering. But that policy isn't sustainable for ratepayers or for our 2030 Energy Strategy goals. A 2021 policy review found that by 2030, electricity utilities will be losing up to $2.7 million per year on net metering, and that's without going beyond the 20 percent cap on renewables. That policy review made five recommendations. I'm not aware of what, if any, the GNWT has done in response to the review in the last two years.
So my question for the Minister is, can the Minister tell this House whether she's been briefed on the findings and recommendations of the report and what the department is doing in response? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Would the Member for NTPC please stand up.
Again, Mr. Speaker? So I do want to note, Mr. Speaker, in 20202021, Infrastructure commissioned and released three independent studies to be able to look at the policy options to develop more renewable power in remote communities and in the hydro zones while establishing electricity rates and ensuring grid reliability. These studies three things: Assess the maximum limits of renewable power in thermal communities. It also explored how the Northwest Territories could generate additional revenues from excess power. And looked at options to contain rate inflation from the current net metering and selfgeneration policy.
Mr. Speaker, in the 20222025 Energy Action Plan that was just released here in December, the GNWT committed to provide direction to the public utility board to make changes to the current policy framework so that we could support renewable power built without compromising grid reliability and impacting electricity rates. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the report recommended that within one or two years the GNWT reduce the credit for renewable generation and allow utilities to increase their fixed charges by 5 percent. Is the GNWT considering reducing the credit for renewable generation and will the GNWT consult before making such changes? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As mentioned, we committed in the new energy action plan to provide direction to the public utility board to make changes to this current policy framework so that we can support renewable power build out without compromising grid reliability and impact electricity rates. I'm sorry, I repeated myself; I think that's really important to say.
Regarding the credit for the renewable energy, it's important to remember that utilities operate within a very complex and regulated environment. The GNWT cannot unilaterally decide to change rates like the one establishing the compensation received for renewable generation. It is up to the public utilities board to decide following a detailed process of investigation and public consultation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm aware of Indigenousled renewable energy projects that can't go ahead because of this 20 percent cap that NTPC currently has. While our energy strategy commits us to reduce emissions from diesel power generation in communities by 18 kilotons every year by 2030, we are turning down proposals for renewable projects.
So can the Minister commit to make changes to the policy so that NTPC will work with any business or community that bring forward green energy projects even if they are above the 20 percent cap? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is exactly why we're actively looking at this issue and why we made a commitment, not only to assess it but to provide an update direction to the public utility board on this matter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would have liked to have heard a yes, not a I want a yes, just a passionate yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My last question for the Minister is can the Minister clearly confirm whether our 18-kiloton reduction goal is attainable with only 20 percent renewables in diesel communities? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, achieving the 18-kilowatt kiloton, sorry, big difference here kiloton reduction in the electricity sector is still possible. This will be achieved by a combination of things like the Inuvik Wind Project, the LNG projects, Fort Providence Transmission Line, as well as assuming some of the 20 percent intermittent generation limit. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for a different Minister, the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. There are only two written submissions to the fivemonth long public and targeted engagement on mining royalties and 11 other online submissions.
Can the Minister tell us more about these online submissions and provide a list of who made them? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm glad the Member got my name right. It was the Minister of mines earlier and that of course doesn't exist. There is the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Investment, sometimes known as Minister for the economy for which I'm responsible for the mineral resources sector and all of the work to get the Mineral Resources Act implemented, the mineral resources regulations ready to go. And in the process of doing that, one part of that is the royalties and for that purpose, Mr. Speaker, there was a fivemonth long process, as the Member's made the point of helping me out in explaining. I am grateful for that. That was an extensively long engagement process. That's the formal engagement.
There's actually been, since 2017, when this process began, lots of engagement around mineral resources, mineral resource industry, Mineral Resources Act, the mineral resources regulations, and all of the different parts that go into it.
With respect to this one particular part, unless we, as the GNWT, tell someone that's bringing their opinions to us that we're going to turn around and publish them, it would be fully inappropriate for me to now stand up and read out names of the submissions. The "what we heard" report is a standard process that all departments go through. Once there's been a formal engagement putting the information out of what we heard, the point is to summarize it so that individual people who are making submissions don't have to be putting their names forward.
So I'm certainly glad to commend that report to the House and hope folks out in the public will read it and be reviewing it and can consider whether or not it reflects their views. We're still open to receiving information. I'm always open to receiving information and because the decisions haven't been made yet. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for her statement there. There was also 21 different surveys open only to those holding prospecting licenses. No data from these surveys is compiled or presented in the "what we heard" report. If these surveys had been open to others, there could have been some useful data generated on, you know, possible divergence of views.
Can the Minister explain why these 21 surveys were only open to prospecting license holders and indicate whether any actual data will be publicly presented? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, these were specifically intended to gather information from prospector licensing holders because, of course, they're asking questions along the lines of "do you agree with adopting the PDAC exploration assessment digital data form EADDF for work assessment reports for data submission and digital format including PDF reports or other acceptable files, metadata, spatial map locations, geophysics submissions, including raw field data." Mr. Speaker, the average member of the public does not want to be answering that question. It would not be appropriate. It was targeted to the folks who understand this, who work in this, and who can provide us that valuable feedback. And as with all other things, Mr. Speaker, we are gathering it and it does go into "what we heard" reports in due course. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Colleagues, I think our interpreters are running at full speed here. So please, please take your time. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for the response. Yeah, I actually tabled that information earlier this week in the stuff that I obtained access to information. But, you know, people shouldn't have to buy a prospecting license to be able to participate in targeted engagement.
