Well, right now the driving training is happening in Behchoko, class 3 -- class 1 and 3. They were told -- the participants were told that your driver's license is restricted. It's for Tlicho region unless you go to Yellowknife and then do your driving test there, and then it's -- the restriction is going to be removed. But that's not what we want, so -- you know, I mean, this is like -- I can't believe we still are doing this. We're so close to Yellowknife, and we drive on the road almost every day daily, and we have experienced drivers. It's just that having the restriction on their driver's license when we're so close to Yellowknife, it's unbelievable. That's not, you know -- I mean, we shouldn't even have that. We shouldn't even be discussing this. It should be restricted -- I mean, unrestricted. You know, the restriction should be lifted because, I mean, that's not right. So I just want to ask the Minister if he can -- you know, he's got high-level technicians or high-level people working with him, if they can have that restriction removed for Tlicho region. Thank you.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So part of the restriction, I guess, is the fact that some communities you're not able to perform some of the skills or tasks that are part of the driving exam, so that's why we have the restriction. So maybe what I can do is -- I don't think it's as simple as just saying Behchoko, you can no longer do restricted licenses. So I think what I will take back here is if I can get the department maybe just to come back to the Member and have a detailed maybe one-pager just to say these things cannot be performed in Behchoko and that's why there's restricted licenses, that's why you have to go to Yellowknife to do the licensing. You know, the simplest thing could be you can't perform a lane change or a parallel park or something like that. So those are only speculation, but I can get the department to come forward with a report on why we cannot do that in Behchoko so there's a better understanding. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Member from Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. You know, I meant to say expertise. So Yellowknife is North Slave. We're part of North Slave right now. So we shouldn't even have the restriction because we're, like, next door to Yellowknife. We access all their program and services, so we -- I think when we look at it, okay, in Behchoko alone, we don't have a stop sign or street lights -- or not street lights -- stop signs, but that can be done. You know, it could be accommodated. And we -- and the Highway No. 3 is a territorial road, and it has a divided line. I think we have the capacity to do it, but it's just that the department are not willing to do it. Because, I mean, there shouldn't be any questions about it. It should be done. Thank you.
Okay. I will go to the Minister.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. Like I stated earlier, there's nothing stopping anybody from getting their unrestricted license if it's done in a location where you can actually perform all the skills required in the unrestricted license. So as I stated earlier, I will get a one-pager done up so that we can clarify what the actual issues are in Behchoko as to why we cannot do the unrestricted licenses there so that the Member's aware of the conditions there. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go back to the Member from Monfwi.
Yes, okay. Thank you. Thank you for that information, Minister. I want to ask the Minister, now that we've been talking about this driver's license restrictions and there's a community government in Behchoko, so can the Minister commit or work with the community government, chief and council, discuss this restriction driver's license? Because I am not too sure if they are aware of it, but if they are aware of it then I am sure they will do something about it as well. So I just wanted to ask the Minister if the Minister can commit to working with the current Tlicho leaders in Behchoko. Thank you.
Thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. I have no issues with working with the leaders in the Tlicho region to clarify what might be the issues and why we can't have unrestricted licenses in Behchoko. And like I said earlier, we'll find a path forward and to clarify what the issues are for the Member. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go back to the Member from Monfwi.
Do I still have time? Oh, okay. Okay. Yeah, well, I think the driver's license is the most important one that we would like to see the restriction lifted. And the other one is that I would like to see the department of -- or the DMV office in -- you know, in Tlicho region. So I just want to ask the Minister if the Minister can commit to working for the next fiscal year to have at least three position transfer or created in Tlicho region. Thank you.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. Comments were noted, and I believe that question was already asked earlier, and I agreed to working with the Member to, you know, looking at ways we could possibly do that. But I am not committing to relocating positions right away. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay. I am going to get ready to move on. Is there any further questions?
(audio) but maybe with the -- because you guys -- I mean the Cabinet meets with Indigenous governments, with the Council of Leaders, so maybe you can bring it up with -- with the Tlicho leaders there too as well, work with them on this. Thank you.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Comments noted, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Okay. Please turn to page 277.
