Thank you. Minister responsible for the Power Corporation, Madam Premier.

Madam Speaker, there are several issues before the Public Utilities Board in addition to the cost on the low water. On September 1st, the corporation did make an application back to 1993, to the Public Utilities Board requesting approval on an automatic fuel adjustment clause which adjusts rates to automatically account for diesel fuel price increases or decreases; previously applied for in 1992. There are several issues that have been outstanding since we acquired the Power Corporation which we knew we were going to have to deal with. So there has been deliberation on trying to put those issues forward. The Public Utilities Board has a heavy agenda on all those areas, and they're trying very hard to deal with them. So it's not as though this has not been brought to the attention of the Public Utilities Board, but it's a matter of how and what time schedule they can agree to deal with this. There have been a lot of discussions and a lot of interaction between the PUB and the Power Corporation on water charges as well as fuel adjustment and other issues that are outstanding. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Whitford.

Madam Premier.

Madam Speaker, in the several issues that are placed before the Public Utilities Board, these are the issues that are being addressed. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Transportation, the Honourable John Todd. I understand that Mr. Todd was at a meeting of provincial and federal Ministers of Transportation on October 4th in Winnipeg. I would like to ask the Minister what was the purpose of the meeting. I will follow up with supplementaries. Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Transportation, Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. The purpose of the meeting was to meet with our provincial counterparts and the federal Transportation Minister, the Honourable Doug Young, with respect to trying to develop a national highway policy whereby the federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions would hopefully jointly fund a national highway system.

My understanding is this process has been in place since 1987, I believe. Certainly the Member from New Brunswick was very active at the meeting and indicated it's been a long drawn-out process.

The upshot of the meeting, basically, was that Mr. Young indicated there was no new money available at the federal level with respect to developing a national highway policy or a national highway system. However, he did indicate he was prepared to look at a reassignment of existing money that goes into the provincial and territorial jurisdictions, that perhaps -- he did stress "perhaps" -- those funds could be, along with the provinces and the territories, used to develop a strong national highway system.

We, along with our provincial counterparts, indicated to the Minister that we felt we could identify funds within our existing resources, and asked him if he would be prepared to match them. The conclusion at the end of the day was that we would provide him by the end of, I believe it was, this month, the kind of levels of funding we felt we could identify within our existing budgets as subject to the approval of our Premier and Finance Ministers. He committed to trying to identify similar funds from his federal funding before the end of the calendar year, the end of December. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. This House has heard me supporting the national highway system, all the way down the Mackenzie valley, many times, from Wrigley on up to Inuvik. I'd like to ask the Minister if this policy that is being developed is going to be able to provide some sort of funding to complete the national highway program down the Mackenzie Valley.

---Applause

Thank you. Minister of Transportation, Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. In an ideal world, that certainly was in our plans. However, I've stressed many times under the current fiscal conditions that we're operating, we're frankly unable to do it. Now we are working with people in that particular region in trying to develop new and innovative ways should we be successful in securing some long-term joint cosponsorship of the highway system in the western Arctic. Frankly, this is not going to take place unless we do get some kind of joint funding from the federal government.

To me, the result of the meeting last week was fairly clear. Some of the provincial Ministers were frustrated because these discussions have been going on since 1987. They wanted to know whether in fact there was a chance for this thing to go through or not. Mr. Young, the Minister of Transportation, indicated he was prepared to give a decision one way or the other by the end of December. So the optimistic side of me says now we can make an arrangement with the federal government on the reassignment of existing funds to develop and continue with this highway system that we have in place.

However, we're all aware of the current fiscal conditions of the country and it's going to be difficult unless they can reassign money from other programs. However, we should know, and it was made clear to us, whether there is the makings of a deal by the end of December or not. Let me stress "or not." Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'm reading from a press release from the Department of Transportation and then there is an attachment on the back called, "Western and Territorial Transportation Ministers' Comprehensive Review, Western Transportation Priorities." In terms of funding for a new highway, in this document it explains that $4.5 billion is annually derived from taxes on fuel. We, in the Northwest Territories, especially in this part of the country, purchase a lot of fuel for our vehicles and it'll be interesting to ask the Minister if he has any figures on how much taxes are raised in the western part of the territories towards fuel consumption and if this could be applied towards a continuing highway system in the west. Thank you.

---Applause

Minister of Transportation, Mr. Todd.

The press release tried to relate the kind of revenues, the $4.2 billion the federal government gets from, I believe, a gasoline tax and tried to relate it as to whether it goes back into transportation as an argument that it is putting back an insufficient amount of money from the revenues it generates. The actual revenues generated in the western Arctic...I don't know the actual numbers off the top of my head, but it's marginal with respect to the $4.2 billion.

The one thing we do have in this national highway system is the only gravel highway that is recognized as a national highway. That's why we're in, if you want, the negotiations. As I said, I believe the Department of Transportation can, with some creativity, reassign some of its dollars, if we can find some 50 cent dollars, from the federal government similar to what we did with the strategic transportation initiative that enabled us to bring a number of airport upgrades forward, et cetera. That's where we're heading with this. The taxation issue was used as an argument to illustrate the degree of payback, if you want, with respect to the revenues that are associated through the gas tax. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Iqaluit, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I have another question for the Premier about the government's participation in the PUB hearings on the general rate application of the Power Corporation. I'd like to ask the Premier, further to my earlier question today, when was the decision made that the GNWT would intervene through the Minister of Finance. Thank you.

Thank you. Madam Premier.

Madam Speaker, I don't know exactly which date, but it was quite some time ago we made the decision. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I understand from the Premier that the government will be intervening as a customer and as a user of power who will be affected by rate changes. Could I ask the Premier, will the government, when it intervenes, be addressing its interest as a provider of the subsidy for domestic power consumers outside Yellowknife? Thank you.