Thank you, Mr. Premier. Final supplementary. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm wondering if the Minister of MACA could give us an update as to the municipal land transfers that they were supposed to be working on for the last year. I thought that we're only making minor headway in some places, in particular Yellowknife. What is actually happening with block land transfers? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not -- the Department of MACA is not the department for land transfers. But we do part of the work with the communities -- or community governments for their community planning and stuff like that. So might be for another Minister. Thank you.
Let's see, can't change the Minister. Has to stay on the question line. I'm old school. I forgot that the land -- Mr. Speaker, with respect to community -- I'm going to waive the question. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So my questions now are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. On a similar theme, so the students we spoke with yesterday noted that in the new BC curriculum, there's no specific course about climate change and its impacts on northern environments or northern people. It's left to individual teachers to find their own resources or partner with non-profits like Ecology North to incorporate that into the curriculum. So that means some NWT students might get to learn about it and some won't. Has the department of education looked at creating a made-in-the North course or curriculum about climate change similar to what we've done with the northern studies curriculum? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, it's an important distinction that while we are adapting the BC -- or sorry, while we are migrating to the BC curriculum, we are doing adaptations to that curriculum to reflect the Northwest Territories, so it's an NWT adapted BC curriculum. Within that curriculum, there are a number of climate education that intentionally reflect the Northwest Territories that are being implemented. And so first off, Mr. Speaker, there's the new Northern Studies 30 course that -- it was developed here in the Northwest Territories in partnership with Indigenous government, and that directly addresses climate change. It addresses it through a unique and culturally relevant lens that examines not only climate change but also, of course, impact to the land, fostering deeper understanding not only here in the Northwest Territories but also globally. In addition to that, Mr. Speaker, some of the new courses that will be offered in the NWT will be Earth Sciences 11, Environmental Sciences 11, Science For Citizens 11, and Environmental Science 12. And those will all have a focus on climate change as well. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So can the Minister clarify whether the content around climate change in those courses has been developed by the department and then distributed to schools or to what extent it's left up to teachers to sort of fill in the blanks or make it relevant to the local context? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, in the context of Northern Studies 30, that course was a made-in-the-NWT course. It was developed in relationship and partnership with Indigenous governments. In regards to the other courses and the adaptation of them from a BC curriculum to an NWT curriculum, so that would be the final ones that I listed off there, you know, environmental science or earth sciences and the science for citizens, those courses there, it has a team of teachers from education bodies across the territory that work on adapting it. And so I've had the opportunity to walk through the halls over at education, culture and employment while they're in the building as they're doing that work and just happen to walk by at the right time. And so they are spending a significant amount of time on it. But there certainly would be opportunity for teachers then to take that work and make it their own and make it relevant to the interests of students in the particular community that they're in, and I think that's one of the special things about this curriculum too, is the ability for it to be flexible. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm wondering if the department has tried to engage or partner with non-profits, such as Ecology North, to try to incorporate more northern resources into curriculums, you know, for all the different grades. I know Ecology North doesn't have the resources to create a whole curriculum, but they might be able to add or support and work with communities. Has the department tried to work creatively with non-profits in that way? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, the department certainly is a group of very enthusiastic and creative people. A lot of them used to actually be in the classroom and wanted to move to the department to hold different roles within education in the territory. So certainly creative, certainly looking for other ways. Whether or not they have partnered specifically with Ecology North, I couldn't say. I can say that as a student in the Northwest Territories, had the opportunity to have Ecology North be within our school system in certain ways and other NGOs across the territory.