Infrastructure, regional operation, $268,855,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Committee, will now be moving to Strategic Infrastructure, Energy, and Supply Chains. We will excuse the Minister of Infrastructure and his witnesses, and I will thank him for appearing before us today. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses from the chambers.
Thank you. I am going to go to the Minister from strategic infrastructure, if she wishes to bring witnesses into the chambers.
Yes, please, Mr. Chair.
Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the chambers.
Minister, please introduce your witnesses.
I can, Mr. Chair, in about eight seconds, so that I get everyone's names and titles ready.
Might be slightly longer than that, Mr. Chair.
Okay. I will go back to the Minister of infrastructure -- strategic infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, on my left, I have Kim Wickens, the assistant deputy minister for strategic infrastructure, energy, and supply chains. And on my right, Miranda Bass, who was here already, director of corporate services.
All right, Thank you. Does the Minister responsible -- sorry, Minister responsible for Strategic Infrastructure, Energy, and Supply Chains wish to -- okay, I did that, sorry about that.
Does the committee agree to continue on?
Agreed.
Ready? Great, thank you. Okay, thank you. Strategic Infrastructure, Energy and Supply Chains, beginning on page 279 with the information items on pages 281 and 283. Are there any questions?
I will go back to the Member from Range Lake. Oh sorry, I will go back to the Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that. Mr. Chair, the GNWT is receiving $11 million, or a 55 percent increase, for the Taltson expansion pre-construction work. Can the Minister explain how that additional funding will be allocated and what specific activities the funding will support. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, that would be coming under the capital budget. Still happy to generally talk about the work that's happening with the Taltson project. We are still working with MOU partners who are the Members -- Indigenous government -- sorry, surrounding the Taltson watershed, both north and south of the lake. And right now we're in a pre-construction planning phase, so we are funding staff within that work to move that forward to be at an EA. So there will be an environmental assessment that needs to be done at the south side and north side as to where the landing site of the line would go. It's certainly my hope that we will see that filed this calendar year. Beyond that, Mr. Chair, one of the more critical or equally critical thing is to get a commercial arrangement between the Indigenous governments so that they can be owners of the new generating facility. Thank you.
Okay, thank you. I will go back to the Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I appreciate the Minister's patience with me as I am sure she remembers answering these questions in a different committee earlier last week -- this week -- whatever day it was. But I would love for it to be in Hansard as well so thank you for her indulgence.
Can the Minister please speak to whether this project is currently on track, if any risks or delays have been identified that could affect the pre-construction phase. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So there's some work that's on track, some that's at risk, and some that I'd say is actually advancing well or sort of accelerating. Let me start with the good news. This project won't move forward if there's not ultimately a resolution of the legacy issues surrounding the original Taltson construction from the '70s when there was very little engagement or accommodation or mitigation actions taken. That had been stalled for some time and was probably one of the bigger risks. But I believe we're actually in a different state of affairs now. The Minister of CIRNAC met with all the parties earlier this -- or rather I guess it was late last year and is looking to advance a process bilaterally with each one. So myself and the other Members of the steering committee have sent a letter to get that process moving to start to set up those bilateral meetings so that we can, in fact, move forward with a reconciliation lens and have the federal government -- they certainly appear to be amenable to that conversation in a way that I have not seen to this point. So that's very positive.
We're a little behind in terms of establishing some sort of arrangements between the Indigenous governments. And that's not an area, really, where I would necessarily have a lot of a role. That said, Mr. Chair, I am aware that the Indigenous governments met at Roundup. They are meeting again later this month or next month to -- I think next month to finalize -- hopefully finalize those conversations and be in a position to establish an entity that will move the project forward as proponents, for the generation component. They met -- we all met with the major projects office in this regard and were given some pretty strong marching orders, if you were, of to say, look -- to get ourselves organized so that they can then step in and be of a stronger assistance to us.
