Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my particular area of interest right now is an area I've talked about before, and I am trying to find out about population growth. As we all know, our grant from Canada is tied to that, amongst many other things, but, of course, key is population growth. And given the fact that we suffer a significant deficit in human resource, opportunities, and specialized skills, trades, etcetera, including doctors and nurses, and yada, yada, yada -- Mr. Speaker, we would be putting a full frontage on that. So my question for the Premier is, what type of mandate has he given his departmental colleagues -- ministerial colleagues, sorry -- to help stimulate the growth of the Northwest Territories through some function of population growth? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Mr. Premier.
Thank you. So the question is how are we going to stimulate population growth? Well, Mr. Speaker, there's a number of reasons that, you know, someone -- many people want to move to the Northwest Territories. It's a great place to live. And if you like outdoors, if you like this kind of lifestyle, then this is a great place to be. You know, I am from Hay River, so I might not be able to go home after saying this, but Yellowknife is actually a great city. There's a lot to do here. And that being said, there are challenges. We need to make more land available for housing so that we can build more houses and bring down the cost of housing, and so we have committed to that. And I didn't need to give direction on that one. The Minister of ECC has made that a priority of his to ensure that that happens. So we're doing that. We are looking at massive investments from the Department of National Defence. I am expecting additional investments from the federal government in our major infrastructure projects. These are the types of things that will create an economy, generate jobs, open up lands for exploration and development.
And so there's a lot going on. The future over the next five to ten years in the Northwest Territories is going to look much different than the past, and there's going to be a lot of economic opportunities that I expect will draw people to the North. We need to make land available so that they have somewhere to live. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I almost had a tear in my eye, Mr. Speaker, when the Premier talked about how great Yellowknife is. It was very emotional, and I want to thank the Premier for bringing me to a side I didn't realize. Mr. Speaker, the Premier spoke to massive investments through DND. Please enlighten the House as to what massive investments and development are we intending to see through that description he provided. Can he be specific? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think people in this House are aware that the Department of National Defence had a pre-procurement announcement to allow businesses to get ready, that there could be up to $10 billion invested in forward operating locations in the Northwest Territories. I don't have further details on that right now, but we are trying to reach out and work with the Department of National Defence to get an understanding of what those might be. But the possibilities are endless. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Mr. Speaker, you know, a lot of that is all theoretical, of course. We know nothing's actually been committed to. So back to the population growth origins of the question, which is ultimately, is there any mandate to try to grow population in the Northwest Territories directed to the Ministers as part of their initiative or mandate letters? Because growth is key in population, and that will help sustain or lower costs here in the Northwest Territories, which at the end of the day, Mr. Speaker, is one of the fundamental issues I am trying to raise by finding better ways to cost of living. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member snuck one by there, switching topics for the second question. But we're back on track now. The mandate letters are public. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. Member from the Yellowknife Centre, your time is up for those questions. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was quite taken with the Premier's comments about land access, amongst other things. Yellowknife is the best place to live on earth. And speaking to that, we need to grow Yellowknife. So I'd like to know from the Minister of Environment and Climate Change -- we often talk about this, memorandum of agreement with the City of Yellowknife on land tenure issues. So I'd like to ask the Minister today, because we've never delved into it, how does the MO -- how much shorter will timelines be because of this MOA? How does the MOA shorten timelines for land tenure applications? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think the key -- one of the key positives of the MOU is the ability to communicate with the City of Yellowknife. We've had very good communications at our officials level. The city is bringing forward their asks and what they'd like to see. Our officials are looking for solutions that will improve the timeline through this process. We also have identified some potential positions in the -- when the budget is passed that will support the land transfer. And this is all part and parcel of ensuring that we are improving our timelines and responding more quickly to these requests. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So how -- again, the Minister just committed that timelines would be shortened with new staffing with the success of this new communication. How much shorter? Because time is of the essence. Again, we are expecting transformational, generational change, massive investment from the military. We need to be ready. So is the Minister -- can the Minister tell me how much shorter that timeline's going to be?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, what we've done here is, as we look at the current challenges and, really, the pressures that we're facing, at last count that I recall it was 560-some-odd applications for land related to housing across the territory. As a result of that, we've identified more resources to assist in this, and we're focusing those resources primarily on the consultation phase, and we're looking at about a 15 percent increase in our operations as a result of that investment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to make sure we're not talking about different issues. Freeing up land for housing is different than freeing up land in the city for development. So how much shorter is that timeline going to be, especially in areas that have been identified for investment from the military? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's conversations that are going on right now with the city, with DND, you know, that relate to the theoretical possible investment in Yellowknife, according to the earlier comments. So, you know, we have really focused on this and working together with the city. I think this is a priority that we've -- the city has identified, we've identified. We've gone back, we've looked at what's currently available, what the interests of the parties are, what other areas will be required to support that investment. So we are certainly engaged in that conversation. We have been for quite a while, and we continue to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Oral Questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to bring up one of my absolute favourite subjects, and I was driving downtown in the riding of Yellowknife Centre on 50th Street, and as I was admiring the posters on the future Tony Whitford building, and I'm looking forward to hearing from the Minister as to when that will officially be designated the Tony Whitford building. So obviously this is questions to the Minister of housing.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Housing NWT and this government received a number of applications for naming of buildings, of the two buildings, so these applications have gone before the honours advisory committee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When can we have a formal answer, or when -- maybe I should back up. When is the honours committee going to meet on this particular subject so we can formally name the Tony Whitford building on 50th Street for people here in Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories recognizing his commitment?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the honours advisory committee has been given the applications and the naming of these two buildings here in downtown Yellowknife, so it's really the administration with the honours advisory committee to set up the meetings themselves. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of responsible for Housing NWT. Final Supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Mr. Speaker, a lot of people are waiting for that banner to be raised about the Tony Whitford building. Is there any reason why the department of housing did not set a deadline when to respond to -- with their particular recommendation, again, naming that new building the Tony Whitford building? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the deadline was set. It was set for February 8th, from what I understand, and there was a number of applications, and those are now with the honours advisory committee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents: Plain Language Summary of Bill 45, Civil Forfeiture Act; Statement of Consistency for Bill 45, Civil Forfeiture Act; and Trespass Legislation What We Heard Report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. Tabling of Documents. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Annual Report for the Education Bodies of the Northwest Territories for the 2024-2025 School Year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. Tabling of Documents. Minister of Finance.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Interactivity Transfers Exceeding $250,000 April 1st to December 31st, 2025. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Tabling of Documents. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table a CBC News item posted March 5th, 2026, titled Yellowknife Family Calls for Changes to Medical Travel Policy After Troubling Experience. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. First reading of bills. We'll just take a five-minute break.
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Mr. Speaker, I wish to present Bill 46, Prevention of Proceedings that Hamper Expressions of Matters of Public Interest Act, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Mackenzie Delta. Pursuant to Rule 8.2(3), Bill 46 is deemed to have first reading and is ready for second reading. First reading of bills. Minister of Finance.
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Mr. Speaker, I wish to present to the House Bill 47, Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures) 2026-2027, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
