Kate Reid

Okay, thank you. Nothing further. Thank you, Mr. Chair; I am good.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Sort of pulling on the thread that my colleague from Monfwi was speaking about just earlier, in corporate management only two of the corporate management positions in infrastructure are outside of Yellowknife, and given that 73 percent of infrastructure staff are in regional offices, how does the Minister and his department ensure that regional needs and priorities are reflected in corporate decision-making given the concentration in Yellowknife? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

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...

Thanks. Yeah, no. And I am just very interested in that because I see in Standing Committee on Government Operations an ongoing pressure and tension around making sure that we are making building standards better, making buildings more accessible, but also considering the financial needs of smaller communities. So it's good to hear that particular answer. If the Minister wants to extrapolate any more, that's great. If not, I have another question. I will just go on to that question. It's more of a comment, Mr. Chair.

Under asset management under the facilities and properties line, there is...

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.

I can. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to ask if asset management would be the appropriate activity to ask questions about building standards. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

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. So I am not sure I understand that answer considering that the projection for these main estimates then goes back down $2 million. Can the Minister or his staff explain what's going on. Thank you.

Thank you, that does help. I am just going to move on, and maybe one of my colleagues with more of a bookkeeping background might like to dig into that. But I will ask a different question for right now.

As the 2024-2028 business plan identified the centrality of Yellowknife as a logistical hub for NWT supply chains -- and I am not -- I think this is a question for this Minister, not the other Minister, so just -- just so you know. It's about emergency preparedness and recognizing that the Yellowknife airport is an essential hub in terms of an emergency, a large-scale emergency in the territory...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's nice to hear. And I realize the Minister's not responsible for our nomination program and, indeed, the GNWT is not responsible for immigration. Can the Minister explain to me what barriers might exist for international hires and what work we're doing to reduce any hoops and barriers that may exist. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.