Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to add my contribution to the issue of energy policy in general. I would like to say for the record, I believe it is a good thing that we are undertaking this review. Given the developments in Hay River and Fort Simpson during the summer, it is time that we focused our attention to this issue. Mr. Speaker, I must say that I was not happy to see what was happening in Hay River and I think this sort of review should have happened before then.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to state clearly for the record that I do not support a wholesale privatization of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation if it is on the board as an option, especially if this has anything to do with lessening the pressure on the debt wall the government is facing, or as a means of raising fast cash.

Mr. Speaker, after all, we are talking about generation, distribution and regulation of the energy and power sector. It is even confusing to talk about energy and power and natural gas. I think the definition of energy and power is changing as we speak.

Mr. Speaker, I think we are also aware of the tremendous changes that the Power Corporation had to undergo within the last year as a result of having lost their service and their business in Nunavut. That is another issue that should be put on the "to do" list for this review team.

Mr. Speaker, I have not had a chance to talk to Mr. Robertson and I look forward to the opportunity to do so. I look forward to getting his report, in order to have a more focused discussion. I have researched a little bit on this issue and met with some of the people. I think there are so many issues that we need to deal with, that I cannot even talk about at the moment.

All I know is that the distribution of energy is an essential service in the North. It is not the most economical place in the world to produce that and distribute that, but it is like a railroad of long ago, where we have to be connected to the system. Not all parts are going to be able to afford everything and some parts have to be subsidized. It is an essential state service that we must have a plan to distribute, and we must find innovative ways to use the Power Corporation at its best, seeing as we have invested so much money into that. I applaud the government for reviewing it and I look forward to seeing the result. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Merci, Ms. Lee. Déclaration des députés. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Mahsi, Mr. Nitah. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Oral Question asked by Mr. Krutko on November 7, 2000, regarding the service contract in place between the Hamlet of Fort McPherson and Public Works and Services.

In the incident mentioned by the Member, dropping water levels in the lake caused the floating pump house to tilt, thereby straining and damaging the electrical service and one of two pumps. Two replacement pumps also failed before the electrical fault was successfully traced and repaired. During this period, water circulation was maintained by one pump, which is adequate during summer conditions but not during winter when the water in the lines is colder. Eventually the intake line froze. By using stored water, however, service to residents was interrupted for only a few hours.

Public Works and Services staff and contractors took their responsibilities seriously, responding to the problem immediately, and treating it as their highest priority. They worked outdoors under difficult winter conditions for four days to make the necessary repairs. The repairs required that they deal with high voltage electrical lines, a building that was leaning on its side and the frustration of an old system requiring obsolete parts. Their success in restoring service under difficult conditions demonstrates the level of commitment of the department's staff and contractors. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to recognize two visitors, Mr. Bill Burn and Wayne Sartor, vice-president of Northern Pipeline Development for Embridge Pipeline. They operate our pipeline from Norman Wells south and they do more business with us. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Brian Willows, who is with the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, in the gallery today. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a former employee of the Legislature, Ms. Candy Hardy, and Ms. Francis from Fort McPherson, who is also in the gallery. Thank you.

-- Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. I would like to say welcome to visitors and thank you for coming to see your Legislative Assembly. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question this afternoon is in relation to the issue of energy policy and it is directed to the Minister of Finance. Given that the government of the Northwest Territories and communities, boards and agencies and public institutions are charged with financing and managing a broad range of energy related issues such as water and sewer, heating fuel and electrical utilities, and that we have an enormous potential in the Northwest Territories to harness major hydro and gas opportunities, what is the government's approach to using energy potential as an instrument of public and economic benefit? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. The honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government's approach is one of being very open minded to what the potential is for alternative uses of energy alternatives to diesel fired generators. We have been a strong supporter of the Arctic Energy Alliance and that is an alliance made up of government and non-government bodies. They have been doing a lot of work for us in this area. We are open, we are doing a number of initiatives within the government itself as well. Of course, we are also looking at the whole review of power generation that has been referred to many times today by the Members. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would still like to pursue that sort of very fundamental, I think philosophical, approach that a government always has the option to apply. That is, if we have the ability through aggressive development and marketing of our energy potential that we could indeed turn the corner on some things. My colleague from Tu Nedhe illustrated potential, for instance, in the Taltson region to export them from the North Slave region as well into the diamond fields.

Does the government feel there is strong potential there that it should be aggressively pursuing?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, definitely. The government agrees that there is strong potential in the Northwest Territories in several locations for more hydro energy and the two areas the Member mentions, the Taltson and the Snare River system are, of course, two main ones. Thank you.