Bob McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will take it under advisement.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, our officials have had discussions with federal officials and the indications are that funding that will be used for climate change and to introduce carbon pricing will be in the federal budget that will be coming out sooner. Specifically to the $50 million fund, I'd be pleased to get more information for the Member on that.

The Government of the Northwest Territories is in the process of engaging with energy stakeholders as part of the development of the climate change framework and energy strategy. To date, we have held meetings in Nunavut, Norman Wells, Fort Smith, Yellowknife, and Fort Simpson. Next week, we will hold a session in Hay River. We have an upcoming workshop session in Behchoko. We have received submissions from Alternatives North and other energy consulting businesses and are considering those perspectives. We welcome the opportunity to hear from all interested parties and will work to integrate...

Mr. Speaker, we are continuing with our consultations and we expect that will be completed by the end of March. We have committed to working with the Standing Committee on the Economy and the Environment, so I expect that it will be the fall. The federal has indicated that carbon tax or carbon pricing will be imposed in 2018. Our expectation is that we’ll have our strategies completed well before that.

We are holding roundtables throughout the Northwest Territories. We have had very excellent feedback, and we are looking at all options. Certainly, we will do what is best for the people of the Northwest Territories.

The priorities that we pursue have not been determined, but they will be informed by our energy strategy and our climate change framework that we are developing. Certainly, we are pursuing funding from federal sources for various projects, including Taltson hydro initiatives, Inuvik wind projects, and projects to reduce the use of diesel fuel in Northwest Territories communities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It would be helpful if the Member would provide who these organizers are and how much money they are looking for. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As we move forward with our energy strategy, this is something that maybe the Member wants to bring forward in our community consultation. As the Members of this House all know, the mines are all under a lot of pressure on how to do business in a profitable manner and they continue to look for innovative ways of how to produce power in a cost-effective manner that makes them a profitable business in the Northwest Territories. If the Member would like to bring that initiative forward in one of our community consultations on energy strategy moving forward, I'd be pleased to have that as input.

We've had discussions with the federal government. The federal government has contributed $250,000 for us to hold consultations with regards to developing an energy strategy and a climate change strategy for the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m looking forward to receiving a proposal from the Gwich'in Tribal Council. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.