Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, mining is fundamental, and I want to ask the Minister of Infrastructure how we are changing our policy environment to better support the mining sector and get exploration back on track. Can the Minister give an update on the Taltson project as it is crucial to providing cheap, affordable, clean power to the Slave Geological Province. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister for Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to talk about the Taltson project. So the Taltson project is being developed by way of a steering committee that involves the GNWT as well as Indigenous governments who are traditional landholders in the watershed region. Steering committee has to meet and have the first does need to make a decision about the potential routing. With that decision, then we can move to finalizing a business case but that is the next decision that needs to be made. I certainly have been asking as to when that steering committee will be happening. I understand that that should be there should be the next steering committee in the month of March, and then that should allow us to proceed forward. Once we have that, we can also be making our applications for permitting and obviously that is a critical next step. But getting that decision on routing is the next part. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister. Can the Minister update the standing committee after that meeting has been completed and any updates around routing or any other decisions that have been made? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would be very happy to come to standing committee as soon as that decision is made. With that we can also bring forward to them an update on the business case as that will assist in determining what that business case should be once we, of course, know the routing. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of course there's other forms of clean energy but often they aren't good enough for the Northwest Territories given our high need for quality energy. Is nuclear on the table and has I'll just ask the Minister that. Is nuclear energy on the table? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I think that's an excellent question for this House. It certainly traditionally hasn't been something that's been widely considered or widely discussed in the Northwest Territories. But the reality is we have over 20 different energy grids scattered across the territories. We're not linked into the North American energy infrastructure. And it may well be that the future of nuclear, as it's proving to develop and if it's proving to be safe, could well be a direction that the Northwest Territories wishes to go, that communities want to go. And so that certainly is a conversation that should be had publicly and should be had with regions and Indigenous governments and community governments. Thank you.
Minister of Infrastructure. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's a number of pilot projects for small modular reactors taking place in the southern provinces, Saskatchewan and Alberta in particular. Can the Minister commit to monitor the outcomes of those projects and report back to the House or to the standing committee? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd be more than happy to report back. I can say certainly beginning in the last government, I had an opportunity to have some Saskatchewan Research Council folks meet with members of our government, senior officials. I'd like to follow up on that work myself. I do know the GNWT is a part of a federal, provincial, territorial SMI working group that's led by Enercan or Natural Resources Canada. So we do have our finger on the pulse of what's happening but, again, a bit of pressure never hurts to be making sure that we are at the forefront of those conversations as they may be relevant to a future here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Minister of Infrastructure. Oral questions. Member from Monfwi.