Ironically the first item in the "what we heard" report from those secret meetings sorry, from the targeted engagement/secret meetings with the mining industry is called transparency and confidentiality. It appears that all ITI is going to do in terms of transparency is to separate resource revenues from mining and petroleum. Quebec and many companies already report this information mine by mine.
Can the Minister tell us exactly what is going to be in the royalty regulations regarding public disclosure of mining royalties? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to the translators, I am sorry; I will try to slow down.
Mr. Speaker, I take issue with the continued characterization of an engagement process as "secret." This has been since 2017 that we have been going out and talking about the Mineral Resource Act and its regulations, before I even came in here. And part of the concern was raised in 2019, when are you going to start to do something and stop keep going and doing consultation processes? We hear that all the time. And, yet, ITI is out doing both public meetings, engagements, forums, sessions, surveys, and targeted engagements with the sector, which of course means Chamber of Mines, operating mines, advanced exploration projects, prospectors and developers, people who are interested in the industry, secondary members of the industry. It is not inappropriate for them to be doing that. It would be wholly inappropriate for them to not be doing that. And what we are at the point of right now, Mr. Speaker, with this is being able to go do the modelling to develop, to take back to the Intergovernmental Council about what should be determined and what types of policy options should go forward for drafting under the royalties. That's the stage we're at now. It is clear that one of those things is going to involve publishing more data from the mines about what types of royalties they have. That's obviously not the system we have now. I can't go out and change that right now. But we've received that information, and we'll be going forward with that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Final supplementary. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. I promise I'm not going to call them secret meetings anymore but as long as the department can find a way to share that information with everyone, which they don't do. So they continue to be secret meetings.
But there remains a lot of work and public engagement required for the Mineral Resources Act to be brought into force. The engagement report also mentions other research and analysis on royalties. So can the Minister tell us what other research is being done, whether it's going to be released publicly, not just shared with others, and whether all this work is going to be completed before the end of the 19th Assembly? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, at this point, Mr. Speaker, having received feedback and being aware of interest in the area over the last six years, the department is at the point of being able to do the modeling and to be able to then take that, develop a policy, and develop it in concert, of course, with the Intergovernmental Council and the technical working group with whom we've been developing the Mineral Resources Act regulations from the start. It's part of a codevelopment process. They will make some decisions as a group. That will be what determines what the drafting instructions might look like. And I would just note, Mr. Speaker, one other thing: This is the first Assembly that actually has open to it, a process by which draft regulations do go out for publication. That is a new thing. Typically it's only with bills that would get published. But now there actually is a process where a draft regulation itself would actually be open for input before being final. That's at the one end. There are certainly steps to come in between.
And once we have guidance from the technical working group, we'll be able to provide that and to come back and to speak to where we're at with those directions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, after last evening's discussion on sports and youth, I think the Minister of MACA knows the importance of supporting youth in their endeavours to go on to greater things in sports.
So, Mr. Speaker, with respect to sporting events within the NWT, will the Minister of MACA confirm if there's any requirement for a proof of COVID vaccination prior to participation? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was getting jealous of Minister Archie in answering all the questions here, so I appreciate the Member from Hay River South asking the question.
So some good news for the Member, and hopefully it'll be the last time he has to talk about COVID in this House here. We don't require any COVID vaccination requirements for sporting events in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister confirm if there was any requirement for proof of vaccination either at the Arctic Winter Games or the Canada Winter Games, and if not, what was the reasoning for it? Both these events were outside the territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that both the Arctic Winter Games and the Canada Winter Games did have the policy in there. But on November 18th, 2022 the international committee, in conjunction with the host community, decided to withdraw or revoke the policy for mandatory COVID19 vaccination reports, as well with Canada games on November 23rd, the host society and the Canada games council revoked it there. So in my conversations with both ministers, both societies in Charlottetown, PEI and Fort McMurray, both ministers and the host society said that that was the public safety requirements that are no longer required. So that's why it was removed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yeah, the issue I guess is that some of the organizations are, you know, dropping the requirement at the last minute and what that does is take away an opportunity for potential athletes or participants because they don't get selected because they can't meet those requirements.
So, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister tell me what he is doing to ensure that all NWT athletes, coaches, and volunteers can take part in sporting events across Canada regardless of vaccination status? Is the department intervening on behalf of those who are not able to provide proof of vaccination? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I agree with the Member's frustration. When I heard about the vaccine requirements being dropped, I did reach out to both ministers and had that conversation and the international committee and saying hey, we had a process. We, in the Northwest Territories, to select our teams had to follow the process that said you had to have vaccination requirements done and report it in. That didn't happen. They changed it and so we weren't able to do that. So unfortunately, we as a government don't intervene, but Sport North and the TSOs have that ability so we encourage the athletes to reach out to Sport North and to the TSOs to intervene on their behalf. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the next event coming up is the North American Indigenous Games. The same problem. They're requiring proof of vaccination. So, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to sending a letter to the North American Indigenous Games council questioning why the need for proof of vaccination and request that it be withdrawn to allow for participation by any athlete, coach, or volunteer from the NWT? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on February 28th, the NAG council stated it was continuing with its mandatory COVID vaccination policy. The NAG council stated the priority is the safety and wellbeing of all 5,000 athletes, participants, coaches, and chaperones participating from 756 nations. This includes elders of the Mi'kmaq host territory who have shared that they are not comfortable with unvaccinated groups coming into their territory. NAG council indicated they respect the territories of the nations and wishes of the elders. So, Mr. Speaker, I also respect the wishes of the NAG council and the host territory but can commit to reaching out to the NWT Aboriginal Sports Circle to understand their perspective and talk about sending a letter to the host society. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
