Thank you. The honourable Member for Nahendeh.
Debates of April 6th, 1995
Topics
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 880
The Chair John Ningark
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 880
Jim Antoine Nahendeh
This is a substantial guarantee, it is not done very often. I would like to ask the Minister if this is the only time that this mechanism, this NWT Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act has been put into place. Has it been done before? And if this is the only time that it has been done, is
this guarantee specifically for this project, or could it be used for other projects as well? Thank you.
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 881
The Chair John Ningark
Qujannamiik. Mr. Minister.
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 881
John Pollard Hay River
Mr. Chairman, the funds being requested to be guaranteed by this Legislative Assembly are being requested to use specifically for the purposes of Dogrib Power and it is for construction of the Snare Cascades project.
Has this been done before? Yes, there have been two acts that have gone through this House. One was a fairly large act, the NWTPC Act, whereby we took over the NWT Power Corporation. In that act there was an ability for the NWTPC to go out and borrow money.
The second time it was done -- and I can't remember the order, but I believe this might have been the first one -- was the Neptune Resources Corporation Loan Guarantee Act, which was given assent on November 8, 1988, Mr. Chairman. The purpose of that act was to allow the government to guarantee a loan to Colomac Mines and that amount was $3 million. It was made specific that it would be to Neptune Resources Corporation. That act was never used, that loan guarantee was taken up or advanced by the government and the act has been repealed, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 881
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Antoine.
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 881
Jim Antoine Nahendeh
My final question is what is the current status of financing of this project? Thank you.
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 881
The Chair John Ningark
Qujannamiik. Mr. Minister.
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 881
John Pollard Hay River
Mr. Chairman, there has been some advancement in kind by the Power Corporation in the way of work being done by the Power Corporation for Dogrib Power. That is the way this thing started out. I think the Premier mentioned yesterday the great involvement she had with Mr. Zoe in this particular regard. Money was required to be advanced against the project and to get it this far, it has been using short-term financing, Mr. Chairman, which is somewhat more expensive than the long-term financing. That is the way that it is being funded at the present time.
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 881
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Zoe.
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 881
Henry Zoe North Slave
Mr. Chairman, obviously, I will be supporting Bill 18.
---Laughter
Mr. Chairman, I know that the Power Corporation and the new subsidiary that they incorporated has been working very closely with the DPC to try to figure out a way they should acquire their funding. It has been a long process. It has been difficult because what DPC wanted to do at the beginning was to go to the private market to try to see if they could raise $26 million. But through contacts with NWTPC and other people that were involved, they came to an agreement that this would be the best solution for them. That is why they created the NWT Energy Corporation.
As the Minister indicated, it won't be that costly, because the rates that are going to be obtained by this group are going to be lower because they have a track record. I think that this is the first time, although the Minister indicated that there were two other bills similar to this, but this is -- in my view -- the first time that this type of bill has gone through, because the other one was more specific. It was directly to the company, but this one is sort of in between the NWTPC, it is one of their subsidiaries that we are using.
I feel that both groups have to be commended for coming up with an innovative way of dealing with raising this type of money. I think that it is urgently required that this bill get through. My understanding is, Mr. Chairman, the longer we delay, the interest rates change from day to day, so the sooner we deal with this particular bill, we may be saving money in the long run. I would encourage all Members to support this bill. Mr. Chairman, I would just like to make another comment. My colleagues, Mr. Antoine and Mr. Koe, asked questions about contracts being signed to purchase future power. I think the Minister indicated that yes, there is an agreement in place but the method of acquiring future money would depend on DPC to determine. The method they are going to use hasn't been determined yet for the second phase. There is the possibility they want to go the route they are going now or they may want to go a different route. It still has to be determined but there is an actual agreement between DPC and the NWTPC to purchase future power.
Mr. Chairman, those are my comments pertaining to this particular bill and I encourage Members to support this bill.
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 881
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. At the same time, I would like to remind Members that we wanted to eliminate the government deficit by 1999. Mr. Minister.
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 881
John Pollard Hay River
Mr. Chairman, this is a straight arrangement where we borrow money and loan it to someone else and they pay the cost so, hopefully, it won't be adding to our deficit. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 881
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Further general comments from the floor? Mr. Antoine.
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 881
Jim Antoine Nahendeh
One last question, how many years will it take to pay this back? Thank you.
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 881
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Minister.
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 881
John Pollard Hay River
Mr. Chairman, the repayment schedule and length of time will be decided between the Energy Corporation and the Dogrib Power Corporation. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 881
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Any further general comments?
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 881
An Hon. Member
Clause by clause.
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 881
The Chair John Ningark
Clause by clause, do you agree?
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 881
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
---Agreed Clause By Clause
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 882
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. We are reviewing Bill 18, Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act. Clause 1.
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 882
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
---Agreed
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 882
The Chair John Ningark
Qujannamiik. Clause 2.
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 882
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
---Agreed
Bill 18: Northwest Territories Energy Corporation Limited Loan Guarantee Act
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 882
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Clause 3.