Caroline Wawzonek

This particular discovery licence is the last one that is grandfathered. That was the point I had tried to make earlier. I think I wasn't, perhaps, putting it all together very clearly, but it is a grandfathered one. It's the last one of its kind. Mr. Speaker, I, also, would prefer to look forward into the future and not be talking about items that come forward from the past. Because this particular one and all of the things that it's associated to in the other licences it's associated to don't have a rental fee put into their significant discovery licence, out of simple fairness and out of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Section 30.3 of the Petroleum Resources Act does state that the licence "must be in a prescribed form and may contain any other terms and conditions, not inconsistent with this act or the regulations, as may be agreed on by the Minister and the interest owner of the significant discovery licence." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, this is an occasion where Husky originally had their processes done or their bids done in 2011 and 2012, and there is an element of fairness in the regime that we have to ensure to include at all times so that no business or industry of any sector is going to think that they come in here under a certain regime with a certain set of expectations and have it changed under them. In this case, while yes, if they intend to go out onto the land and conduct activities, they will have to be filing their benefit plans, and those benefit plans then have to now be made public. That is under the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories does indeed consult with Indigenous governments, Indigenous organizations at the stage of when there's a call for bids. It is much earlier in the process than where this particular item is at. In this instance, what is relevant here is Section 30 of the new Petroleum Resources Act, which actually says that the Minister shall issue the significant discovery licence if certain conditions are met which, indeed, they are here for Husky. As such, I won't have any discretion in this particular instance. The reason that the...

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to announce the release of Living Well Together, the online Indigenous cultural awareness and sensitivity training program for employees of the Government of the Northwest Territories.

Developed by the Department of Finance in collaboration with the Departments of Education, Culture and Employment and Health and Social Services, Living Well Together replaces the GNWT's previous Aboriginal cultural and sensitivity training for its employees. It is a direct response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's call for action with respect to...

I take my responsibilities as a Minister very seriously. I, certainly, am not going to stand and act in anything other than in the interests of the public of the Northwest Territories, but that includes, Mr. Speaker, an understanding and awareness of the rule of law and legal advice that we might receive as Ministers. I don't act on my own. I don't act without advice. I don't act without looking to the department. I don't act without looking to the Department of Justice when the time is appropriate. This was an usual legal problem. I could see that from day one when it came to my desk. We...

That's a challenging one to solve, Madam Chair. No, and I don't mean to laugh to make light. I suspect most people in this room would not disagree. Right now, the ITI-focused programming does tend to be project-specific or event-specific, whether it's direct under, for instance, the Northern Arts Festival or through the SEED programming that does tend to supply funding for events. Again, ECE and ITI work quite closely in terms of the arts strategy, and we've had some discussions about we have a great strategy. What will we do to ensure that there is the funding to meet its goals? I don't have...

Thank you, Madam Chair. We were really just waiting for the IGC process, the intergovernmental council process, to be concluded with the protocol there. With that done, I will commit to getting a full outline of our expected timeline on this to the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is the contributions section here, so this is detailing, I believe, money that is going direct to, for example, the maker spaces in contrast to the money that would be directed to a position that is there to support the work of the department, broadly speaking. Thank you, Madam Chair. Sorry, that would be the $350,000. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. That is a BDIC-specific item, and I know that that was one of the questions they looked at when they gathered together in January. I had emphasized to them the fact that people will need the answer to that in advance of the fiscal year. I would like to just confirm where they landed on that, and I will commit to getting back to the Member. I think I will have that answer by our next sitting dates. Thank you.