Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With our winter season upon us, I wish to speak to the issue of power rates in the NWT. There continues to be great disparity in the rates charged to northerners for electricity. At the extreme, we have some residents paying 22 times the amount other people are asked to pay. That is 2,200 percent more. I would like to think, Mr. Speaker, that any democratically-elected government with a mandate to treat all of its citizens equally would be concerned with addressing such glaring inequalities. However, that does not seem to be the case with this government. I am concerned that this inequality is about to become even worse. Power rates are the highest in those communities that rely on diesel-generated power. Lately, we have seen world oil prices reach an all-time high, exceeding $50 a barrel. Clearly, this will mean an increase in the price of diesel-generated power, which will create an additional economic burden for some residents, but not, Mr. Speaker, for all.
The current rate structure applied by this government penalizes people living in smaller communities. That is to say the way that the government conducts its business is creating a social imbalance. Electricity is an essential service, and yet we have people in smaller communities who must do without many things in life in order to pay their prohibitive electricity costs. I am concerned this imbalance will become critical and that it is going to have serious consequences for all of us.
In 2002, the NWT Power Corporation recommended the establishment of a single power rate across the NWT. This would have been in keeping with the system established by most other Canadian jurisdictions. However, the recommendation was rejected by the Executive Council of the 14th Assembly, and we continue to experience disparity.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.