David Krutko

Again, that clearly shows this government is leaving aboriginal organizations and development corporations out of the decision making process of this government. There are other partnership arrangements between the Government of the Northwest Territories and aboriginal companies with regard to power distribution, residual heat, and other types of projects. I’d like to ask the Premier why other aboriginal groups are not given the same ability to submit a proposal on their ability to buy into the power corporation instead of having a southern company do it for us.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, would like to get into the proposal that was brought forward in regard to ATCO. I, for one, being a previous Minister, know pretty well that ATCO has been trying to get their foot in the door in the North but that they already have their foot in the door. I’m just wondering why is it that this government is not in discussions with Northland Utilities, which is a northern company in partnership with ATCO but yet nowhere has there been any discussions with Northland Utilities in regard to their joint venture with the Dene Development Corporation. Why is that discussion not...

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister if he could maybe direct his staff to avoid making those comments and to clarify that the position of this government is that negotiated contracts are the responsibility of Cabinet, not someone in the field, and that decision is made at the Cabinet table. I think it sends the wrong message and then you wonder why we’re having problems in the Inuvik region. I’d like to ask the Minister if he’d personally get involved or get his deputy involved to talk to the staff and notify them that they should not be making those comments to political leaders in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to go back to item 8.

---Unanimous consent granted

Mr. Speaker, yes, there is an MOU that used to work and which we find out today it doesn’t work. Also, in regards to the issues that I mentioned, this government has put forward a $100 million negotiating contract in Inuvik. Every negotiating contract has to be brought forward to Cabinet with a list of sub-contractors that are going to be used on that job site. There are companies working in Inuvik right now who weren’t on that original list. Again, that is a breach of our policies in government. In regards to the deal and in regards to Discovery Air deal, the $33 million deal, the government...

Mr. Speaker, as I noted in my statement that there was a meeting earlier today between the president of the Gwich’in Tribal Council and a couple of the leaders in Inuvik and also in Fort McPherson. Mr. Speaker, in my statement, I have never been so frustrated as I am today realizing that the Gwich’in people that I represent and the claim that I helped negotiate some 17 years ago, I hoped was really going to make a difference but yet, Mr. Speaker, it seems pretty obvious to me that this government is undermining everything that the Gwich’in Tribal Council has worked for for the last 17 years by...

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regard to the $80 million purchase, what is ATCO purchasing? Are they purchasing the assets of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation or are they purchasing the future potential that the power corporation has, some 15,000 megawatts of hydro power, the potential in regard to hydro, or the potential to win the potential for biomass? What are they buying into for $80 million?

I like to hear that from the Premier. I had a discussion with the president of the Dene Development Corporation who is the partner of Northland Utilities which is a partner of ATCO in which they have had not one phone call. They have been trying to get in contact with Nancy Sutherland, president of ATCO Frontec, with no response back by way of wondering what the arrangement is with their deal. They have a deal with ATCO in regard to their partnership to distribute power in the Northwest Territories, Hay River, Yellowknife, Providence, and other communities in the Northwest Territories. There’s...

Mr. Speaker, I don’t know if there is going to be any reprimand to this but I think that there should be some consequences to those types of statements, especially when it does have a direct implication on that decision which caused grief at the top level and could have been avoided. If anything, we have to work together going forward. I’d like to ask the Minister, can he get back to me on exactly what the outcome of the discussions are with those individuals? Thank you.