Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a lot of hypotheticals at this point given that we're still under the current act and given that the tender hasn't even been begun; that process hasn't even begun yet. But right now, the way it's set up under the act is, of course, that it has to go through a system whereby the official retailer would have to be designated. And even before getting to that point, Mr. Speaker, when considering what the procurement process would look like, and there's an analysis that's done by the NTLCC, the liquor commission, that looks at whether or not more stores are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, again, I certainly will commit to reaching out again. And I think that the steering committee also is directing that we reach out collectively and try to ensure that memorandum of understanding is, to its fullest, utilized in the design of the project.

Mr. Speaker, with respect to consultation, absolutely; when there is a project to consult on, if the Salt River First Nation hasn't come back to the MOU process, which again certainly hoping that they do, if that's their choice not to then, absolutely, any and all Indigenous governments on whose...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, there is a joint research project that was done, the Northern Mineral Sector Investment Study. It was a joint project between Nunavut, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, it was tabled. It is document 53119(2 and I'd be thrilled if folks would look at it. It's a it does have a lot to say about how to increase resource exploration in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, those meeting minutes are not intended to be transcripts and there is certainly a danger when there's, you know, the idea that people's comments are being written down not exactly as quotes, not as transcripts, but then being treated as such. So I have asked, and I will verify that the meeting minutes are an accurate reflection of the topics that were discussed, of the attendances, of any action items, of any follow-up, and that's really what I would hope people can take from it so that they do understand the work that the Department...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there we are very much committed to the MOU process, and I will certainly ensure that we continue to use that MOU process to engage with the Indigenous governments who have also signed on to that process. That is, again, as I've said, an opportunity to design this program and to design this project differently. Once there of course is a project on which to consult Indigenous governments in the region or in any affected traditional territories, that also, of course, will happen, Mr. Speaker. Consultation and engagement is essential for any project in the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm hesitant to speak directly on behalf of the business community in this role but I can certainly say the engagements I've had to date with mineral resource companies, exploration advanced, and even the operating mines, all certainly agree that they are keen to see the advancement of green energy options in the North and certainly ask about the work that's happening at Taltson. And similarly, any businesses that are in the construction industry that are in the would have an opportunity to benefit from greener energy certainly are asking for updates, and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Salt River First Nation was one of the Indigenous groups that had signed on to the Memorandum of Understanding process and, along with the GNWT and other Indigenous governments who are in the area affected by energy generation potentially, and who would therefore have potentially an interest in participating in the design of the program. There have been two steering committee meetings thus far of this group; however, at the first one Salt River First Nation decided they did not want to participate in the MOU process.

That is certainly their prerogative...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Mineral Resource Act regulations project is really quite massive, and obviously it contains I shouldn't say obviously. It contains quite a number of different components, and putting all those components together with a schedule in and of itself has taken some effort, even as the different pieces have advanced.

So what I can say, Mr. Speaker, firstly, there is, I believe, an outstanding offer to brief standing committee about this work. I'm again happy to reiterate that offer and to give that briefing and to ensure that that is made available, and in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if I recall correctly, the first time this came up last spring we had made efforts to ensure that meetings were going to be posted in a public fashion, and I do believe that it was actually last session in December that I had informed the Assembly again of the intention to make these summaries public. Putting up some notes on the website is not normally the kind of thing around which I would be doing formal news releases or otherwise but happy to have the information out here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, it is in the role as the Minister of Finance, along with the Minister of Infrastructure, that we are the two of us are collectively on the steering committee which is as part of the memorandum of understanding. The memorandum of understanding is an opportunity to really approach the design of the project differently. So we're at still a very early stage. We're at the stage of kind of conceptualizing what this could look like, what the project might be. And going through the MOU process is really an exciting opportunity to engage Indigenous governments at the front...