Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is interesting that the subject of cross-subsidization comes up almost all the time when we discuss the Power Corporation, particularly, when we talk about continuing the corporation as one. It is a legitimate concern. People need to be assured there is no cross-subsidy. I would like to remind all Members this issue was put to bed once and for all last summer when the Public Utilities Board, after five years of painstaking work, came out with a decision, approved rates that ensured there was no subsidy going across the east/west boundaries. Western communities are in no way subsidizing any Nunavut communities. The target over the next few years is to make sure all communities are paying their own cost of power.

In terms of there being a perception of unequal support for the headquarters operation, again, all of the costs and the expenditures of the NWT Power Corporation are examined in excruciating detail by the Public Utilities Board and by a number of lawyers representing all of the intervenors. We have, I am afraid to say, over the last five years killed a large number of trees to make enough paper, when stacked, darn nearly reach the ceiling in this Chamber, Mr. Speaker, to prove that there is a rationale behind the rates and that there is no inequality in the subsidy or the cost of headquarters apportioned to each community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, regarding the reference to the headquarters' subsidy is being apportioned out fairly, in relation to the communities that are serviced by another utility. There seems to be, like Northlands in Yellowknife, a distinct difference of disparities, especially given the difference in population of the communities. Could the Minister explain that balance and how it figures into the equation and how is that justified when some place like Fort Smith pays something like $600,000, and a community like Yellowknife I understand pays about $300,000 for the same kind of headquarters subsidy to Northlands? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would not want to confirm the figures that the Member has just used. What I will commit to doing is providing the Members of this House with clarification of what the numbers are in terms of the support for headquarters operations for those two communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the other issues in relation to the NTPC is the concern that the figure put forward of a five percent increase is a $5 million cost to the west if there is a split. This question, in light of the fact, the perception we will have headquarters for NTPC is, I do not know if fat is the word, but is perceived to be very ample that the corporation did not, in fact, experience the same magnitude of cuts that other programs and departments did, and that any corporation with good planning could absorb that kind of restructuring without passing on a rate increase. I am wondering if the Minister could to speak to that particular concern, as well? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the corporation is, in fact, a very lean operation. It has over the years since this government has taken over made itself even more efficient. Again, the Public Utilities Board acts as a proxy for competition and represents the interests of the public to guarantee that all of the operations of the corporation are examined in detail to ensure there are no extra employees, that the costs of headquarters are not being driven up by added payrolls. That, in fact, is what guarantee the members of the public that the corporation is run efficiently. I would say that this issue is a red herring and I would say to the public that I am confident this is an extremely efficiently run corporation and is not one that has room to cut its operations and absorb a smaller size, if you will, without any increase. In fact, I have commissioned three different accounting firms to examine those figures and not one of them came back at less than a five percent increase across the west to support our own

headquarters if the corporation is forced divided. Just so that Members know from the Nunavut side, the numbers, depending upon which of the accounting firms we used, ranged between seven and just over nine percent. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.