The big question, Mr. Speaker, is does the Minister have confidence in the board of directors of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That goes without saying that I do, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would actually prefer that he did say that. Mr. Speaker, could the Minister tell us if the board did advise him early in his term, in fact, months before the government interfered in the process of the franchise in Hay River, about their plan to pursue the franchise in Hay River?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, the term is not that we "interfered" in Hay River. We asked the parties to withdraw their proposals. Thank you.

-- Interjection

Additionally, I was aware that the Power Corporation had been invited to submit a proposal. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, could the Minister advise the House, did the board request the Minister to ask this government to issue a directive halting notification going to those employees likely to be affected by division in the Power Corporation?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The corporation does as a corporation does. The government sometimes has a larger mandate to ensure that issues for the Territory as a whole are protected. In view of the fact that a review was being done for power generation in the Northwest Territories, including the NTPC, it was prudent to have the corporation address the issue of staffing. At that point, the government issued a directive in that regard. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will take that answer as no, that the board did not ask for the directive to be issued. Mr. Speaker, the Minister may take issue with my calling this political interference, but I do not think that it can be characterized any other way.

Given the Minister's statement first that the board has his confidence, do they have the mandate to run the corporation or has this government now decided to run it like a department of government?

-- Interjection

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue of running a corporation is left to the board of directors, but there is also a shareholder involved in this that has the interest of all of the Northwest Territories at heart and in mind and in consideration for the future. I think that has to be remembered, Mr. Speaker, as a very important issue to address because there were a lot of issues coming on the table.

There was the issue of division, the possible downsizing of the corporation and the franchise issues in other communities. We have four communities where we have no franchises and in the next two-and-a-half-years, we have ten other communities with no franchises or a renewal for franchises. The issues out there were numerous. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Ootes. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The fuel stabilization fund has a $2 million cap on it and when that is depleted, it is important to replenish. The Power Corporation then seeks to introduce a rate rider that applies across the Territory to all individuals, all consumers.

In the case of the recent rate rider, the GNWT assisted with that by providing the cost of the increase for individuals up to 700 kilowatt hours. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister is muddying the waters here. We all know every resident in the Northwest Territories already qualifies for the first 700 kilowatt hours of power subsidy that we as residents enjoy, and hopefully continue to enjoy as this study goes ahead and the report comes back. My question was, is everyone in the Northwest Territories paying the rate rider that is out there now and equates to almost 11 percent on their consumer bills? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, Mr. Ootes.