Thank you. Okay, well, that’s actually good news, in that these mysterious documents don’t quite read that clearly. I’ll accept that as the obvious answer or, I should say, the more obvious answer to it now.
Mr. Chairman, I’m going to leave it at this, for this time on this section, but I just want to stress my full support for the Arctic Energy Alliance and the work they do. I’ve been known to pop by there for advice and insights on a couple of projects. Our Chair of this moment supports them, as do other Members, and of course, the Minister and the staff.
That being said, Mr. Chairman, when we look at oil prices now, among the many other options, this is going to be an area that…. We don’t know what our oil bills are going to look like — or our power bills — this fall. We can only just horribly speculate as to where they’re going to go next. My thought is, if they’re getting so many customers a day, every day, trying to figure out how we could do business better, I bet it’s going to double or triple here, once it starts getting cold and we start getting some of those winter bills in. There’s going to be almost a frenzy of saying, How can we do business better?
I want to put on record that I
appreciate the
increase, as I’m sure they do as well. But that said, we have to keep an eye to this sector, because I think people are going to subscribe to this option and these ideals more and more as we move forward. If that day comes — and I’m sure it will — when oil hits $200 a barrel, it’s going to be a nightmare here, and people are going to be screaming for any possible solution to do things smarter and better. I think this is the avenue people are going to attempt to tap into for options in order to be able to just keep their homes.
My biggest fear is that our costs of keeping our homes with the lights on — and, of course, heated — are going to certainly outpace the cost of our mortgages, because these energy costs are certainly picking up momentum.
Anyway, I’ve rambled on enough. The real issue is that I wanted to make sure it was on record that I appreciate the work they do there. They’re very insightful. I’ve even asked them just average questions, and they work very hard to make sure they get back to me. I know it’s not just me as an MLA, but they do that for the average person out there. The shop is very sensitive to the average customer’s need.
Mr. Chairman, I just wanted to make sure that stuff was on record.