This is page numbers 1 - 18 of the Hansard for the 13th Assembly, 8th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was gas.

Topics

Further Return To Question 5-13(8): Consultation On Natural Gas Conversion Project
Question 5-13(8): Consultation On Natural Gas Conversion Project
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 13

Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will take the Member's comments into consideration and get back to him at a later date. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 5-13(8): Consultation On Natural Gas Conversion Project
Question 5-13(8): Consultation On Natural Gas Conversion Project
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Oral questions. Mr. Erasmus.

Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development and a continuation of the questions I had asked earlier in regard to a gas pipeline to Yellowknife. I just wanted to indicate that the honourable Member responsible for Rae-Edzo has indicated that a pipeline could also service his community which would raise the numbers up by ten percent that would be serviced. Mr. Speaker, I know that the market would not be a tremendous market which probably would not be economical for the company that would bring this gas to this market. However, what I am wondering is, are we in any position to make it a condition of other pipelines that they actually do make natural gas available to this market over here? I am saying that, not because it would be economical or profitable to whoever does that, but because it would be good for the residents of the Northwest Territories to actually benefit from our own resources and also to lower the emissions that are contributing to the ozone layers being depleted above us as we speak. Thank you.

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Minister responsible for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Kakfwi.

Return To Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

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Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is suggesting that if it is possible, if it is economical, we should try to take some of our own natural resources and make them readily available to our own people here and in the process, lower greenhouse gas emissions and lower the costs of heating fuels. The government would readily agree to that. We would always look for situations, or occasions, or opportunities, where we can do exactly that. If there is such a possibility that it is economical to bring, for instance, natural gas to the city of Yellowknife, economically, we would do everything we can to advance such a scenario. Thank you.

Return To Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr Erasmus.

Supplementary To Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

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Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister had indicated that if it is economically feasible, he could do this. I think that considering the size of the market in this area, it may

never be economically feasible unless the gas find is right on our door step. I think that we have to go beyond looking at economics and doing whatever is possible to ensure that the residents benefit from our own resources. I would ask the Minister if they would go beyond looking at what is economically feasible when they are looking at the possibility of hooking us up to this natural resource? Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Mr. Kakfwi.

Further Return To Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 14

Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we know that the companies will not absorb the costs of building pipelines. They will only build pipelines when it is economical to do so. They will invest the necessary hundreds of millions of dollars into building a pipeline infrastructure if they know that they can sell the product that is going to flow through that pipe to consumers, largely in the United States and get their investment paid back to them plus make a profit. The companies will not do it otherwise. That has been the practice of industry. This government does not have the money to invest in pipeline infrastructure of that sort but it is possible to look at opportunities as I have said. The only thing that can be said is, if there is any possibility to arrive at a situation where we can get cleaner burning fuels, cheaper fuels, available to our people, whether it is in Yellowknife or Fort Providence, Hay River, Fort Smith, any of the communities in the North, then of course, we are obliged to do so. We will actively work to do that if such an occasion should arise. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 14

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Erasmus.

Supplementary To Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

September 6th, 1999

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Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister for his responses. My final question is, could the Minister get his staff to do an estimate of what it would cost to build a small pipeline, maybe five inches, or whatever, just a teeny one to bring gas over here and share that information with us, please? Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 14

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Mr. Kakfwi.

Further Return To Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

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Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will ask the department to see if there is any type of information we can make that has any resemblance of reality in it. We are not in the pipeline business but perhaps it is possible to do a rough estimate on such a proposal, given the distance where the significant finds are located at this time, in the Liard area. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Question 6-13(8): Natural Gas Availability To Northerners
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Oral questions. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Question 7-13(8): Services To Rural Residents
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

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Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not sure who my questions are for today but we have been talking a lot today about the provision of economic sources of fuel to people living in communities. We have a lot of people in the Northwest Territories who live in rural areas where they cannot even access basic services like power and telephone and these sorts of things. In the Yukon, they have a program called, "The Rural Electrification and Telecommunications Program". It is administered by the Department of Community and Transportation Services of the Yukon Government and the Yukon Development Corporation. It promotes the extension of this infrastructure and these services to people who live outside of municipalities and I certainly have people in my constituency that are in that category and I believe Mr. Erasmus probably does as well with people living along the Ingraham Trail, where for one person to access even these basis services, it is cost-prohibitive and not within the reach of most people. What they do in the Yukon, is that they make a loan available against the property which does not exceed 25 percent of the property's value and they allow these people to amortize the costs of getting these services over a period of time using the property as security.

