Tom Beaulieu

That item is, again, up for renewal and we are working with the community. My understanding is that there is going to be a new building and we have agreed that we would be moving into the new building.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that Bill 49, An Act to Amend the Deh Cho Bridge Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I’d like to have the director, Laurie Gault, respond to that, and perhaps if the Minister of Finance could add to the response, then that would be good as well.

This is not just a small communities issue. If this is implemented across the board, it will leave a substantial number of contractors unable to work with the GNWT. That includes large companies that are not registered in the contract management system, including subs. There are contractors that are going to be able to get jobs, but their subs won’t be able to go on site. Contract management systems can be used to prequalify contractors. So, in a sense, if a contractor is not registered with the contract management system, then they wouldn’t be able to bid. We could also be able to do an...

That is one of the things that, as a division, starting on April 1st, we will be following up on very soon into the creation of that division.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, that is not the only safety requirement. We ensure that the contractors are able to provide a letter indicating they are in good standing with WSCC. However, that’s not the only requirement. We have construction safety on the agenda before a contract is awarded and there are several items the contractor must have in place before they are able to contract with GNWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We could look at the information, the science behind the production of liquefied natural gas, as a government and report back to the House on our findings.

Thank you. Certainly, we would take the lead in the initiative. Again, we would work with other departments that are involved in the industry. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I’d like to have the deputy minister provide that information on the mandate of the new energy division.

The Member is correct. As the House knows, we had lowered the fuel costs, using our Stabilization Fund, between 8 and 9 cents recently. Now that we’re finishing our deliveries, we’re seeing more savings and fully intend on lowering the fuel costs as we’re finished deliveries into the communities. At this point, even with the lower cost of fuel – and it’s a fairly substantial drop in the cost of fuel – biomass is still feasible. Maybe the payback would be extended a couple of years perhaps, but we were getting a fairly decent quick payback on biomass, so we still consider biomass to be a...