Mr. Speaker, the Taltson Hydro Expansion is setting the groundwork for future development of industry and ensuring that the power rates across the territory are more reasonable. Therefore, this is probably the number one mandate item for development in our list of priorities. Does the Minister agree with that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I agree. The Taltson Hydro Expansion is one of four major infrastructure projects as a priority of this government. And in no particular order, but it's the Mackenzie Valley Highway, the Tlicho AllSeason Road, the Slave Geological Province Energy Communications and Transportation Corridor. Also, Mr. Speaker, this is a mandate to advance any of the infrastructure projects as Minister of Infrastructure. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the snowball effect that the Taltson Hydro Expansion will have for our economic recovery will be enormous since we know, that by 2030 all major auto companies will be going electric for their vehicle lineups. We cannot wait until the last minute to plan, assess, and complete this major consumer change without this project. Does the Minister agree with that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I agree again. The Taltson Expansion Project is a critical piece of our strategy to connect ten of our communities around Great Slave Lake to one hydro grid that will stabilize the cost of energy for all residents and also set the stage for more of a sustainable resource development so that we can rely on green energy to be able to grow our economy for the next 50years. In our time between the Snare and the Taltson system will provide essential green energy, infrastructure to fuel the clean electrification of the transportation sector here in the Northwest Territories for the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister must mediate a truly strong agreement with the Indigenous groups with majority ownership if possible. We must start walking the talk and show concrete action that the major shareholders are the Indigenous groups that are affected. Does the Minister agree with that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, this is three for four perhaps. I agree. And we are doing this. You know, we have the Akaitcho Dene First Nation, we have the NWT Metis Nation, and the Salt River First Nation have signed off on an MOU to work together on this project, which is very important milestone in moving forward to be able to engage with Indigenous groups along you know, along this project. So we are in the process of shifting our focus to the implementation of the MOU and also a key area of focus on the commercial structure and the business case for this project and ownership opportunities will certainly be available to our Indigenous partners, but we need more time to define the overall costs, the risk of this project, and also all the parties to the agreement that are prepared to accept this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, to conclude, the Taltson Hydro Expansion will be and should be one of the major priorities in our recovery plan for the Government of the Northwest Territories after the pandemic. The Minister should be asking the federal government to fund this project 100 percent to stimulate the economy of the North and to ensure our Indigenous shareholders will benefit from this project. Does the Minister agree with that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are pleased to be operating right now at 100 percent funding for all eight for $18million from the Government of Canada to be able to support a feasibility stage of the project. Funding is being used to define the commercial structure, including costs, risk to the nature of public sector and our private sector to support that is required to make this project a reality. We expect that various levels of public sector support will be required, including the GNWT to be able to unlock the benefits of a longterm potential of this Taltson Hydro Expansion. So, again, Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to be able to agree with the Member on this subject, because sometimes we don't always agree on other subjects. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
