Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my second set of questions is for the Minister of Strategic Infrastructure, Energy and Supply Chains. You make it look easy, Mr. Speaker. How is the Minister working with climate science to make strategic decisions for investment in our current and planned energy systems? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is shortly going to be a North Slave resiliency study. The last one of these was some time ago. We are looking to have that updated. And part of what is being done within that study is, in fact, to look at some of the changing climate conditions we are under, including low water, and what that's doing to our water systems and power at various hydro facilities. And of course, also, Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss not to point out to the policy direction that was issued by the GNWT on behalf of our Minister responsible for the Public Utilities Board, which included things like long-term integrated systems planning, which, again, too would be looking at threats as well as opportunities and some of the challenges that we are facing here in the North. So those are a couple of the areas where we are looking to, indeed, to what I think the Member's looking for from us. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister. Can the Minister please tell me how scientific modeling and predictions are impacting decisions made for the future of our energy systems specifically hydroelectric systems, such as Taltson, that her department plans to action into the 2030s. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So certainly scientific study is going to be a significant component of the planning work that goes into Taltson expansion as well as the planning work that's going to have to go into the integrated systems planning more broadly. It is really -- the lack of an integrated systems plan for the Northwest Territories is something that holds back better long-term planning, and it's something that I'm very much looking forward to receive back from the Public Utilities Board. I understand that process has begun, engagement has begun, work with the utilities has begun. And it would necessarily and certainly our response necessarily to that will have to look at what we have available to us in terms of our hydro resources in order to make good on the recommendations that come. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Final supplementary. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has spoken previously in this sitting, and mentioned it earlier in her answers, that she has directed her staff to understand the resiliency of our hydroelectric systems. Can the Minister outline what will happen to meet our net zero goal if we do not meet our timelines to upgrade our strategic energy infrastructure and continue with the status quo. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do want to reaffirm that the net zero goal is still there, that we would be at net zero by 2050. There certainly are different ways that we might reach that goal, whether it's through the simple attrition of industrial measures or whether it's through something more proactive. And there's small scale and larger scale efforts underway, everything from the EV corridor to the border that we do already have, to a Taltson upgrade that is advancing, I would suggest, far quickly than it has in many years, though still some work to go. Having the integrated -- the systems planning and having the resiliency study will help bring those things together. But, yeah, Mr. Speaker, certainly if we fall behind on some of that work, if we fall behind on upgrading the hydro systems that we have, that will certainly make it more difficult to achieve that goal in a proactive way as opposed to simply allowing assets to fall by the wayside or for industry to walk away from here. So the idea is to be proactive, the idea is to find a pathway forward. And, again, Mr. Speaker, that's the modeling that we're doing, the planning we're doing, and why we're continuing to pursue upgrades to the hydro systems. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