What I can say, Mr. Speaker, is that there are a lot of partnerships within all of our communities that I would encourage any teacher to take advantage of because I think it also breeds community involvement which is really important. But I hear the Member, and I'm always happy to have conversations about how we work together. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my address to the budget today, I mentioned the $5.5 million solar ray that the town of Inuvik are currently installing. Good for the town of Inuvik, as I had said, but I wondercan the Minister responsible for the NWT power corp give an update on how that system or what has been done to integrate that system into the current grid and what effects that may have on the power grid in Inuvik. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Boot Lake. Minister responsible for NWT power corp.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's sometimes forgotten that the Inuvik Wind Project also included with it a battery system that allows for greater integration of renewables. And to that end, while there are still some -- there were still some deficiencies over the course of the fall, it is expected that ultimately the solar array will be delivering up to1000 kilowatt hours to the grid. Again, just working out some of those kinks, but that is still expected to ultimately be the source of power that's integrated into that system. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for that. So is it anticipated, then, obviously pulling that revenue away from the power corp in Inuvik, run our own grid up there obviously, the thousand kilowatt hours that could potentially be put back in the grid, is that going to offset the loss, I guess, of the revenue stream that the town of Inuvik rec complex would normally provide? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the information that -- for this point that I've been receiving and keeping updated on is really on ensuring that the resources available to the community are there in terms of the power generation and, in particular, seeing the benefits of removing diesel. As far as a more detailed analysis of what that output or balance might be one to the other, Mr. Speaker, I'll have to go back and ask for that. But, again, at this point the good news story in my view, Mr. Speaker, is that the battery system that was connected to Inuvik wind is, in fact, providing the opportunity to bring these solar projects into that grid and ultimately remove the reliance on diesel. So, again, happy to bring this back to the House to confirm just what kinds of financial offsets there might be from that as well. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister responsible for NTPC. Final supplementary. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thanks to the Minister for that. And, yes, I'm aware of the battery system that's currently in place. I understand we're looking to get quite a larger one in there. And I'll have -- I'll save the -- my wind questions for another time. But there's also I'm aware of, I believe, two biomass applications in for Inuvik as well to look at possibly putting the -- a couple of municipal buildings on biomass as well. Is the -- has the Minister been informed of this and, I guess, is the department aware of that project as well and how that, again, will affect power consumption in the community as it relates to the power corporation? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, certainly there's a number of different biomass initiatives underway across the territory. Again, as how they may affect the tradeoffs between costs of diesel for heating fuel or all as well for cost of fuel or diesel in communities that rely on it, that specific analysis, again, happy to come back to the House and provide that with -- with respect, Mr. Speaker, more generally, I can say that there are power purchase agreements being signed in Inuvik with Nihtat Energy, for example, and can, again, confirm exactly the nature of the arrangements that we may be underway with respect to the biomass projects. Happy to bring that back. Ultimately, Mr. Speaker, reducing that reliance on diesel exclusively will certainly produce some more reliable and sustainable energy system for the long-term. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister responsible for NTPC. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs how his department supports the administration of the Dog Act in the Northwest Territories. This is an important piece of legislation around cruelty to dogs in our communities. It's the only piece of animal welfare legislation in the Northwest Territories, and the SPCA does a lot of work to promote and protect healthy -- health and wellness in dogs and help their owners out. So how is the department helping communities meet their needs towards the administration of the Dog Act? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs supports local governments in establishing and utilizing their municipal bylaws for dogs in the communities. But I'm not too familiar with the Dog Act as it was raised here, so I'll have to get back to the Member with an answer for his question. Thank you.
Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for example, the city of Yellowknife is contracting the SPCA to operate their pound. That's an additional cost to the SPCA. They don't have staff resources for it. So does the department provide resources to do -- to operate pounds, operate bylaw officers who can enforce the Dog Act? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like other communities, those are responsibilities for the municipality and that would be an agreement, I'm sure, between the city and the SPCA. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if there is signs of abuse against dogs or, you know, dogs being treated poorly in communities, what are the enforcement mechanisms available to the Minister to prevent that in our communities? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like I said, a lot of that stuff is related with the community bylaws. But, however, I will get back to the Member with his question and see how much more I can dig into in regards to the Dog Act. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker; I was worried you missed me.
Mr. Speaker, I guess I'm so old I remember MACA managing the land, so I'll redirect the exact same questions to the Minister of ECC which I'll give him a moment because it looks like he's ready. But I can repeat the question in case he needs me to repeat it. That said, the question was about the block land transfers to municipalities, and I've heard in particular that there's been some challenges in the Yellowknife transfer. Can he bring this House up to speed as to what is being done and what he can do to ensure that we have timely and effective process happening here and ensuring that citizens have access to land such as the city of Yellowknife to ensure we have development, etcetera. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to date, there has only been one request for a block land transfer, and that was from the city of Yellowknife. The Department of Environment and Climate Change has been in constant contact with the city and have been discussing the issue to find a path forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is where I get to be the long tooth of the Assembly. I remember that same message back in 2003. So what is the blockage from some of these initiatives that's stopping this transfer moving forward? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are a number of challenges with the proposed bulk block land transfer. It is under the -- there's a couple of pieces of legislation that govern that type of transaction, one being federal, one being territorial, and there's a requirement under that legislation for a complete survey which has a significant cost. This has been one of the barriers. But as I stated in my earlier answer, the department is continuing conversations with the city. Our deputy minister met with the city representative last week, and I believe they're meeting again this week and continuing to advance this forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. From my understanding, I didn't know we had the federal lands Minister here, so I'll focus strictly on territorial lands and territorial lands that may or may not need a survey. I thought they worked through the cost of the survey issue in order to transfer them in larger quantums rather than parcel them out into small pieces which costs a fortune. So, Mr. Speaker, has any specific headway been gained or made through that type of challenge to ensure that it's an efficient process and doesn't become a cost burdensome to the municipality? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, those discussions are still ongoing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister of Environment and Climate Change more about the project permanence for financing trust that was established by this House. It's a little troubling to hear the money is not actually flowing. There's -- every opposition party, I think it's on record right now, saying they'll bring the government down when the House of Commons resumes. So what is the Minister going to do to ensure that we actually get the $300 million to put into this fund? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
