Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. In my statement earlier today, I spoke of the need to make sure that we are ready to take advantage of the opportunities that might be before us as it relates to the Giant Mine Remediation Project. We, of course, want to see some opportunity for local business and local employment, and since ENR is the GNWT's lead on the Giant Mine Remediation Project, can the Minister outline what opportunities will be available under the final remediation plan when we go forward? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The priority of the Giant Mine Project is to maximize possible economic opportunities to Indigenous, northern, and local residents and businesses. The contracts for the main construction manager for Giant Mine will be awarded, my understanding is, by the end of December of this year. The purpose of the main construction manager would be to develop and procure subcontractors for the delivery of the project, and by dividing the project into smaller work packages, local employment and business opportunities can be maximized. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you to the Minister for his reply. Hearing from him as it relates to dividing the contracts into smaller work packages, this is good news. I have seen this done before, and it has worked well in the past. Mr. Speaker, there is going to be a lot of responsibility that the GNWT is going to have in this project as we move forward. There will be a lot of overlap going on between a number of our departments, whether it is Environment, Industry, Education, and the like. I would like to ask the Minister: how is the GNWT preparing for opportunities associated with Giant Mine?
The Departments of ENR, ITI, ECE, and Infrastructure have established a working committee to provide advice to the project and assess ways in which the GNWT programs can be tailored and maximized to prepare NWT residents and businesses for opportunities with this project.
Again, thank you to the Minister for his reply. It is good to hear that we are being prepared in that record. Mr. Speaker, we have heard all kinds of numbers when it comes to potential employment, anywhere between 200 to 300 jobs potentially. I would like to ask, Mr. Speaker: is there a good understanding of the current labour and skills required in order to help go forward with the Giant Mine Remediation Project?
ENR is part of the Giant Mine Project team and is making sure that GNWT interests are considered in the design and implementation of the project. The project has carried out and is currently revising a labour study to assess the labour market and identify gaps in skill and services in the NWT. This will allow the project team and GNWT departments to focus our training and capacity building to maximize opportunities in the NWT.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
bee Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Certainly, again, I appreciate the insight shared by the Minister. It is good to hear about the labour study, and I am glad to hear that the GNWT is working with the project team to hopefully fill some of those gaps.
Mr. Speaker, I spoke earlier about the potential energy demands that are going to be associated with the remediation of Giant, and can we meet the demands that the project will need as well as potentially if the needs of TerraX should come on stream at the same time that the remediation project is going forward. I would just like to put that to the Minister. Is the Minister prepared to describe to us how we are going to meet some of the energy demands? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The recent findings of the freeze of arsenic underground at Giant Mine determined that a passive freeze system is preferred, which uses substantially less energy. This means that the energy requirements for Giant remediation may not have a significant impact on energy consumption in the Yellowknife area. I can speak to the Minister of the Power Corporation and would be more than happy to discuss the energy needs of TerraX mine. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
