Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the big reason that there is a pilot running in the community of Fort Simpson is, in fact, to confirm whether or not the fairly significant infrastructure costs associated with this particular battery optimization system will be offset by savings in diesel fuel. If that is the case and if that can therefore offset those costs, then we may well see that this is an opportunity for us in other communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, it is, I think, actually slightly more than what it was previously. So, yeah, $17.8 million. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Not to my knowledge, Mr. Speaker. But I would be more than happy to put that on the radar of the health recruitment unit. They have been very busy, have seen a lot of success, have met their targets of recruitment, and if this is an opportunity to see more recruitment then we will certainly work with perhaps a non-profit or a non-government entity to see if there's a chapter that could be opened here. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the electric vehicles charging station that is -- that work -- let me just see here. Actually, Mr. Chair, let me see if the deputy minister or assistant deputy minister might have the details on that, please.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, again, there's 11 departments, multiple different types of services. There's Tlicho, TCSA already, and district education authority services. So there already are some services that are delivered directly, then there are other services that go through the North Slave regional office. And the effort, as I understand, of having a working group set up with the Tlicho government is to ensure exactly that we do not have duplication between our governments or between what's happening in the region and in headquarters functions. So that work does need to get...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, let me send this first to assistant deputy minister Wickens, please.

Yes, indeed, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, there's a number of efforts underway, not only -- not only within the Snare but across the Northwest Territories in terms of micro hydro capacity in some smaller communities that would be unlikely to ever find themselves on our existing hydro grids, as well as with the Tlicho government and opportunities within the Tlicho region near Whati. So that is a project that's also being looked at, as well as to increase the transition -- or transmission capacity to some of the communities who would be on the grid. So in order to also, again, just to be able...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. To the -- this is the benefit of having carved off strategic infrastructure from infrastructure as a whole. I had, of course, the opportunity to have infrastructure as a whole and it was admittedly difficult, whether from my own office, or I would suggest within infrastructure broadly, to be focused on the massive department that that is and all the services it provides as well as these strategic projects which are functioning at a different level. So for ourselves, I would suggest this split within the department has proven to be very helpful in terms of focusing efforts...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, there there is in the 2026-2027 Budget, a proposed increase. Obviously that remains to be seen, how that goes here, but it's still before committee. But there is a proposed increase to student financial assistance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's in fact the folks down in the Taltson zone who are seeing the largest rate impacts. They had been paying an amount that wasn't reflective of the impacts of having increased infrastructure in their region and as a result of that, Mr. Speaker, it's actually that area that's seeing the greatest increase, not folks who are in the northern zone on this particular occasion. Thank you.