And last but not least, Mr. Chair, would be the environmental assessment preparation. There's been some slippage on that time but not to the point that it necessarily delays the work entirely, provided that some work does get moving this spring and summer and if that can, indeed, happen, led in both in different cases by Indigenous governments on whose areas or lands particular projects are happening, so instance, Yellowknives Dene First Nation on the north and South Slave groups on the south. If that does happen now this spring, we will be back on track. Thank you.
Thank you. I will go back to the Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I think, you know, there is a healthy amount of skepticism around this project. It is a multi-billion dollar project. It's hard to see how it's a silver bullet. So I think a lot of people will have continual questions until there are those shovels in the ground, so. Has Canada given assurances that they will support this project to completion? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. Before I go back to the Minister, just for the interpreters, maybe we can slow down a little bit. And I will go back to the Minister. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and my apologies. I am excited about the Taltson project. And, look, let me just say first, Mr. Chair, it's not a silver bullet, and I don't want there to be a mistake that this is a silver bullet. There's a lot of other work on energy that needs to happen in this territory for different communities, and that needs to continue to happen. The federal government hasn't come out and said we will 100 percent fund your projects, but what they have done is, by establishing the major projects office, create potentially a vehicle that can support getting the project from where it is now, which is where we get $40 million, $25 million, which is not insignificant amounts, but they wind up moving the project along only incrementally and not to the place of a final decision because the final decision will, of course, depend upon, from our view, who's funding it. That has long been the problem of major projects in the North, is that we get significant amounts -- you know, again, not to discount the value of $40 million to get to an EA, but then if you get the EA through and then you sit on that and you don't know who's funding, the project stalls. Major projects office, their job, really, as I understand it having had now the opportunity to meet several times, is that they want to get out of that cycle, they want to break that cycle, and they want these projects to move forward. So they are taking this project under their wing. They want to see it advance, and they want to be part of it. And we want to do everything on our side to make sure that they are part of it. So do I -- is it a for sure? No. Would I suggest that we're in a better place than this project has probably ever been? Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go back to the Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, within that context -- and it's important context -- can the Minister explain, especially with regards to the relationship with the major projects office -- pardon me, can the Minister comment on capacity challenge to manage multiple major projects. Obviously there's more than just Taltson on our plate. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Minister.
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 and staff.
From the perspective now, then adding to that the capacity of the major projects office, the opportunity I've had to have those conversations is exactly this, that once a project is formally referred, they also can step in at -- in a different -- with a different type of lens and different kind of role to help provide capacity and to fill in the kind of gaps that we don't have. Their office has flat out acknowledged with me that we don't have necessarily the kind of expertise or the kind of capacity to manage multiple major projects. I mean, we're managing already constructions of schools and healthcare centres and roadworks and to add, for instance Taltson or one of the two road corridors, would be perhaps a bit taxing. But that's where having that capacity from the federal government, their support, will fill that gap. Thank you.
Thank you. I will go back to the Member from Great Slave.
Thank you. And taking a slightly different tact, I want to focus on the upcoming energy strategy that is merging, I believe, with the climate strategy so it's a whole of government strategy that I think is supposed to be released in the parlance of the government soon. Is this work on track? Can you provide a timeline as to when committee will be engaged on the new energy and climate strategy? And, really, when will the public start seeing some of that story to be told? I know I have a lot of anxious energy around seeing that and diving into that topic, and I know I have a lot of constituents who are interested too. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, so first, nothing would be finalized before going through committee process and having an opportunity for that feedback. It is targeted for this spring, for full release in the spring, which certainly does mean we need to be moving fairly quickly on getting it out to committee. I mean, it was, I think, slated for really right around now to be coming forward, but I -- as I say, I don't know that it's -- well, it has obviously not fully hit the committee yet. So, I mean, when I say any day, it kind of is any day at this point but, again, assuring committee that it certainly goes through that process of their review before going out publicly. Thank you.
Thank you. Next on my list I have is Yellowknife North.
