Bob McLeod

Mr. Speaker, electricity is an essential service in today’s society. Access to affordable electrical power enhances our quality of life and allows economies to grow. Without it, we face serious challenges.

Today I would like to provide an update on one of the Government of the Northwest Territories most important initiatives: the electricity review process. In November 2009 I tabled the report of the Electricity Review Panel titled Creating a Brighter Future: A Review of Electricity Rates, Regulation, and Subsidy Programs in the Northwest Territories, commonly referred to as the Electricity...

The Member will be pleased to know that I do have a ministerial advisory panel made up of the leading figures of business and the leading associations in the Northwest Territories. I will pose that question to them.

We have undertaken consultation with the industry stakeholders and we have requested that they respond to us by the end of February. We now have all of the diamond mines responses. We’re developing a draft government response to proposed changes and we will be back to committee. Our expectation is probably April/May. If everybody concurs, then we’ll look at implementation shortly after. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Joanne Deneron, a very determined entrepreneur and businesswoman from Fort Liard. She serves as the director of our Business Development and Investment Corporation and its subsidiary the Acho Dene Native Crafts and also she’s the president of the Deh Cho Regional Helicopters Limited. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled NWT Community Futures Program Annual Report to March 31, 2009. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We are supporting the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, who have negotiated a one-third interest in the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline. That involves, as far as I understand it, aboriginal governments of all the land claimant groups.

Norman Wells oilfield revenues have been a longstanding issue and irritant for this government. I guess it started when the land claims were negotiated for both the Gwich’in and Sahtu, which had provisions for the sharing of royalty revenues. As the Member knows, the Norman Wells oilfield revenues were deemed to be, or understood to be, royalties, but we took the federal government to court to get them to formally agree that those were royalties. The federal government went to court and lost and in order to pay the outstanding royalties to the Gwich’in and the Sahtu, the federal government...

Our objective is to reduce the power rates for commercial businesses so they can also, in turn, pass on these rates to help reduce the cost of living in communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our government has invested a lot of time and effort into looking at the high cost of power in the Northwest Territories, as well as the distribution and generation of power and also looking at alternative energy.

Starting with alternative energy, we’ve committed to spending $60 million over a period of three years to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. We are well into that process.

With regard to the electricity review, we appointed a panel of members that were experts in their field and they have undertaken a process of community hearings, meetings and so on, to look...

I should point out also that in Botswana they shut all their mines down for a period of about two or three months during the downturn in the economy. But I can assure the Member that his suggestion, we are looking, it’s part of our policy, but I don’t want to pre-assume what the recommendations will be or the responses that we would receive through our consultation process. Thank you.