Thank you. Since the train has already left without Mr. Todd...
---Laughter
...I will jump on the back of it and indicate to this committee that if there was anything in this report that caught my eye immediately it was the fact that there was a proposal to have the Northwest Territories Power Corporation assume responsibility of the distribution of petroleum products.
I looked at the words carefully, and I wondered what was meant by distribution. We see the word "amalgamation" and so on, and then if you look at the exact word it just says "distribution." When I looked at this originally, I could see the Northwest Territories Power Corporation being a mammoth consumer of diesel oil. It would be a pretty monolithic and huge corporation if, in fact, it not only was responsible for the distribution of power but was responsible also for the distribution of all other fuels for the production of energy.
My background, Mr. Chairman, makes me very, very uneasy about monopolies, especially when you look at potential for the only really significant utility which could have a major implication for the development of our economy. We all know that if you are going to develop any kind of base beyond just very, very simple manufacturing, you really have to look to this kind of utility if you want to develop an industrial base of any kind, even a very modest one. This proposal to amalgamate POL with the Power Corporation bothers me at that level, simply putting it with a corporation under its current structure. It frightens me when I consider the possibility of the whole thing being privatized, because then you would really have the monopoly that gives me nightmares.
We all know, for example, that in half of our territory, the area in the Eastern Arctic, there is a complete dependence on diesel for the generation of power. Right now we have a system in place which provides a degree of protection for those people; and it is in our interest, in fact, to keep a corporate structure together as long as we can, and to make sure that the interests of those people who are highly dependent on diesel is protected.
I am always interested in hearing good solid arguments for doing something. Like my colleagues here, I do not want to put up false fences against something that will change things, advance us and improve things. I think that would be a terrible mistake. But when you see a development like this to which you really cannot judge any advantage -- when you look at the way it is being proposed, you try to figure out what is going to be gained if we are to go that route. For example, if now the corporation assumes this responsibility for purchasing power, I can see ways in which, perhaps, we could begin looking at developing ports in places, and identifying these great oil tankers on the sea somewhere and dragging them into some northern place and have them off-load their oil, and so on. There are all kinds of visions that you can have on how things could be different.
The major concern that all of us really have with this -- I will give just one example of something that is just a minor detail, perhaps, but currently if the government purchases oil and sells it, then we are somewhat exempt from different levies such as GST and so on. It does not affect us. If the corporation were to take it over and this was to be considered just another one of their purchases, then they would automatically have to pay those taxes.
Danger Of Huge Monopoly
My major concern, Mr. Chairman, is that I see a real danger in developing a monolith, some huge monopoly, which has tremendous potential for doing things which may not be in the interest of all the people of the Northwest Territories. In looking at this document, that is what we have to bear in mind; not what may help one little area or one little region, but what is best for all of the people of the Northwest Territories. There are some things here which do not give me the kind of satisfaction, if you like, that we would be serving all the best interests of all of the people in the Territories, if we were to put these two things together, and do it in such a way that there are no real advantages for everybody. Thank you.