Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our mandate commits that we will develop the business case for the Taltson hydro expansion for spring 2020, Mr. Speaker. And what's notable about that is that we tabled the mandate in February 2020, and it seems to me the only reason you would essentially not give yourself any timeline to develop something is that it was already done. Yet here we are, Mr. Speaker, in fall 2023, and we have not seen the Taltson business case.
So my question for the Minister of Infrastructure, has the Taltson business case been developed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Power Corporation.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the business case is being developed to articulate things like the strategic rationale for the project, demonstrates both economic and social impacts to the Northwest Territories, determine the method by which the project is implemented to ensure optimal value for money. This is still work underway. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yeah, I understand what a business case is, Mr. Speaker. I understand you need one in order to justify spending billions of dollars. I didn't quite get an answer there of whether so I'll try again. Has the business case been developed and if so, can we release it? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the business case was shared with the Indigenous groups. Until we get further feedback from our working group and our steering group, whether we provide it to the public that's still yet to be determined. So right now, it is with the Indigenous groups. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, this Cabinet repeatedly, in every single capital budget, including those asking for money for Taltson expansion. We spent tens of millions of dollars already, and we will continue to spend it, and yet they refuse to share the business case with us. Additionally, the Minister refuses to tell us how much the project actually is going to cost. The last cost estimate we have is from 2014. It included a transmission line to the diamond mines. I understand we are no longer doing that.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister give us an estimate of how much the Taltson project is going to cost. I honestly don't know whether it's two and a half billion dollars or $1 billion, Mr. Speaker. That is the order of magnitude I am unsure of the cost of this project. Can we have an estimate of how much this is going to cost us? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is in the early stages of the Taltson project. You know, we are seeking federal government. They have provided us money to be able to work with Indigenous partners. We're doing that. We also need to look at things like, you know, exploring some business options. We're able to work together with Indigenous groups to get everybody at the table because this is going to be a big, huge project for the Northwest Territories. I'm not in a position right now, Mr. Speaker, to provide what the but the next government can decide how much to share. Right now it's confidential with our partners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Yellowknife North.
Yeah, Mr. Speaker, I just find it completely unreasonable we're having this debate with no sense of how much this project is going to cost. It's clear this will be the largest infrastructure project this territory has ever built. It's a 60-megawatt expansion. Currently, between Blue Fish, Snare, and existing Taltson, we have about 50 megawatts of hydro. So we are more than doubling the amount of power we need to sell in this territory. That is a giant project. It is a multibillion-dollar project; I feel confident saying that. Unlike nothing we have ever done. So can we answer some basic questions. Who are we selling this 60 megawatts of power to? That is tens, if not hundreds of millions of more dollars of power we need to sell. We essentially have to double our rate base. That is a lot of mines that need to exist, Mr. Speaker. So can the Minister try and explain to me who we are selling this power to? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'll say it again. Our working group and steering group are working with Indigenous partners to look at the alignment. You know, we still haven't decided on what phase we're going to work on. And I just want the Member to know it's a big picture thinking. It's thinking about the future. You know, leveraging federal funding so that we could make life better for Northwest Territories residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
