Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is an overall good news story here, so I appreciate the questions. I know there are residents and businesses in Inuvik who are really leading the charge in terms of what's happening in our advanced technology industry here in the Northwest Territories, with the satellite array and providing servicing to them. The agreement we have the Yukon ensures that their traffic can use the Mackenzie Valley fibre line in case of need and that our traffic could use the line that comes down the -- or in case of need. I think there is some additional work that's...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Let me just double check, Mr. Chair. My list also says three, Mr. Chair. So I believe three is the number. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the proposed warehouse is related, really, to the research efforts and research work that is done with and through Aurora College. And more specifically, this will enlarge our total research support capacity space by 70 percent. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Chair, thank you. And, yes, to be clear, the single biggest difference is on this item, and why it is back before the Assembly for supplementary appropriation, is, indeed, the side preparation, contract and tender, which was significantly higher than originally estimated, that as well as the costs of having a crane there to place units, again, in the community, and last, there are, again, some ongoing quality controls elements to the site preparation. So, really, it is all related to ensuring that the community of Colville Lake is ready to receive those units when they arrive. Thank you.

Yes, I would.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, something that I started doing last government, and then very much looking forward to getting back into when we're not in post-election budget cycle, is to do budget dialogues. The budget dialogues was an opportunity to sit down with NGOs, for example, and it was actually out of that that was first the notion of getting to a place where we could have forced growth submissions for NGOs came from, and then it was then supported and driven by MLAs. So it is was an example, firstly, of success from the budget dialogues and frankly success from the consensus...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, while I may be responsible for financial management board management, the Premier's office is responsible for the relationship with NGOs. And right now, in EIA's business plans for the next four years, there's a significant amount of work planned out to happen in this space to ensure that there's the advisory group that is formed to provide exactly the kind of feedback that the Member is asking and that the recommendations from the report of, I believe 2023, can be looked at towards implementation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have the existing or the specific amounts under the MOU in front of me. I'll have to just double check. There's been no reductions to the Taltson work, and there is federal funding involved. And, as I understand it, the federal funding that we have does take us forward to a point that is satisfactory to get this work done. So I've not been under any impression of any cuts or funding drawbacks. I expect that if there was an understanding from the federal government -- or from the Indigenous governments, then it should indeed be there and be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Subject, obviously, to finding an opportunity to meet with these producers, what I could say is we can have a review in front of the financial management board this summer. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I've had the opportunity to tour the facility here and meet with the producers, and I've heard from them that they certainly would, sounds like, prefer to see a discount on the retail end price as opposed to on the markup price. Mr. Speaker, we've certainly had that conversation many times. No doubt it would -- I can't say whether it would make a difference for them. You know, at this point I'd need to know what their numbers are. I can commit to reviewing the policy again. We've done that in the past. We've done that in response to this industry, prepared...