Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that work is very much underway right now, and it's being done in partnership. To date, the partnership formally is an MOU arrangement, working group work arrangement, between the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Tlicho, and the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. There was certainly some significant comments and commitments made in our -- on our side as a government knowing that there are other Indigenous governments with interests in this area who will want to ensure they're -- that they are engaged and involved in final routing decisions. And...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So this is a result of operating cost increases, and that is due to more severe weather events which then results in higher costs associated with providing runway clearing and -- runway clearing in particular and related other cost pressures, Mr. Chair. Costs of utilities, that certainly affects the government as much as it affects everyone else, and that has been an unexpected cost pressure over 2025 beyond what had been in the plan. And I suppose last and not least, Mr. Chair, would simply be that there's the airport improvement fees don't necessarily go directly in as...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So this is cost-shared. It does have some input from ECE, but that is through their existing work that they do. They're able to provide in kind to offset the funding requirement or funding proportion that is directed to them or expected from them. The program funds are for technical work such as high-resolution enhanced forest inventory, particularly in the area surrounding Fort Providence, as well as improving on modeling in the Taiga Plains ecozone. All of which is meant to help modernize some of our data that is now into the 10 to 30 years old range with respect to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said there was -- there's a very long and detailed business case. It was shared with MLAs earlier this Assembly. And, again, happy to share it confidentially. It was held confidentially in part, Mr. Speaker, because there's other partners involved in the project, and there's considerations that they may have around what -- how they may want to structure their own affairs in this particular instance. As well, Mr. Speaker, the more detailed we get into the costs of something can potentially affect the procurement process that we go out to. If it's well...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So this is -- I mean, I don't have a breakdown of every individual lease, but I can say that this is part of multiple regions and a portfolio of 109 active leases, and it provides -- these are buildings that provide not only office space but also program and service space for government operations, again across all of the regions.

In terms of what is being done, I mean, there is still outstanding work happening with respect to reducing the overall lease footprint, and that's being done in conjunction with the Department of Finance because it would certainly involve...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I don't know that I can 100 percent give that analysis here. Happy to take that back to the department. The request really at this point is driven by the demand but then also some changes in benefit levels. It may well be that the need for changes in benefit levels has some connection to higher costs on the -- on the side of the universities and/or other institutions themselves, but at this point I don't have that kind of analysis here. Thank you.

That's me. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is a very detailed business case. It was developed back, I want to say roughly 2020, 2021. But, Mr. Speaker, the next question -- the second question that was asked as to whether or not we can afford it, the simple fact, Mr. Speaker, is that the GNWT alone cannot afford a project that is into the $3 billion although I might spin it on its head and part of the comment that was being referenced wasn't mine; it was by one of the other Members who attended from another -- as a representative for one of the other governments that's participating...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, in some ways, although it's a bit cold comfort at this point, the deficit was actually predicted to be much higher but it was because of the fact that they were able to recoup some costs by way of increasing the revenues that it was not as bad as it might otherwise have been. Nevertheless, there's still some fairly significant costs associated. So for instance in terms of the fuel costs that continue to be high as well as an almost $2 million grants in lieu, property tax charge that was owing and that needed to be dealt with, and the fact that the fleet remains...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. No, Mr. Chair, this is related to, again, two main components. One is a shortfall in available funds because of a larger number of students who were applying as well as some changes in terms of the types of available -- or the types of a loan and the extent of a loan that was available for students. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, so at the conclusion of the general rate application process, there was increases that were instituted by the public utilities board to reflect a variety of increases in costs which they go through a public process of reviewing. At the conclusion of that process, they did determine that there would be increases to everyone's rates, and that is what people are seeing now, is the conclusion of that process. The GNWT doesn't completely cover all increases to all utilities costs but they have instituted the cost of living subsidy to mitigate those increases so they...