Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First of all, I will just say that our vacancy rate is not as high as it would appear at first because we have a number of seasonal positions.

For example, in the May vacancy report we had 34 full-time vacant positions and the other 32, when the data was pulled together, were seasonal positions, so a lot of those have been filled. Having 32, 34 about that number, out of a total compliment of 420 fulltime positions, is probably not out of line because you always expect to have eight, nine, or ten percent turnover.

On the other issue the Member raises though, I agree 100 percent with the need of having some really thorough baseline data collected and information available on our wildlife and natural environment, so we need to do that. Oil and gas is quickly catching up to us, or speeding up in the North. The department is aware of the need for it.

We are doing a review within the department of our programs and services to figure out how we can identify the resources, human and dollars, to be able to achieve what the Member is recommending we do. So we are in agreement on that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the other area that I have raised concerns with the Minister and also with the department is the whole area of taking advantage of the oil and gas industry, especially in my riding. I would like to state that, from what we have seen from the diamond industry, there has been a lot of emphasis put in regard to making funds available on the secondary industry, working with the Department of Education in ensuring that the training programs are there for people to access those jobs. But also making sure that there is money available for different special projects.

We have $1.6 million identified for diamond projects, but yet there is nothing in the budget for oil and gas projects, so that we can assist groups like the Inuvialuit with the gas project that may look at accessing gas from the pipeline that may come forth to offset the cost of diesel fuel converting over to natural gas. So these types of things have to be built into the budget and I, for one, would like to see another item added, called oil and gas projects, so it is not specifically related to the control or the management of overseeing oil and gas in the Northwest Territories.

But having monies available, similar to the diamond industry, in the range of $1.6 million to $2 million, so that we can also take advantage of that particular industry.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, I will just address that we are, as a government, prepared to give the same consideration to oil and gas as we have to the diamond industry. We have a number of options for people who need support and that could be through the BCC, it could be through our regional economic development officers, it could be through special arrangements like we have done on loan guarantees and so on for diamonds. There is absolutely no preference given to diamonds over oil and gas or anything like that.

We are open to supporting any good, viable ventures that come forward or proposals. Our people will work with entrepreneurs who want to do this.

The other side, as well, is we are spending a considerable amount of money right now on things like supporting the Aboriginal Pipeline Group. We have committed to paying a third of the costs for this meeting next week in Fort Simpson. Those are things that really are not our responsibility. It should be DIAND because they are the ones who get the benefit out of it. But for the sake of getting our people to have some equity and some jobs, we have to do it. We are making that investment. We will continue that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Another area I have concerns with is regarding the economic development sector and the service we provide in that area. We have some $695,000 for community economic development officers. I have seen the programs in the communities. The money they get is not sufficient for the cost of living. Trying to attract someone with a background in economic development and trying to access dollars for economic development projects is hard. You cannot attract people for that amount of money and live in an isolated community with the cost of living.

I feel we have to work closer with the different economic development areas we have. We have the Northwest Territories Business Credit Corporation, the Northwest Territories Development Corporation, we have aboriginal corporations in place now. We have to somehow consolidate all of these dollars we have and make better use of them and streamline those dollars so they go to specific regions and areas.

By having more access to capital, we are able to do more. Without having the groups consolidate themselves into one agency or organization to work along with other institutions, we have to have the ability to move some of this money around. A lot of money has been spent through the Northwest Territories Business Credit Corporation and also the Development Corporation in the southern part of the Northwest Territories - Yellowknife, Hay River - those areas in which a lot of those loans were given out.

When it comes to the northern part of the Northwest Territories, or even the communities, they have had very little access to those dollars. In order for any community to get ahead, we need access to capital. I feel there has to be a better way of streamlining this money so communities and regions are able to access this capital.

I would like to ask the Minister if he would consider looking at consolidating these different economic strategies so we can streamline them and be more accountable to the people it is supposed to serve by making sure there are capital dollars there for the business community to access. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, we are committed to streamlining our operations in terms of the various channels people have for loans and grants, contributions, assistance with business advice, and so on. We are already doing that. That is part of our plan this year, to get on with it.

In terms of how long it is going to take, we are already starting to try to bring the Development Corporation and BCC closer together. The whole exercise would probably take us into the next fiscal year to complete. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. At this time, the Chair would like to recognize some people in the gallery. We have a number of deputy ministers of health who are here in Yellowknife. They have been here since Wednesday on business meetings. I would like to recognize David Dodge, Ron Hinkle, Pierre Holgreaunu, Paula Burton, Ann McFarlane, Gladys Heets, Debra Fry, Thomas Word, and Carol-Anne Duffy.

-- Applause

Welcome to Yellowknife and to the Legislative Assembly. The Chair would now like to recognize Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will take advantage of your largess and leap in here before you change your mind, since Mr. Dent now wants to speak.

