Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue of the Taltson Hydro Expansion Project, it's an outstanding issue for Members in my riding and the constituent Members. In the early days when the project was started, I remember Canada undertook this project but there there was really no consultation or accommodations with the residents of Taltson, residents in Taltson River.
Mr. Speaker, the right now, last weekend, I went down to Fort Resolution and I went to Hay River. I paid my respects to my relatives at the graveyard. I go to Fort Resolution. We do the same thing. In Dettah, every fall, we meet and clean up the graveyard. We say rosary, and then we have a feast to honour our ancestors. Mr. Speaker, right now, we have a lot of graves that are under water as a result of this project, and the people and the families that are impacted when they pray, they pray from home. They can't actually go to the site and pay their respects. So that's why I brought this issue up. And this issue was brought forward to me by an elder from my community, Lawrence Casaway, and he was very instrumental telling me that this has got to be said.
So, Mr. Speaker, I have a question that I want to just bring to the Minister of Infrastructure. I believe it's the Minister of finance on this one here. Anyway, Mr. Speaker, additional funding will be required in order to proceed with the Taltson Hydro Expansion Project. What mitigation, traditional economy, and archaeological sites in the region have been developed by the Minister, and what consultation and accommodation has been done with all Indigenous governments on this issue? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Tu NedheWiilideh. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the project has been designed to take advantage of existing infrastructure with no new flooding as an important design requirement. We are in the process, Mr. Speaker, of engaging with our Indigenous partners to define the project footprint as well as integrate traditional knowledge, land use, and areas of importance to our Indigenous partners as part of that work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know that the GNWT's working closely with various Indigenous governments through engagement on the expansion. My question is about public consultation, particularly with elders, on the potential impacts for unmarked graves regarding the Taltson Hydro Expansion Project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the GNWT and interested Indigenous groups are working on a partnership that acknowledges legacy impacts from the original facility that was built in the 1960s, including Rocher River area. There was a report that on known impacts that had been prepared in regard to shared and was shared, including the ADFN leadership. Discussions are still underway, Mr. Speaker, to determine next steps as it's a very important issue to us. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Minister. Can the Minister confirm if work has been done to identify potential unmarked graves in the former Rocher River community in an effort to protect these sites from potential development? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker and I do want to thank the Member for that question. I don't thank Members very often for their questions, but this one is a really important question that I want to acknowledge the Member for saying so. And I want to note that we have ongoing dialogue with project partners, and we are open to working with the on specific areas of interest that are identified at the steering and the working group level. We are aware that there is potential for archaeological sites in the Rocher River and are open to learn more about the archaeological sites or the grave sites that have been identified as part of that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Minister. Given the history of the Rocher River, can the Minister confirm the involvement of the Akaitcho First Nations in the Taltson Hydro Expansion Project and what financial resources have been provided to them to into a meaningful participant in this work to help relocate the graves to drier land or to communities in the Akaitcho region? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the actual Deninu Kue First Nation, which includes the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, Deninu Kue First Nation, and Lutselk'e Dene First Nation, are actively engaged in the steering committee as well as the working group levels on this project.
Mr. Speaker, to date, we have spent a collective $1.7 million to support the Akaitcho and the NWT Metis Nation participation. And we have also, which is really great news, committed to multiyear funding up to an amount of $1.2 million per year to support ongoing participation of this important project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
