Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. I want to ask the Premier why there isn't any type of legislation in the Northwest Territories to control energy usage. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, we have no legislation on energy use, if I understood the question correctly, in the broad application of licensing, permitting it and so on, because it is federal jurisdiction. It's not our jurisdiction. As we negotiate devolution, then part of that is to take over jurisdiction for land and water included in the resources. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand the Premier is saying that it will take some time to devolve this type of legislation. The reason I ask, Mr. Speaker, about energy use, is because the Premier has made a statement about having some money go into the communities through public education, in terms of designing campaigns around the uses of energy in the community. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Premier what type of involvement he would have from this side of the room to provide that type of campaign in our communities. I'm not too sure how effective it will be. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, just a follow-up to my first answer, I want to clarify, though, that on some energy we do have authority, and that is, for example, with our electrical energy, and we do have a Public Utilities Board that helps to set rates, and so on, in that. So where we do have authority, we do have legislation.

With regard to some of the initiatives we are proposing on conservation and use of energy and so on, Mr. Speaker, those are included in our supplementary appropriations, and when we get to that, then I'll be free to discuss more detail with the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I apologize to the Premier for putting him in a position like that. Mr. Speaker, the heating fuel in Colville Lake is $1.23, and the heating fuel in Deline is $1.07. Colville gasoline is $1.50, and in Deline its $1.29. So people have to think twice about even going out for a caribou hunt in the wintertime, and that's a real crying shame. I wanted to ask the Premier about this public awareness. I not sure how much effect that will have on these people that already know the prices; they already know the price it's going to cost them to live here. I wanted to ask the Premier if maybe we should look at territorial legislation, rather than wait for legislation regarding the use of energy in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, we're always hoping to look at possible legislation that may be of benefit to our residents. We do have some guidelines and some

regulations dealing with the fuel costs, and so on, that are handled through our petroleum products division, but if there are ways of improving on those, certainly, that's a discussion we should have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In keeping with the energy issue, the power rates are very high, also. It costs 80 cents a kilowatt in Tulita, and a whopping $2.60 a kilowatt in Colville Lake in the power subsidy. I want to ask this government about helping out the communities for power energy. What type of a campaign would help our communities deal with the high cost of power?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, the power, or electrical energy rate structure, is one that is decided by the Public Utilities Board. We are currently on a community-based rate structure. So those kinds of decisions would be made by the Public Utilities Board. Mr. Speaker, while electrical power does cost 85 cents, 89 cents, up to almost $3.00 in Colville Lake, that is the cost of producing it in that community. But, Mr. Speaker, I want to clarify, and make very clear, to the Members that we, as a government, subsidize the production of power through the Territorial Power Subsidy Program back to the Yellowknife rate in residential uses for the first 700 kilowatts. So we, as a government, are paying that. It's probably going to cost us in the neighbourhood of up to $10 million to subsidize everyone's power. Mr. Speaker, the kind of thing I'd like to see us do is, everybody can run their house on 700 kilowatts if they watch how they're using it. If you use fluorescent light bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs, a 15 watt bulb will have the same light as a 60 watt bulb. So there are ways that we think we can work with people to help them save costs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr Handley. Time for oral questions has expired. Item 8, written questions. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 8, written questions. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to return to item 7, oral questions, on the agenda.

Mr. Menicoche, the Member is seeking unanimous consent to return to item 7, oral questions. Are there any nays? There are no nays. We shall return to item 7, oral questions; however, before we go there, the Chair is going to call a short break.

---SHORT RECESS

Orders of the day. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions, again, are for the Minister of Transportation, with regard to the ferry workers on strike. As I was saying earlier, I think there is a question about when governments intervene. I understand the federal government has jurisdiction over labour here, and the GNWT does not have direct power to do that. I believe it's very important that the government does more to bring these parties back to the table. I would like to know what the Minister's understanding is of what has to happen to convince this government that there is the need to intervene in a direct way. What is the test for that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, that question is more for the Minister of Labour. I will take it. Mr. Speaker, our government feels that this has reached the point where there has to be a resolution. As I said earlier, I am sending a letter to the federal Minister of Labour. It is covered through the federal Labour Code. It is the federal Minister of Labour who has to take action on this one. I will be sending a letter, urging him to do what he has to do in order to get the parties together in order to get negotiations moving. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.