Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am looking at page 359. There are a couple of reductions on this page that I would like to better understand. Let's start with transitional supportive housing. The revised estimates for last year were $600,000. Now it is down to $375,000, so can the Minister explain the reduction here? Thank you.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I really sincerely thank the Minister and her staff then for pushing that along. She knows that I've been urging her: that's the sort of document you should be taking to Ottawa. I know you've got to work closely with the Yukon and Nunavut governments, but that's the kind of proposal that should be taken to Ottawa. We've taken enough road proposals to Ottawa; now let's start talking about people.

So does the Minister intend to table this in the House before the end of the session? Is that the plan? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I guess I'd like to start just with a general comment on the Minister's opening statement, where the budget for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation is going to be reduced by 9.5 per cent in one year. I think that says something about the priority that this government is placing on housing.

I understand some of that reduction is related to reduced funding from the federal government, but not all of it. I think that's a sad statement about the priorities of our government, quite frankly, that you can find money for other big infrastructure projects, but when it comes...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister for that. There is a NWTAC motion of record supporting this sort of work, but I earlier spoke about extending the benefits of energy cost savings to people in low-income brackets. So would the Minister commit to confer with her colleague, the Housing Corporation Minister, to look at providing rebates, some form of assistance, or incentives for retrofits for low-income families to help offset local improvement charges, create local employment, reduce their costs of living, and help with climate change? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

I would be delighted to help the Minister with this. I will be tabling the report later today. It includes all kinds of details of how the LIC enabling laws are dealt with in other jurisdictions. Would the Minister commit then to have her staff review this report and use that as a basis for developing amendments to the City, Towns and Villages Act for this purpose?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do not have a problem with this, but does the corporation have the budget reduction number handy, just so I have got that for reference so that I know what our contributions is, how it is being declined or reduced for next year? The fiscal strategy, what that total amount is. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. The City of Yellowknife has explored innovative ways to improve energy efficiency of our housing, reduce the cost of living, create local employment, and help fight climate change. Their focus is on reducing use of space heating energy, and the proposal is expertly researched in the excellent Pembina Institute Report, "Loans for Heat: Towards a Yellowknife Energy Savings Program." I will be tabling that document later today.

Energy retrofits could include installing wood or pellet stoves, improving insulation and air sealing, and switching to more efficient...

Thank you very much. I appreciate that commitment from the Minister, and that is all the questions I have. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. In our mandate, there is a commitment to amend the Environment Protection Act, including the development of air quality regulations. Our government started the long-overdue process of developing air regulations in June of last year. The deadline for public submissions was September 16th. Five months have passed, and the only thing I can see is a statement on the ENR website that says, "An update on the anticipated timelines will be posted in early 2017."

Those of us who lived in Yellowknife before 1999 will remember that sour taste in the back of our throats from...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I'm looking at page 244, which is the Petroleum Products Revolving Fund. I see that there will be a deficit in this revolving fund at the end of 2017-18. Can someone from the department explain how we're going from a surplus of $115,000 in the current year to a deficit of $100,000 in this year or the year to come? Thank you, Mr. Chair.