Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if we ever expect to realize living wages for NWT workers, we need increased resource development to move that initiative forward, because we can't rely on finite federal funding to prop up the economy forever.
So Mr. Speaker, the Premier previously stated that the Northwest Territories requires investments and strategic infrastructure that can help to unlock our natural resource potential when seeking commitment from the federal government for 100 percent flexible infrastructure funding. Can the Premier confirm where this government is with respect to achieving those goals? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Honourable Premier.
Mr. Speaker, I'd like to defer that to the Minister of Infrastructure. She's taking the lead on the infrastructure funding. Thank you.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm happy to report that progress has been made on all three of our strategic infrastructure projects: The Slave Geological Province Corridor, the Mackenzie Valley Highway, and the Taltson Hydro Expansion.
Our work is supported by over $250 million in combined federal and territorial support to advance these three important projects. Funding to date has been 75 federal for Mackenzie Valley Highway/Slave Geological Province and 100 percent federal for Taltson.
While all three of these projects are currently at different stages ranging from a feasibility and planning to environmental assessment, they are all advancing. You know, some of the key milestones for these projects this year include Mackenzie Valley Highway, submission of the developer’s assessment report to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board this fall to advancing environmental assessment, advancement of Prohibition Creek and Mount Gadet access road projects.
For the Slave Geological Province Corridor, advance of Indigenous knowledge, environmental engineering work to support future project applications, discussions with Canada and Indigenous governments regarding a request by the Tlicho government to undertake a regional strategic environmental assessment of the project.
Regarding the Taltson Hydro Expansion, routing selection, Indigenous knowledge, environmental and engineering work to support the future project applications, working with our Indigenous partners to discuss commercial structure for the project.
Mr. Speaker, we continue to talk with communities and Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations on these important projects so they are prepared to take advantage of future economic and social benefits. Quyananni.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That was a mouthful.
Mr. Speaker, extraction of resources is one component of oil and gas and mineral resource development. Refining the product is another. The community of Hay River, with its railhead highway access and marine facilities, is strategically located to accommodate such infrastructure.
Can the Premier confirm what effort or incentives this government puts in to encouraging natural resource development companies to establish processing or process extraction facilities in communities such as Hay River? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The responsibility for new businesses is the Minister of ITI. I'd like to defer the question to the Minister of ITI. Thank you.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Madam Premier. Mr. Speaker, we're always looking for opportunities. We are happy to work with any proponent, whether that's as a pathfinder of our own processes and our own regulatory processes, whether it's as a pathfinder of understanding what the federal processes might be. Mr. Speaker, obviously, for I shouldn't say obviously, but for any larger scale programs they are typically on the mineral resources side, they would involve often IBAs, SEAs, social economic agreements, impact benefit agreements, and so certainly to the extent that they're able to provide value added in terms of, you know, increasing the amount of northern component, then that will, no doubt, be a benefit on those fronts. So, you know, we're certainly happy, as I say, more than happy to work with any project that is looking at developments here in the territory. I expect, really, Mr. Speaker, we'd wind up being whole of government, and we'd probably see Lands involved; you'd probably see ENR involved. And certainly in my experience in the last two years, the LNR departments Lands, Natural Resources departments are now actively meeting, actively working together and quite ready to look at those kinds of opportunities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we know the resource sector wants certainty respecting complex regulations along with restrictive land use planning legislation and policy something this and past governments have discussed for years with little to no resolution on how to soften it.
Can the Premier tell me what this government is doing to streamline processes or at least to lay the groundwork for future governments to ensure longterm resource development and processing takes place in the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, that question's for the Minister of ITI. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Minister responsible for ITI.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's sort of two parts there. In terms, Mr. Speaker, of knowing the processing side, that's much more complicated. It involves large tracts of land potentially. But, Mr. Speaker, with respect to the regulatory processes we have here in the territories, we already have the client services/client relations folks within ITI who are system navigators and well known to help proponents get through our system. There's a Mackenzie Valley operational dialogue that's happening right now with the regulatory bodies as well as with government to ensure that we are all working together to make regulatory processes achieve their goals but also being achieve their goals of being protective of the interests that they need to protect but of course of being understandable and to the proponents who are going through them. Then, of course, Mr. Speaker, there's the Mineral Resources Act that is currently seeing its regulations being developed which to the extent that we are responsible for our regulatory processes, that is a system that's being codeveloped and worked through the IGCS, the Indigenous governments the Indigenous governmental relations. And last thing, Mr. Speaker, you're seeing the same thing happening with public lands. So really our system as a whole now is becoming whole of government, and it's one that is already evolving significantly to be more clear, more transparent, more involved, and will continue to do so over the next couple of years of this government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with closure of mines and oil and gas facilities come opportunities for reclamation, a discipline where Indigenous and northernbased companies can provide this service.
Can the Minister tell me what supports or plans are in place to ensure that Indigenous and northern companies are prepared to take this work on? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with that regard, again, we're looking at multiple departments all working together. ENR does have the lead in terms of developing right now and actively right now developing remediation economy document and strategy so that we best understand where the opportunities lie. ITI and ECE work together in terms of understanding what training opportunities exist and what our labour market needs are going to be over the next few years, including in the remediation sphere. So both of those things are underway. Again, all three departments are actively involved in discussing, one with the other, to make sure that we're also keeping in touch with industry and private sector so that we're not just off developing these things in a vacuum; we're developing these things in lockstep with what's happening in the private sector and so that we can, of course, best take advantage of those opportunities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
