Michael Miltenberger

I just would need some clarity from the Member on what he means by normal and comparable. If he wants to compare it to the Fort Smith rates, we’d be happy to lay out the price breakdown. I will indicate clearly right now one of the big costs that Yellowknife has, that Hay River has and Fort Smith doesn’t have, is the franchise arrangements and costs that flow from that arrangement that communities make on their own call, because of their franchise fee, and we can show and we will be happy to lay that out for the Member to the cent, to the kilowatt hour and have a discussion if that would...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that Bill 30, Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), 2014-2015, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill authorizes the Government of the Northwest Territories to make infrastructure expenditures for the 2014-2015 fiscal year. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, it’s a good thing that the Member in fact has a day job, because if he had to sing for his supper, it would be a long time between meals.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that Bill 28, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2013-2014, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill makes supplementary appropriations for infrastructure expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the fiscal year 2013-2014. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is no bias in the system. The whole intent was to create a system that was more even and less complex, hence the thermal rates and the Yellowknife rates. One of the big factors in Yellowknife and Hay River, plus a couple of small communities, is there is another power distributor, NUL. While we provide and sell power at wholesale rates, the provider in these communities adds their own costs on top of that, which is why there is such a distinct difference, for example, between Hay River and Fort Smith, why there is such a distinct difference between the power rates...

Mr. Speaker, I seek consent to proceed with first reading of Bill 30, Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), 2014-2015.

---Consent granted

I want to make it clear that we’ll want to look at the numbers clearly. If you use a global number of spills, some of them are going to be very small; some of them will be larger, as the Member has indicated. We have to set up the processes as we take over. We want to make sure that we have the capacity to monitor, to do a better job, to work with the industry, to work with the National Energy Board to bring a better focus to bear, but there is a reality that if you have this type of activity with that type of material being moved, and given the fact that they’ve been in operation for decades...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that Bill 28, Supplementary Appropriation (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2013-2014, be read for the first time.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. ENR does have a spill line. It’s operational 24 hours a day. Plus, as well, we rely, as the Member well knows in his constituency, on reports from folks that are on the land. They have been very, very helpful in spotting leaks, especially on the pipeline. There is that opportunity there. The National Energy Board has responsibility for responding to leaks at production sites and exploration sites, but clearly, when you look at the map across Canada where spills occur, I mean, it’s very clear that when there’s oil and gas, this type of situation is going to occur, given...

Not at all, Mr. Speaker.