Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the collective agreement between the union and the Government of the Northwest Territories did expire in March, March 31st of 2023. I don't have a set timeline. We go through the bargaining process which is not necessarily a strict timeline in and of itself. But it is a priority, certainly for the Government of the Northwest Territories, I'm confident for the union one as well. Obviously, the wildfires and evacuations have made some challenges to everyone's schedules, but it does remain a priority. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, with me, I have the deputy minister of finance, Bill MacKay. And I have Kristal Melanson, director for the management board secretariat.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, no, the current capital estimates are still the current capital estimates. So there's no change to what's before the House now with respect to or as a result of this wildfire season. You know, again, as I'd indicated, if there was to be changes coming, that would be in a future capital plan. But the yeah, I mean, the materials and the information that's before you here, there is already or quite a bit of investment into the area. So nothing contemplated to change in these capital plans. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, I am here to present the Government of the Northwest Territories 20242025 Capital Estimates, the last capital budget of the 19th Legislative Assembly. This budget builds on our commitment to tabling a capital budget that is achievable while still addressing the priorities and needs of Northwest Territories residents.

These capital estimates propose:

$361 million in expenditures to support and continue infrastructure investment in our communities. Major highlights of this capital budget include:

$94.2 million for highways, winter roads, bridges and culverts. Key...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I wouldn't be in a position to speak to what might be coming down the pipes here. I turn it to Dr. Kelly, please.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm hesitant to try to stand and draw comparisons to the Yukon, and the reason is this: This Mineral Resource Act regulations was the first resource first of all of the projects in the Northwest Territories land and natural resources sector that relied on the Intergovernmental Council process. There were a lot of lessons learned on what that process could look like, how it could work. In the end, it's actually and my understanding from reading the summary report that I've seen is that the technical working group composed of the Intergovernmental Council...

Madam Chair, that is a huge question. It's a huge question that comes in light of the fact that, you know, again, this was this was a difficult few years, and we have some projects where people work in communities for safety reasons didn't want teams come into their communities. Then we had other projects where they were not able to go into those communities. And we've had then some other projects where the supply chain has utterly disrupted our schedules and then significantly impacted on the costs.

So I'm not sure that in at the end of those three years of that nature is necessarily the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there will be changes to the royalty regime. It's part of the regulatory process that we're undergoing. Whether it will necessarily be what the Member wants or visions for it, I can't say. Obviously, the process isn't done. It's one that we are going through, and I will detail it at some length in the summary report showing the process that is followed with the Intergovernmental Council. I can say from the recent mining and Minister's or energy and mining Ministers' conference that I was at that there's been some work done at Enercan, looking at all of...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Joining now at the table is Perry Heath who is the director of infrastructure and planning for the Department of Health and Social Services.