Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn’t know that question period was going to be extended today, but I had so many questions after my question to the Minister of ITI after I sat down that I have to ask more questions. His answers actually gave me more questions. I am still shaking my head, because when you look at the royalties issue and the federal jurisdiction on oil, gas and minerals, if that was an argument not to help find power supplied to keep secondary processing over the rare earth minerals in the Northwest Territories, then we wouldn’t put any money into the pipeline, we wouldn’t put any...

I believe that the power purchase agreements that are contemplated for the diamond mines are outside of the regulated process because it is being sold to business, it’s not being distributed to consumers. The purpose of the PUB is really to protect the interests of consumers, usually considered on a broad scale. Why would the power purchase agreement framework or model that is contemplated for the diamond mines not be appropriate in the case of the purchasing power for a processing plant for Avalon Ventures at Pine Point? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. My questions today are really wanting an update on where this government is at in terms of supporting the activities of a very exciting mining project that has a great potential and could positively impact the South Slave. Communities like Hay River did realize some benefits from the diamond mines, but we were really geographically kind of on the periphery of that. The Avalon rare earth minerals at Thor Lake is something that potentially has a processing or secondary processing opportunity in the...

Mr. Speaker, I wasn’t ready to make a Member’s statement before until I heard Mr. Hawkins Member’s statement. Now I’m ready to make a Member’s statement.

---Laughter

I’m sure he was deafened by the sound of his own applause there, but…

---Laughter

...Mr. Speaker, he was the only one applauding, because I would like to thank the government for responding to the many requests…

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to congratulate the Minister of Finance on his budget address. He read it almost without skipping a beat and it was one long address.

The contents of the address are also good. Overall it is good. But as I listened to the various announcements about investments and priorities of this government, where it said the government will do something tangible, I felt encouraged by that. That was the kind of thing I like to see.

Still, in this budget there are too many -- and I highlighted them in yellow -- references to developing a strategic plan or a framework or a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given the very public quasi announcement by the Minister of Finance today that the GNWT is looking for a partner on the Taltson hydro expansion, does the government have a plan if this information that’s been put out here today... If this has the effect of interesting other parties, potential other parties in this, does the government have a plan to deal with that so that this is not kind of just, you know, flying by the seat of our pants on this, that we actually aren’t just waiting to react to things, that in fact we have a plan going forward? Thank you.

Thank you. That’s the first time I’ve actually formally heard those meetings taking place in Copenhagen. I had heard some rumours and so on. How does any discussions that have taken place or any agreements that may be arrived at, how does that tie in with the unsolicited ATCO proposal that has also been on the table of which we are awaiting the government’s review of that proposal? How is that related to the Taltson? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to acknowledge a Hay River constituent, a young man, the youngest in a family of six children, who put on skis for the first time when he was three years old and started in biathlon training when he was nine years old. At the age of 16 this young man set his scope and sights on an Olympic dream, training with great dedication and knocking off achievement after achievement. You have heard me speak of those achievements in this House.

Today, after these years of training and competing at home and around the world, joining the youngest ever Canadian team...

Mr. Speaker, I assume that the discussions with Nancy Southern from ATCO were in a positive vein. I would like to ask the Minister what would be the next steps in pursuing a partnership to enable the GNWT to develop the Taltson hydro potential. What would the next steps in that process be? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the Finance Minister’s budget address today he talked about the expansion of the Taltson hydro dam and that’s something that has been on the radar for quite some time. It would be an economic boon to the area. It would certainly be environmentally good judgment to offset the use of diesel and the mines and perhaps other consumers as well that would be interested in tying into extra hydro power. Mr. Speaker, there are many benefits and many pluses to the expansion of the Taltson hydro dam.

The Minister indicated that the GNWT does not have the financial...