Robert C. McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When we went through the reduction exercise of a couple of years ago, the department felt that they were able to continue to do the high-quality work that they do with the budget that they have. We have been fortunate that we have been able to tap into a lot of federal money that has been coming forward, allowing us to keep doing the work that we do. We are through the reduction exercise and, as we move forward and the departments start coming forward with some new initiatives, I am sure that the department will look at this as an opportunity to refocus and gear the new...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We can reach out to them, but at the same time, if they are still interested in following up with some of these initiatives, they can contact us, as well. We will reach out to them. Thank you.

No, I know, I know. Everybody heard me because the mic was on. I was just saying that this whole exercise we are going through is not a make-work project. It is just that we are trying to improve services across the Northwest Territories to the public and to our GNWT employees. So going back to the Member's question, I will commit to sharing the information with the appropriate committee. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Yes.

Yes, I think that they all decided to move to a safer location. No, I don't think that the Member was going to give up until I gave him the actual information. The Nahanni Population is the Nahanni Butte population, and the Slave River Lowlands is Fort Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The agreement is for 20 years. This was a P3 partnership, and so we are paying fees on that, and we make $1.2 million. As far as renegotiating, I am not sure if there is an opportunity to renegotiate. Maybe I will go to our fibre-line expert through you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The budget line item that the Member is referring to is part of this appropriation that we are bringing forward to the Assembly right now. Once it is approved, then we will go out, work with the community, work with all the other communities, like we normally do, as far as the training and that goes. Right now, it is subject to approval of the budget. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Again, going back to my earlier comment, we identify somebody who has the ability to move through the system and, with the proper training, move into a management role. I think we see it government-wide. We have a lot of Indigenous people now in management roles, and some of it is through the training of the GNWT, and there are a number of training options that are available. So we continue to work with them, and, if there is an opportunity for them to be identified, get a position, move through the system, we will train them, and we have the appropriate appropriation to...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is actually a very good idea, and I think it is something that we are going to away from here and have a look at to see if there are opportunities for us to provide that. The Member said it exactly. It is very expensive to go out and search for people. There are times when the planes come from southern Canada, and that could be the difference between living or dying.

I think that the idea has got a lot of merit, and I can assure the Member that it is something that we will go away from this particular exchange with and see if it is one that we could implement. Thank...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In the Member's riding, a draft Nahanni bison management plan has been revised following an internal ENR review, and it will go out for a broader GNWT review. In the Nahanni population, currently, there are seven male tags only available, and once the population has reached 1,000 animals, a male-only harvest of between 1 to 2 percent could be implemented, as per the management plan. I think that the short answer to the Member's question is yes, we are looking at three different herds of bison in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.