Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in 2014, the Government of the Northwest Territories released its mineral development strategy. It's a document -- this document was a result of broad engagement with industry, Indigenous governments, and other stakeholders and moved the industry forward by creating incentives to keep explorers exploring, evolving its legislation, mapping more geology, including more ways for Indigenous participation in the industry, and creating a strong local workforce. We haven't had an update to this in some time. Can the Minister speak to what the department is doing to build on the success of this strategy. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of ITI.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, not to go on for too long, but I would say that we are working on this strategy every single day. We are supporting currently 42 exploration projects within the territory. We have Pathfinders, a fabulous team of Pathfinders that work every day to make sure that people are connected. We are ensuring that we are including Indigenous governments when those that need funding sources, if they want to join the GNWT at places like PDAC and Roundup, and making sure that we're bringing people together. When it comes to education, we're in the process of transitioning to the BC curriculum which is a driver of innovation through project-based learning for students across the territory. So I'd say this is something that we are working on collectively right from our students to our workforce that exists today and encouraging investment and continuation in this great sector. I think it's also worth noting that this year we are expected to increase exploration expenditures in the Northwest Territories by 27 percent. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that's good news. And I know the Minister knows that mining matters, and it's great to see it move beyond just the mines and actually to other areas of public policy.
Mr. Speaker, the mining incentive program was a big part of the success of the strategy, continues to be successful. Can the Minister tell us if the increase in investment is due to that fund? thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, of course I couldn't speak directly to the correlation, but what I can say is every year while the mineral incentive policy is fully subscribed that not every year are all of those dollars spent. Sometimes at the end of the year companies have to give those dollars back because they weren't able to spend them how they originally anticipated. But I would say the best thing that we can do to continue to increase exploration in the territory is continue to have good conversation like this, continue to make sure that we are participating in events like Roundup, like PDAC, and continue to make sure that we have supporting all partners at the table and bringing everyone together. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's a bunch of regulatory improvements that would greatly help the industry. I know the Minister has spoken about this before in her Minister's statement. But apart from the mining Mineral Resources Act, how is she working with her colleague, the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, to streamline environmental regulations so we can get these projects moving quicker towards the larger regulatory stage? Get exploration projects moving quicker. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, luckily on this -- well, on both sides of the House, we have great working relationships, and that doesn't stop between myself and the Minister of ECC. We're able to come together, and we're working hard to better understand what the other -- what one another is looking for, where each of our departments is at, and what industry is looking for. So we are meeting on a regular basis to work through some of that. What I will also say, Mr. Speaker, is this is work that's not only being done within, you know, the confines of meeting rooms within the GNWT but that industry itself is also looking for ways to streamline processes between the GNWT and the federal government as well and is doing their part to make sure that we're all working together as well. And so I think that over the course of this term, we'll see some really creative things happen as far as industry is concerned in being able to move forward. Also worth noting here, Mr. Speaker, is there's also the Mackenzie operational dialogues that feed right into the work that myself and the Minister of ECC are doing so that there are industry and government tables that exist for this work that we're able to tap into as well. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of ITI. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister. As I said in my Member's statement, it's Mining Week. So what is the Minister doing to celebrate Mining Week? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd be more than happy to commit to the Member to sharing the schedule of Mining Week on my Facebook page to ensure that people have access to it. But there's everything from virtual events so that people can participate across the territory. There's also rock walks happening so people can get out and hold some cool rocks, and believe me, there's a ton of them out there. There are also site tours for lift and lithium, which is a pretty big deal in the North Slave region at the moment and one we definitely want to make sure that people have the opportunity to ask about. And, of course, there's even colouring books for our youngest residents to be able to get involved in Mining Week. And of course, at the end of the week, there is on Saturday here in Yellowknife, a barbecue at the miners' picnic, and that is something that is put on by -- where industry all comes together, and I will be out there flipping burgers and I hope to see as many Yellowknifers and people from the surrounding region out there as possible. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of ITI. Oral questions. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
