Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, could the Premier update this House on the status of the after-action review of the 2023 wildfires? Thank you.
Mr. Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So this is a it's a long story. So going back to February, of course, we sat in this House and there was a request for a public inquiry. That came after the decision was made to hold this extensive after-action review where the department would go out or hire a contractor to go out, look at everything that happened in terms of the 2023 fire season response, hold public meetings, speak with staff, and then generate a report with recommendations. Because there was a desire to ensure that this was not influenced by government, the idea it actually came after a meeting I had with the mover of the motion and the seconder, the MLAs for Range Lake and the Deh Cho, as well as the chair of the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight, we had a discussion and from that I left the meeting and we put together a proposal of creating an oversight committee comprised of Members appointed by Council of Leaders, Standing Committee on Accountability of Oversight, and the Government of the Northwest Territories.
That work has been done. Those appointments have been made. Their role is to actually evaluate the RFPs and choose the contractor that will undertake the work. This will ensure that the government is not handpicking the contractor.
Once the contract begins, that oversight committee will ensure that the contractor is not influenced by the GNWT. All of the reports will be given directly to the contractor or to the oversight committee before the government to ensure that there is that the contractor's report is not influenced. And those reports will be shared with the three bodies who appointed the Members. So the RFP assessment process by that oversight committee is underway, and we hope to award an RFP next week or the week after. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my preference, of course, is a public inquiry. I still think it's the way to go. I appreciate we are joining the Premier in this process for now. How long until we get this final report and we can see what the contractor learns from the emergencies last year? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One thing I knew coming into this Assembly is that I wanted to work in collaboration with the relevant partners. The other thing I knew coming into this is that collaboration takes a long time. And so if we would have just gone ahead and issued the RFP as government and managed the contract that way, we would have been a couple months ahead but as it is, once the contract is awarded, there will be six months until the final product is to be delivered. So we are looking at a final report in December. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if there is this report now we have a draft we have a draft order on the table, so to speak. The public can see it, Members can see it. If this after-action report is ultimately found lacking by Members of this House and members of the public, is the Premier willing to call a public inquiry? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't want to get into hypotheticals as it's not in line with the rules of the Assembly. But I look forward to seeing what comes of the after-action review, and we'll make our decision then. Thank you.
Mr. Premier. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the contractor undertake public engagements in every affected community or every community that was evacuated during the 2023 wildfires? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have the list of communities at my fingertips, but the engagement will be robust. I'm happy to get back to the Member with that information. Thank you.
Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
