Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT has a transboundary agreement with the Government of Alberta to ensure the ecological integrity of our shared waters is maintained. The Alberta-NWT and BC-NWT bilateral water agreements are the most comprehensive agreements of their kind. The agreements require the Government of Alberta to consult with the GNWT on any projects that could impact waters that enter the Northwest Territories, provide notification of changes to the monitoring sites, conduct ongoing monitoring, review the monitoring data, prepare annual reporting on commitments of the agreement, and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Public Land Act received assent on August 21, 2019, at the end of the 18th Legislative Assembly. The new Public Land Act consolidates the existing Northwest Territories Lands Act and the Commissioner's Land Act into one cohesive land management regime. To bring the Act into force, new regulations must be developed.

The Department of Lands is taking a phased approach to regulation development. Phase 1 is focusing on the essential regulations necessary to bring the Public Land Act into force in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2022-2023. These regulations will...

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources assesses water quality and quantity, including the health of aquatics ecosystems. Unfortunately, the department does not assess the human risk. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Member. The GNWT is confident, and when I say "GNWT," the department of ENR and myself are confident that the Alberta and NWT bilateral water management agreement remains the best tool to address transboundary concerns related to water management and to protect the interests of the Northwest Territories. Water quality results are available on the ENR site and are updated in a timely manner. Results of the monitoring are released in annual reports, which are required under our agreement, and the last annual report was tabled in the Legislative Assembly this past fall.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As people of aware, I had to travel south in November to deal with a personal family matter. It was a very difficult situation, but something I needed to do. With this in mind, I followed the process as set out by the CPHO. I submitted my self-isolation plan, and after a few conversations with staff over a few days, it was identified that I would have to stay at one of the isolation centres in Yellowknife.

As we got off the plane, we were ushered into the airport, lined up, and had the opportunity to meet with the COVID staff at the airport. They were very professional...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to say the situation in Fort Liard continues to improve thanks to the support of the GNWT. Yesterday, I talked about the amazing work that the community of Fort Liard has done, and today it's about the GNWT.

Following confirmation of the case of COVID in the community, the rapid response team was deployed into the community and did an amazing job of testing and informing the community of what had happened. I am happy to say that they have been demobilized. It is my understanding that one of the nurses from the team has remained in the community to follow up...

I can guarantee the Member will be knocking on my door, asking me more questions, so I greatly appreciate that as we try to educate each other and the public. ENR's hunters and trappers disaster compensation program can assist the traditional harvesters who suffer losses or damage to their equipment or assets because of natural disasters, including floods. The program is available to the NWT harvesters who possess a general hunting license and/or are a land claim beneficiary actively engaged in renewable resource harvesting activities and whose harvesting provides at least 25 percent of their...

The GNWT uses data from the hydrometric gauges operated by Water Survey of Canada. The Water Survey of Canada hydrometric stations are part of the national network of stations that have been operating following standardization methodology over their 100 years. Gauges in the Taltson River basin have been operating since 1962. ENR assessment includes an analysis of Water Survey of Canada data and data provided by NTPC.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Securities have been transferred dominion to the new company in the same amount and with the same insurance companies and banks. With the cash required for the purchase, it would have been a detriment to ask the company to replace the securities with irrevocable letters of credit or cash in closing. Sureties are an acceptable form of security and our due diligence on the Ekati sale included an assessment of the financial health of the surety providers. There is an agreement in place for the company to replace the securities with cash over time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document: "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 476-19(2): Enforcement on Reserve Lands." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.