Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And Mr. Speaker, prior to 2023 there was no form of reliable or consistent relief funding whatsoever. In 2023, initially after the South Slave regions had experienced multiple evacuations, the department started to try to, on an urgent basis, create some sort of system or a program to support folks. And now with that, Mr. Speaker, in 2023, we developed a couple of different programs and the feedback was that that was complicated. And so on review of those programs, it was after that review that a determination was made to have a single website system where folks who...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is going to be the Have Your Say website that is available, and folks are hopefully familiar with that tool. It is used across the GNWT. That will be coming out this calendar year. So certainly will send that to my colleagues and hopefully get the word out to the public that that's happening and certainly would want to encourage anyone who's interested. Traditionally, Mr. Speaker, this would be a piece of legislation that because it focuses on the public service and is a tool related to the public service wouldn't have necessarily gone through as...

Mr. Speaker, as Canada's digital landscape continues to evolve, so too do the threats to critical infrastructure, government services, and personal information. Meeting these challenges requires a united approach. Cyber security is a shared responsibility, and our collective efforts are key to building a more secure future.

On September 22nd and 23rd, I had the honour of joining my colleagues at the federal-provincial-territorial Ministers' symposium on digital trust and cybersecurity in Kananaskis, Alberta. At this forum, we collectively recognized the increasing complexity of cyber threats...

Thank you, Madam Chair. So, Madam Chair, this really does relate, I believe, and I certainly would correct myself immediately if I'm -- if there's anything wrong, but it's with respect to the low water events that impact on the Snare system still. So that was a couple of years where there was increase in diesel being burned, and I'm fairly certain that I have seen a chart showing a return to the usage of hydropower in the North Slave, so I'll see if I can locate that and can provide that to Members as well.

But with respect to what's happening in the Taltson, particularly right now, Madam Chair...

Yes, please, Madam Chair.

Absolutely, Madam Chair. The answer is yes. And I will be frank in saying I think that the energy costs and lack of resiliency in our system is probably one of the strongest long-term challenges that I certainly worry about. It is a huge cost driver for the GNWT and a huge cost driver for residents and businesses, and the cost of fixing it are huge and generally, because of the way public utilities work, would go directly back to the ratepayers, which is untenable given the costs that we pay. And there we sit in this very challenging situation. So I appreciate the call for some creativity. I...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following four documents: Plain Language Summary for Bill 32, An Act to Amend the Public Service Act, No. 2; Statement of Consistency for Bill 32, An Act to Amend the Public Service Act, No. 2; 2024-2025 Northwest Territories Carbon Tax Report; and, the Northwest Territories Heritage Fund Annual Report 2025. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So on the study itself, Madam Chair, it does include looking at alternatives, including hydro storage, whether or not additional hydro generation is necessary, as well as the role of renewables in the region. Madam Chair, it's certainly not -- I don't want to leave the impression that it's the only work that is happening in general on resiliency. There is, I think, a fairly strong awareness within the Northwest Territories Power Corporation that this is an area that continues to be a problem repeatedly. It's not a problem in the South Slave where we have too much power...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With respect to the top-up funding that is available, we right now provide $40,000 in funding for each potential placement. This recognizes that there may be some gap between the salaries that apply to a GNWT public servant and wanting to ensure that folks are able to take on these secondments and not facing a gap to their employment level but also not burdening unnecessarily another government or Indigenous government. And so the gap is just to make sure that we're putting that money towards salaries and that in that sense would, again, make it easier to apply for any...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, so this is to do with the low water events of the last couple of years. So there's a couple of different tools that are used to manage low water. One is the rate stabilization fund that people would contribute to in small portions over the course of time and to which the GNWT at times has to contribute to maintain that fund, but -- and this is the second year of funding where in order to maintain the fund to the level required by the public utilities board, the GNWT has stepped in to support because the drawdown has been more significant than what was...