I have two questions I would like to ask the Minister. The first one, since this is the first budget of the 14th Assembly, and we have the departments before us asking for $75 million. We spent quite a few weeks with business plans, targets, plans and programming issues. Given the fact that it was stated by the Premier in this House that there is no clear, measurable way by which to make this government, Ministers and deputy ministers accountable for not meeting targets, for my own clarity and peace of mind, I would like the Minister to explain accountability in his opinion as Minister with this department and the $75 million they are asking for. Are we just going through the motions and having to place our faith in the good nature of the Lord above when it comes to dealing with this issue in any kind of clear, measurable, accountable way? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, first of all, as the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, I am responsible. I want to clear that up.

Secondly, Mr. Bob McLeod, as the deputy minister, is responsible for the management and administration of the department. He is accountable to me. Mr. McLeod enters into a contract with me in terms of what we are going to deliver as a department.

I heard very clearly the standing committee's recommendation in terms of having more measurable results. I will be going over the department's proposed targets and results to ensure we get specific so they are measurable and we will know whether or not we have good products and services for the $75 million. All I can do is assure you I will do my best to do that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So it is clear, I intend to ask this question of every department that comes before this House. For clarification, the Minister is saying there are clear measurable ways in which you are prepared to be held accountable for, with the $75 million that is before this House?

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Handley.

As part of the business planning process, every department, and this department, is asked to indicate targets and outcomes, goals and so on. All of those are built into the business plans. If in some cases, we find that the proposed results are not as measurable as they could be, we need to refine that. I will work very closely with my department to make sure we achieve what the committee and Ordinary Members are asking: having results that are measurable so you know whether or not we did a good job with the money available. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is good to hear that with the first department through the gate, that the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development is going to be accountable.

I have a question about the energy strategy. I raised this in my general comments yesterday, and the Minister responded to the effect that while it is important, it should be something that was done later because you have other pressing issues on the table. I would like to raise the question again.

We had a briefing by the Energy Alliance, which I thought was very informative and enlightening for all of us. This is not a $30 million issue as the government initially indicated. It is worth somewhere in the neighbourhood of $230 million. That figure, I would submit, is growing as we speak with fuel prices going up.

There is a piece-meal effort being made that is un-coordinated, which is my concern. The four potential measures outlined by the Energy Alliance in their presentation were energy efficiency, energy supply options, Northwest Territories Greenhouse Gas Emissions Strategy, and a policy on regulatory framework.

Mr. Chairman, I want to make the point that the government has indicated they are doing the Energy Greenhouse Gas Strategy. I know the PUB is looking at the policy and regulatory framework of the Public Utilities Board. I know the Power Corporation is trying, in its own way, to deal with the energy issue as well. The government is struggling with petroleum products and the Housing Corporation, with its huge rising cost of utilities.

My concern is they are all going forward in an un-coordinated way. We are talking about a huge amount of money here. If we do not take the time now to set a process in place to come up with the board energy strategy that will link these pieces, we will end up in a month, two months or a year, with a host of initiatives that are not related, which no energy strategy will be able to link.

From a good business sense and practice, and for the good of the people in the Northwest Territories, we have to initiate this process. I would ask the Minister if he would be willing to commit to look at that. I think there is a role the Energy Alliance could play. Just about every deputy minister is on that particular board. It does not have to be done by the deputies or the government per se. They just have to get a process going that will report back.

I see this as a critical issue. The government is doing things in bits and pieces, but it is not linked. I would like the Minister to consider and respond whether he would be willing to look at this as a critical issue, considering the potential savings that are there and the rising costs we are currently faced with. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development was one of the departments instrumental in setting up the alliance. We do participate actively on it. We see the Energy Alliance as being the vehicle for coordinating our efforts in government with the Power Corporation, private sector, the Housing Corporation and so on.

We recognize the immensity of the problem, the amount of fuel that is used and so on. I agree with the Member's recognition. I will commit to doing that. However, given the limited number of people, I believe we only had seven staff in environmental protection to handle everything from hazardous waste to these issues. It is just a matter of where do we put our energies.

We are working on greenhouse gas, beverage container recycling, energy efficiency initiatives and so on. We will do everything we can to achieve what the Member is requesting. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to point out that if this is going to work, there has to be a public consultation process. It is not something I see being done internal to government alone with its staff. The Energy Alliance sees the responsibility of developing a strategy with the Government of the NWT. But that, I suggest, is just to set up the process, and let the Alliance point out, very clearly, the broad energy strategy is not in the works at this point, but the Alliance could provide advice and assistance.

So I will just ask the Minister the kind of process I have in mind is not going to be one just done by staff internal to the government. But if it is going to have credibility and buy-in from the public and the very many sectors affected by energy issues, it has to be something that has a public component,

The one in the Yukon, I know, took two years, but they set up a committee similar to the economic development strategy committee to do the work and come back with a product. So would the Minister consider looking at that in a very serious way and possibly ask the Energy Alliance to develop a working document for discussion? Thank you.