Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister of ITI consider it a lost opportunity that Fortune Minerals decided not to build a refinery in the NWT for the minerals extracted from the NICO project? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is an exciting opportunity for the Northwest Territories, not a lost opportunity. I appreciate the Member's interest in the area. Building the refinery is a massive undertaking and requires access to affordable energy, clean energy. It wouldn't have been feasible in the Northwest Territories.
That said, the fact that there is now going to be a mine operating here hopefully going to be a mine operating here, but we're tied into another Canadian jurisdiction, in my view is a reason to go back to the federal government and speak to them about the need for the green energy that I'm talking about, the need for transportation corridors, a need for the kind of investments that will, in fact, bring a project like that to light. So I see it as an opportunity, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us if our government had any discussions with Fortune Minerals about refining the minerals extracted from the NICO project inside the NWT rather than a different province? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, apparently there were some early discussions with respect to this as a possibility. It didn't go very far, and it was before my time. It's not a conversation I've had despite having opportunities to meet with this company during the virtual roundup week. So, again, not something that occurred in great depth here. But, again, I do think the conversation can advance where, you know, we can now be part of the Canadian critical minerals and metals approach that's happening a strategy that's happening across Canada, and we can be an important part of that value chain. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, this project has not been finalized yet. So there is still time to negotiate a deal for this project to be built exclusively in the NWT. Can the Minister tell us if our government would welcome the economic opportunity of a mineral refinery such as that being built in Lamont County, Alberta, to instead be built in the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't think any Minister of ITI can ever say they don't want an opportunity to build any sort of new opportunities in the Northwest Territories. But realistically, Mr. Speaker, the Member makes an important point. This is not an operating mine yet. It still has some way to go. There still are some gaps to be bridged. And the conversation where I want to be having is, you know, what are any remaining barriers or challenges that they might face before becoming a successful operation here in the Northwest Territories and putting us on the map for critical minerals and metals.
Again, and the concern I would have with a refinery is the same concern you hear from so many industries high cost of doing business, high cost of power, lack of transportation corridors. So Mr. Speaker, those are all issues that attach to really any investment, and that is where I do want to take that opportunity that I see here to be able to speak to colleagues, federal colleagues about ways to invest and grow the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us what type of economic or other conditions would need to be met in the future to enable a refinery of this nature to be constructed in the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can speak to that a bit. One of the interesting elements would be actually access to more ore, to more minerals and metals. And fortunately, there are quite a large number of projects that are looking into those possibilities across the Northwest Territories. Although at the moment, that would be one barrier, is just simply not having access to enough. Another big one again, as I already mentioned today, Mr. Speaker, is more green energy opportunities which, again, is something that is a priority for this government. Another one, Mr. Speaker, being access to skilled labour, which again, similarly, is a theme we hear a lot here and one that I know the Minister of ECE is certainly live to and keen to see some advancement on. And last, Mr. Speaker, I'd suggest is generally looking at investor confidence, that individuals and businesses and investors are looking at the Northwest Territories and seeing the opportunities here to being on the critical minerals and metals value chain. We know that that opportunity's there. We know that they should have that confidence. But the more there is that buzz out there, the more likely we're going to see projects like this, whether a refinery or simply advanced mining, succeed. Thanks, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
