Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my struggle is I am not going to be able to keep this down into the short answers that I know you're looking from us. So I -- my first comment would be this may be an appropriate topic to have a public briefing on. There is a lot to be said. Another thing happening on the Snare -- on the north side of the lake is a Snare grid modernization project. Again, could have happened years ago. It's happening now. We need to get to a place where a grid system and a generating system that was built in the '70s is modernized, that the transmission lines are brought up...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the question does make sense, thank you. So the macroeconomic policy framework, this is something that was first established way back in 2007. It wasn't necessarily being brought up to a decision-making level or well-integrated into decision-making processes or arguably well-known within departments that were charged with providing the kind of information that then goes forward for decision-making. And so this is part of a process here now to bring this lens in for decision makers when they are deciding whether or not to advance or to accept a decision proposal...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Well, Mr. Chair, I mean, there was obviously -- there's only so many people who do the policy work which provides the drafting instructions and then so many people who do the actual drafting thereof, and it was determined that neither of those two areas were considered to be priorities given the limited months available and some of the other needs that has arisen in the interim. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I mean, being realistic I would expect that there's a very reasonable chance that there will be still a need to continue to support the cost of power and by providing contributions to NTPC that eliminate when there's, for example, low water events, so on and so forth. But that said, Mr. Chair, it certainly would be the long-term preference, and therefore plan, to avoid having to continue to subsidize power. So it starts to bleed into efforts that are being made within the strategic infrastructure, energy and supply chains division, specifically under energy, so I won't...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, I don't -- this was something that was underway prior to now but certainly wasn't, to my understanding, necessarily an area where the combination of the two things would lead to dollar savings so much as it would lead to improvement in how the department was functioning, where you previously had technical staff with expertise in one area, technical staff with related expertise in another area, but no ability necessarily to provide redundancy or backup one to the other. So that problem has now been eliminated. Areas that there have been some savings...

Yes, please, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the management board secretariat does continue to play a role. It has -- just as it has throughout. There's some departments that simply wouldn't make sense to create these kinds of positions as standalones necessarily, and so that's where MBS can step in. But as far as some training components with that respect, if I could turn it over to the deputy, please.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Mackenzie Valley Highway has formed one part of this government's federal engagement strategy now since the inception of this government, and certainly continually looking to adapt that as we go forward, adapt to changing federal government and changing federal landscape and budget. But I would say, you know, there's also a very simple response, which is that every Minister raises these key issues and key opportunities with federal counterparts whenever we have the opportunity, whether it's Premier, myself, other colleagues. So there is a formal...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, just to describe the positions that were eliminated, I might direct it to the director, please.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just to be clear, the focus at this time is to conclude phase one, which is the section that was approved now some governments ago between Wrigley and Norman Wells. That is what is in the environmental assessment stage right now. That's where we have a work plan that we're executing with the Pehdzeh Ki First Nation with a view to having everything filed with the board by July and therefore they can then conclude their process thereafter and to looking to have no extensions to the process. Phase two would extend the roads all the way up to Inuvik. There is...