Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is quite correct. The current Liquor Act, which is still the old Liquor Act that we're operating under, has some pretty limited mechanisms and actually is quite out of date. So in the last Assembly, we were very pleased to see a change to the liquor legislation, modernizing it. Still need to get those regulations put in place. So this is, in some ways, the right time to be asking what those regulations might contain because we are at the point of being able to put those regulations together in a way that can, again, respect the different social...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Northwest Territories Carbon Tax Report 20222023; and, Followup Letter for Oral Question 4520(1): Expansion of Snare Hydro System to Tlicho Communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, it's certainly again it's certainly, I think, our hope, my hope, you know shared hope on this end, that that's not going to be the case. As I indicated, we had been initially hoping that the strategic the regional strategic environmental assessment would get moving a little faster than it has. Had that been the case, the timing of that work would well would have contributed well to the timing that we were expecting in advance of the 2028 end of funding for us. So, again, it's been a couple of years. We've had a lot of progress over on the RSEA front...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, first and foremost we are working very closely with Indigenous governments on any routing decisions that might someday be made in the future, including the Tlicho government who did trigger the request for the regional strategic environmental assessment. At this point, we're at a stage going out this summer to do some field work analysis, some early field work analysis but, again, Mr. Speaker, I do want to emphasize no final decisions on routing are going to be made without Indigenous consultation, and the GNWT does continue to participate in the regional...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories does participate. We are a participant in the process. I happen to have been in obviously in the past government, and so saw as that work was getting underway and was present at bilateral discussions with the Tlicho government when the two projects were discussed and where the desire to move forward with both was discussed. So as a partner, we can certainly engage with the others involved and see if there's a way to ensure as partners, as one participant, but just to ensure that everyone knows that there's these...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do, as of December, have a type A land use permit that was issued to us, and with that's just going as far as going up to Lockhart Lake. Now with that, it is hoped that we could spend this summer beginning some field work assessments, and again ultimately had been hoping that more would be happening with the regional strategic environmental assessment. I can say, Mr. Speaker, we have funding right now, federal funding, that goes until 2028. So that puts a bit of a time crunch on us to advance what has been often spoke of as one of the critical...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have been a Minister that's been advocating in support of a North of 60 tax credit now for the mineral resource industry for four now going on five years. I have done so alongside Ministers from Nunavut and the Yukon as well and have done so at the finance table as well as at the mineral resource tables that I have been sitting at under previous iterations as well as the Minister of Infrastructure responsible for energy and for regional energy initiatives. So we'll certainly try to find further opportunities to do that.

I can say, Mr. Speaker, that to date...

I certainly can provide it. I don't have it in front of me, Mr. Speaker. But I would note that in general, direct appointments, at least over the last four years that I can speak to, were in -- I believe 90 percent or so were of individuals who had either P1 or P2 status, which would be Indigenous individuals as well as long-term Northerners, but I'll ensure that we've broken that down to reflect specifically Indigenous Northwest Territories residents. It is a very high percentage of the direct appointments that are -- that go through. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Multiple questions means I can just talk all about the Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Framework. So in this case, Mr. Speaker, I can be quite succinct because in some ways it's simple. Every department has submitted their own employment plan. Those were published in November of 2022. They then have a responsibility to meet both short-term, medium-term, and long-term objectives. In October of just this last year, the employment plans were all posted online, and it shows columns of what is expected for short, medium, and long term. So there's status updates that are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm certain I can provide some summary. I only want to be conscious that I'm not sharing DND information that is not mine to share, but can definitely provide more information about what kind of sale's pitch we're giving. And, again, happy to have more attention on it. I certainly would want to make it very plain and very clear that I share the interest, and I share the enthusiasm. We want to see that investment here. We think the Northwest Territories is the right place for it. And so I'll make sure and get something that we can all share and get behind...