Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, recently the BC Premier Eby has announced that he is fast-tracking 18 resource projects in his province, a blend of energy, mining, and critical minerals projects worth around $20 billion and that will employ 8,000 people. There are certainly some people who have issue with the fast-tracking, but he is committed to do it to deal with the trade war. Yes, Mr. Speaker, we are still very much in the midst of a trade war. It's time to fast-track some of our own projects. We have nine advanced critical minerals projects or a mix of projects that could help our critical minerals future. Can the Minister of Environment and Climate Change commit to fast-tracking these nine projects? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is a fact that there are many projects that are advanced and ready to move on. Unfortunately, the GNWT is unable to unilaterally make the decision to advance projects in that manner. The department is committed to working with our co-management partners, and we have a very robust co-management system. And for us to streamline that process and -- you know, without proper consultation and without ensuring that we're talking with the Indigenous governments and the Indigenous organizations would really, you know, not follow the commitment of this government to work closely with those groups and ensure that the process is moving forward.
Having said that, Mr. Speaker, I have been working closely with ITI, and we recently were at Roundup. We've had multiple meetings with industry, and we are discussing ways to find quicker paths forward with regards to the regulation and the permitting process, and that work has been ongoing for almost a year now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to be clear, I don't want to circumvent the rights of Indigenous people; that's certainly not what I'm suggesting. I'm suggesting let's work together to fast track these projects.
Will the Minister bring this concern to the Council of Leaders' table or work with the Premier -- I don't know that process -- but will he get this on the agenda at the Council of Leaders so everyone can work together to fast-track these projects for the sake of our -- every community in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it certainly has been a regulation and land use etcetera have been a topic of -- a common topic with the Council of Leaders and at that table, and, you know, as we work forward together to try and address some of the challenges of fast tracking, if we want to call it that, but, you know, moving the regulatory process at a quicker pace, it certainly involves a lot of communication and ensuring that we have, you know -- we have the Intergovernmental Council legislative developmental process that we use to do this work, and I think it's really important that we work together through that process to find ways through a collaborative effort to move things at a quicker pace. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To be clear, regulatory streamlining is something I support, but this is an emergency situation. Will the Minister work with the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment and the Premier's office, declare a state of urgency at least over the regulatory regime and work with the relevant parties, whether they be federal, Indigenous, to ensure that we could fast-track these nine projects and get these critical -- get our critical minerals out of the ground, into market, and create good jobs in the communities? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, I've been working closely with the Minister of ITI and industry, you know, and as well as the land and water boards and the different regulatory agencies across the territory. And certainly, it's been -- you know, the potential closing of the diamond mines in the next number of years and, you know, the interest from industry to advance their projects in a timely way has certainly been top of mind. You know, those conversations happen not just with the two of us, but it's an all-of-Cabinet approach and we're all involved in those conversations. So I'm certainly happy to continue those conversations amongst my colleagues. And, you know, as we look at the potential tariffs and some of the decisions that are going to come in the days to come to see what we can do together to advance that potential. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.
