R.J. Simpson

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following six documents: Additional Information for Written Question 11-20(1): Ground Search and Rescue; Additional Information for Written Question 12-20(1): Cost of Living; Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 312-20(1): Transitional Housing Options and Supports; Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 361-20(1): Health Care Sustainability Initiative; Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 413-20(1): Economic Viability of Northwest Territories; and, Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 397-20(1): Overdose-Related RCMP Calls. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to stay away from the term "green new deal." That's politically charged and comes with a lot of baggage. But I am working to drum up investment in critical minerals, explain the importance of critical minerals to the rest of Canada, and let them know what we have here in the Northwest Territories. And I know the message has been heard because I hear it when I travel and meet with other Ministers or premiers, and so we really are pushing that angle. And I'll continue to do so. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a team to sell these projects to the federal government. It's your Executive Council, it's Cabinet, and we do it every single day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So an update on F35 facilities, the Mackenzie Valley Highway, and the Bathurst port, so that's quite a bit of information. I don't think I can get it all to the Member here. But I've met with the Minister of National Defence, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Northern Affairs, and these are what the topics that we talk about. I have these same conversations with my northern Premier colleagues, and together we push for infrastructure development in the North. And I know that the Prime Minister is listening and has unprompted --...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And Jay pipe's a good example of the vast resources that we have here in the Northwest Territories. 1.3 million square kilometers, much of it contains a number of diamonds, precious metals, rare Earth elements, critical minerals, timber, wildlife, all sorts of natural resources that the people of the North can benefit from and resources that we should be able to benefit from. And we are doing that by working with industry, working on streamlining our regulations to the extent that we can, understanding we're just one partner in land management in the Northwest...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Administration of the NWT Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act Annual Report 2023-2024. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And there's been interactions with homelessness and other aspects of life. Someone might be homeless because they have to flee the home that they've been living in. Right now that funding sits with health and social services, but it would only make sense to ensure that the departments are working together and that at least the left hand knows what the right hand is doing. That's one of the things we want to do with this division, is improve the culture of integrated services and cross-departmental coordination. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, yes, of course, I see the benefit of having Burgundy here and all of the direct employment that they provide to northerners as well as all the spinoff employment, all the services provided by contractors across the territory. So yes, we're very committed to continuing to work with industry and making the erritory -- continuously improving the territory so that it is a better place to do business. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I did receive a letter from Burgundy, and I did meet with the senior executives from Burgundy maybe sometime in October. Also at that meeting were the Minister of ITI and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Was the Minister of Finance there? The Minister of Finance was there as well as well as the Minister of Infrastructure. So we had a number of Ministers there. And when it comes to these types of files, I'm not the lead on the regulations on access to lands, those securities, things like that, but I felt it was important for me to attend because...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I think it's go od for me to have that very specific information, so I will look into it. I would also like to offer a briefing to the standing committee, the appropriate standing committee, on the new division and how it's going to be -- how it's going to operate and the work that is currently happening. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.