Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Lévesque. Thank you for that question. The number I gave you was specific to one project, the Taltson project. It's a small number, and as you know from your great projects in Quebec, it's really just a piece of the puzzle. Our potential for hydroelectric development is well over 11,000 megawatts, essentially one of the Le Grande elements in Quebec, and I've had the opportunity to see many of the sites in this work.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, yes, we've supported CanNor's formation. We see them being an important vehicle in supporting both aboriginal economic development and public economic development in a broader sense. It's important that the federal government maintain a presence in the economic agenda of the north, as it has in the rest of the country.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We do not yet.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. The SINED program, in the past five years, has allocated $30 million to each of the three territories. The plan is to allocate $30 million targeted to each of the three territories. The actual allocation within the territories depends on, again, program evaluation and overhead support that may draw down a bit of that $30 million.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes. We have seen in the initial year an allocation of $1.2 million towards the geoscience investment this past year, which was recently announced by the federal government. That's a key first step. However, there's been a slow rollout of the current year and subsequent year priority setting.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, yes, CanNor has been established. There is additional staffing to be filled. There are some positions to be filled. We've met with the deputy and the senior staff of CanNor. We're quite pleased, in the formative stage of the organization, with how they're trying to work through the building of the organization.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Duncan, thank you for the question. The NWT Chamber of Mines has proposed a grand vision for development of the non-renewable resource base across the north. I presume that is the submission you were reviewing. One of the components of that is to have better access into that province and to ensure that is available long term.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, committee members. Thank you for giving the Government of the Northwest Territories the opportunity to appear before you to talk about its perspectives on critical issues facing Canada's Northwest Territories. On behalf of my minister, the Honourable Bob McLeod, Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, I also want to thank all of you for coming to this vibrant and beautiful place we call home.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, Mr. Chair.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I share those views and have nothing more to add. Thank you.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Very briefly, you've heard from the federal government with regard to its northern strategy. Those tenets are solid. We'll be building on those types of tenets to see where we can add value through this northern agency to deliver on all those goals in the coming years. We believe the capacity is there, as you asked, with regard to how to get it done.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Let me take the second part. I agree with you fully that the responsibilities are divested, with all the governments--territorial, federal, and aboriginal governments--having to come to a conclusion on devolution for the territories. That has to happen on a willing basis by all parties.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  At this point the recommendation, the way we understand it, is that some form of satellite MPMO exists in the north. At this point, the answer I previously gave is what the government's position is. We believe the existing systems of review of our development projects is the right pattern to take.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Quickly, number one--and Rosemary said it well--we need to approach the establishment of this agency in the north on a partnership model, not with the territories being treated as a stakeholder. By partnership I mean we're part of the development of the organization, how it runs, its principles, its guiding priorities and overall goals, and how it operates in the future.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. It is a critical issue for the north. I think we share this with all our northern territories. We have identified climate change as one of the most critical factors to deal with in the coming decades. We do believe Canadians need to take a strong role in terms of understanding the science of climate change in the Arctic.