Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Robertson report, or the power review report as I was calling it, has been sent out for public review. There has been some consultation with communities and stakeholders since January, and the results of the consultation are still being compiled by officials and a paper is being prepared for Cabinet consideration. Cabinet will look at the different parts of the report as well as the recommendations some time in the next few weeks, definitely before the fall.

As to how much work is being done, the aspect of rate zones, I am not able to provide that to the Member. If there is some being done and it is in a basic information format, I would be pleased to find that out for the Member and perhaps provide it to the Members. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister inform us, as this consultation is going out and a paper is going to be prepared for Cabinet, does this include rate zones and subsidies and the impact on residents? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not certain of that, but in the course of our discussions, I am of the view that rate zones should be discussed by Cabinet. We do have provisions for something like 26 different rate zones that the Power Corporation has to administer. As well, we have an almost territorial-wide subsidy program. Although there are 26 different rate zones, we in fact have two. One is the rate zone provided to Fort Smith, Hay River, and Fort Resolution, because of the low cost of hydro energy that is provided from Taltson to these communities. For all of the other communities, which generally have diesel power supplied to them, we have a subsidy program that provides for all communities to have power provided to them at the rate provided here in Yellowknife for the first 700 kilowatts. While we have a whole range of different rate zones, the subsidy program that we provide changes that somewhat. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My concern in that specific area is if we change the rate zones, it will have an impact on the subsidy to residents. In communities that have some lower costs, Inuvik is quite different. Its power is generated at the plant, but it is through natural gas. If you change the rate zones and put it in a larger zone, the general cost of power will go up. I am concerned and want to ensure that the subsidy program, even though it is designed on the first 700 kilowatt hours of Yellowknife, will be developed; or if the rate zones are going to be changed, that this subsidy also is looked at to ensure that residents are not negatively impacted by those changes. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am sure the issue of rate zones will be discussed. As to what we decide, it will be determined later. The Public Utilities Board is going to look at general rate applications made by the Power Corporation. It was filed recently. The Public Utilities Board will have some say about the rate zones that are established here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Your final supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With the Premier's last response in the area of rate zones and subsidies and the PUB, he referred to the fact that the PUB would be part of a review on that. Is he confirming that the PUB is going to be involved in this process? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Public Utilities Board governs the rates that can be charged by the Power Corporation in supplying power to the communities. They do have some say in the rates and the number of rate zones that are established for that purpose.

The Power Corporation simply applies to increase their rates when the cost of providing the power or other elements that are involved in the operation causes them to seek a change in the rate that they charge. Rate zones, the rates that are charged, are all discussed and considered by the Public Utilities Board. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a comprehensive energy strategy for the Northwest Territories is an issue my fellow MLAs and I have been urging the government to adopt, an energy strategy that would tie all of the government's obligations and plans together to give us all direction.

The United States recently released their energy strategy and pressure is on for a continental energy strategy. With the energy crisis in the south, we must act before we are forced to react to external pressures.

The government has said that it is moving to develop an energy strategy and we have been trying to urge the government to develop a comprehensive strategy more quickly. My question for the Premier is, when will this comprehensive energy strategy be concluded and presented in this House? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Cabinet and I have agreed to initiate work to establish a secretariat for the purpose of developing a comprehensive energy strategy. We know it is urgent, but because we say it should be comprehensive, it will take time and an intensive amount of work.

Once we put a team together and get them to assess the state of affairs here in the Northwest Territories, across this country and on a continental basis, they should, as one of the first orders of business, assess what it is that needs to be done, what is there and how long it would take them to deliver some sort of an assessment on the scope of work that needs to be undertaken and the approach that they would like to take in developing a process to arrive at a comprehensive energy policy.

I understand that it is urgent. It is needed as quickly as possible, but we also need to make a commitment to ensure that everyone is involved and due consideration is given to all of the different elements that would help us to put together this comprehensive energy policy.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, from that answer, I would have to surmise that the timetable is being left up to the people appointed to the Energy Secretariat. Is this government not going to challenge the people who are appointed to meet a certain timetable to try and achieve the recommendations on a strategy in a very short order? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have said the secretariat should be in existence for two years. So from the initiation of the work until the work is done, whether that includes in the front end, the development of a draft strategy or a process to develop a draft strategy and then following it through until the completion of it, plus the adoption of such a strategy, will remain to be seen. However, I hope that by following the blueprint we used to develop the Protected Areas Strategy, we could do it within a year or two. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it still seems to be a rather loose timetable. Will the Premier commit to try to have an energy strategy in place within the next six to 12 months? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.