Seeing as we do have many Northerners in the Western Territory living in rural areas, is this something that this government could consider? I have an instance in my riding right now where NorthwesTel has done away with the radio-telephone system and now for this constituent to get phone service brought in on a one-shot payment, which NorthwesTel would require, would cost $8,000. If they could be involved in a program such as they have in the Yukon, they could spread this over an amortized period and could afford the services. Is this something that this government has ever considered or would ever consider? Thank you.

Question 7-13(8): Services To Rural Residents
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The Premier, Mr. Antoine.

Return To Question 7-13(8): Services To Rural Residents
Question 7-13(8): Services To Rural Residents
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

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Jim Antoine Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will have to take this question as notice because we are talking about power, we are talking about telephone, we are talking about subsidy perhaps. You are asking if there is a general program that this government is looking at. Based on that, I need to get more information and get back to her. Thank you.

Return To Question 7-13(8): Services To Rural Residents
Question 7-13(8): Services To Rural Residents
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The question is being taken as notice. Oral questions. Mr. Henry.

Seamus Henry Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask further questions of Mr. Kakfwi, Minister responsible for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. It is following up on some questions that were asked earlier by my colleague, Mr. Erasmus, regarding pipelines to the capital city. Mr. Speaker, I would also request the Minister, and I realize that he is reasonably new in this portfolio but previously, a number of years ago, there are studies, and I believe the department would have them where it looked at the possibility of bringing natural gas to Yellowknife from the Cameron Hills area. Bringing natural gas to Yellowknife was economically feasible, all but one thing, getting it across the Mackenzie River at Fort Providence. In an initiative that I proposed in the life of this government was to build a bridge across the Mackenzie, and it will come at some

stage. Mr. Speaker, the one way to get that across the Mackenzie would have been to build a bridge and support it on the site of the bridge.

I would ask the Minister to maybe take a look in his department if those studies are still available. My question to the Minister, along the same lines, Mr. Speaker is, bringing natural gas to the community of Inuvik was not a feasible project. That project, rightfully so, was subsidized by the department. The project was subsidized by the department, but the installation for homeowners is also being subsidized to make it feasible. The Minister had told us, in his statement, that I believe the residents of Inuvik were getting $1,350 per conversion to convert homes, so obviously it was not a feasible project. There was the money initially injected into it to make it feasible. So all these things have been supported by the government, the initial money to get the project off the ground and secondly, some money for homeowners to have this project installed in their homes. I am wondering if the Minister would consider subsidizing a similar project for the city of Yellowknife, which would make it potentially feasible under those conditions to have natural gas brought into Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The Minister of Resources, Wildlife, and Economic Development, Mr. Kakfwi.

Return To Question 8-13(8): Feasibility Of Transporting Natural Gas
Question 8-13(8): Feasibility Of Transporting Natural Gas
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 15

Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There have been some studies or proposals done in the past that looked at bringing fuel to the city of Yellowknife and to Rae. Those studies are available. We will make copies and make them available to Members. In Inuvik, I know that it was just a few years ago that we proposed to shut down the utilidor system and have individual businesses and houses convert to their own individual heating systems. There was some support that was required to do that. In the case of this conversion, we have offered to help convert the heating systems from some of the communities for the units, housing units to natural gas as well. The largest client in Inuvik is the Power Corporation, and that is really what made it viable and economical to proceed with this operation. Thank you.

Return To Question 8-13(8): Feasibility Of Transporting Natural Gas
Question 8-13(8): Feasibility Of Transporting Natural Gas
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Henry.

Supplementary To Question 8-13(8): Feasibility Of Transporting Natural Gas
Question 8-13(8): Feasibility Of Transporting Natural Gas
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

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Seamus Henry Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has told us that something that made this a feasible project was, I understood him to say, the large consumption of the Power Corporation. When I compare the size of the Power Corporation operation in Inuvik to the size of the power operation here in Yellowknife, surely that should help to make it a feasible or at least a very similar project to what would have been produced in Inuvik. Again, my question to the Minister is, will he have his department officials look at the size of Inuvik and the size of Yellowknife and see what type of a subsidy would be required to make it a feasible project to have natural gas brought to Yellowknife? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 8-13(8): Feasibility Of Transporting Natural Gas
Question 8-13(8): Feasibility Of Transporting Natural Gas
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Mr. Kakfwi.

Further Return To Question 8-13(8): Feasibility Of Transporting Natural Gas
Question 8-13(8): Feasibility Of Transporting Natural Gas
Revert To Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 15

Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you. Yes, I will try to provide that information to the Member. Thank you.