Mr. Speaker, I will undertake to

get that specific information. Anecdotally, I am aware of a number of situations where employees have agreed to stay, and they just stayed long enough to work through their legal requirements. So that tells me that there are some enforcement measures being followed up on.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable

Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Mr.

Speaker, in my Member’s

statement today I raised the issue of the NWT Power Corporation and my concern about their accountability — or one should also stress their

lack of accountability. The issue I really have is that there’s nothing bearing down on them to run the organization as efficiently as possible to make sure that the customers are getting the best service at the most reasonable price. Right now the system is that no matter what they charge in expenses, they can go back and recuperate from the ratepayers. I’d like to hear from the Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation. First, what is he doing to lead this initiative to make sure that this operation is working as efficiently as possible so that they don’t have to keep going back to the customers for increased rate hikes?

Thank you, Mr.

Hawkins. The

honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation, Mr. Yakeleya.

Mr.

Speaker, this

government definitely shares the concerns of the Member in terms of the cost of operating a reliable utility service, not just NTPC. We operate a very stringent operation such as the Public Utilities Board, which scrutinizes every penny the NTPC brings forward. Any type of change of the rate structure of the operation…. The public is protected through the Public Utilities Board. We usually file every three years in terms of our operation, so they do have an agency that does protect the consumers in our communities.

Mr. Speaker, in my opinion, as well

as that of many others, I don’t think they’re running as efficiently as possible. I can definitely tell you that this organization runs with sensitivity like the CRA. The fact is that accountability is really the issue. As far as I’m concerned, we’ve got problems like the demand charge. We have demand charges on every bill, which costs this government hundreds of thousands of dollars every year, and it’s all about building capacity for peak demand. Where is that investment going? I want to make sure we’re getting the best bang for our buck. So is that money just a cash grab for the Power Corporation to pay for those bonuses and fancy trucks, or is it going into investment to build new capacity so customers get the best rate?

Mr. Speaker, I certainly

share the Member’s concerns. I’ve also heard that from the people in my community, so I want to assure the public and the Member here. In our operations we’re always challenged by the increased costs of fuel, wages, materials, and the emphasis is on NTPC in terms of running efficient operations — reliable, making sure the power is on. I certainly appreciate the staff’s hard work in keeping this operation as efficient as possible. Again, we do go through scrutiny by the Public Utilities Board in terms of every cent we spend or every cent that we request. We’re held straight to the line of accountability, and we’ll continue looking at ways that we can improve in our operations.

Mr.

Speaker, I appreciate the

answers from the Minister. I know he realizes what the problems are, and he’s certainly well versed about having communities that have exorbitant power rates. But the fact is that they still exist, as I pointed out about the demand charge. I’m going to ask the Minister: will he be willing to provide this House all the information available as to where the demand charge goes? Is it just a cash grab for the Power Corporation, or where are they reinvesting it into the system to make sure that it is providing better rates for citizens across this North?

Mr. Speaker, I’d be very

happy to oblige the Member’s request. We have stacks and piles of our process of when we go through the Public Utilities Board. The issue of us providing information certainly…is now entertaining some very interesting discussions with the Minister of Energy and the coordinating committee in terms of the whole issue of power and the cost of living in our communities. I’m really looking forward to having this discussion with all Members and people in our communities. How do we deal with the cost of living? This government is willing and seriously looking at how we deal with the cost of living in our communities. I

certainly look forward to that

discussion with all the Members.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Final

supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

I appreciate the brevity of that last answer from the Minister.

Mr. Speaker, the issue I have here as well is that it’s all the same problem. The fact is that it’s the expenses that drive the revenues. I think they’ve completely got it backwards. I think they should have laid out a process and said, “Look, this is the money you have to work for,” because there’s no demand or incentives to work harder for that buck, as I said, to hustle for that buck.

Mr. Speaker, would the Minister look into that process and commit to getting back to Members on maybe a new way of doing business? The best rates are all about getting the best power rates to customers, and I think we could do that. Would the Minister commit to looking into that process?

Mr. Speaker, yes.

Thank you, Mr.

Yakeleya. Oral

questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

I want to ask my questions to Minister Yakeleya

now, because he says yes. Actually, as per my Member’s statement my questions today are for Minister Jackson Lafferty, and they have to do with homelessness.

Mr. Speaker, when non-resident transients show up in our community with little or no financial resources, whose responsibility is it to respond to their basic needs for food and shelter?

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The

honourable Minister responsible for the homeless, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr.

Speaker.

Homelessness is a diverse and challenging issue in the communities. We have certain departments that are looking after that area. There is a coordinated approach by my department, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, the department of the Housing Corporation and the Department of Health and Social Services.

We do provide the funding to certain of the communities on an application basis. There are shelters in the larger communities: Side Door and also the Salvation Army, the YWCA, the Centre for Northern Families. Also, we provide some funding to some First Nations that do apply.

So there are avenues, but most of the coordinated approach falls under Ms. Lee’s department as a deputy is in charge of the program. That’s where the access is.

With all due respect to the

Minister, what he said is all true. However, we do not have a transient shelter in Hay River, so I need to know: who is the lead department? Who is the person? I am serious. Who do we call? All of those agencies that he just listed — Health and Social Services, Income Support, ECE — will send transient people who show up at their doorstep to our local churches. This is a problem. Somebody within the organization has to understand. Who is the point person for the transient who shows up with no food and no place to go?

Mr. Speaker, we do

provide different programs, as I highlighted. Also, there are income support areas as well within my department, and we do have offices in most of the communities. So that’s another avenue that transient people can certainly access.

But most of the time when people are in a transition area, are transient in the communities, there is funding available for them. If they need to go back home, there is funding in place to assist them to go back home, so we do provide that.

The point of contact is mostly through the Health and Social Services area and also in my department, the income support area, and also the shelters that we have in the communities.

In Mrs. Groenewegen’s riding it would be Hay River emergency funding. We do provide funding in the community and in other communities as well.

Mr. Speaker, I’m not making

up scenarios here. This happens in Hay River quite frequently. It’s 6 o’clock. The government offices are closed. We do not have a transients’ shelter. We have a women’s home, a shelter for women who are in need but not for a transient person who shows up.

So like I said, it’s 6 o’clock. The government offices are closed. Somebody shows up, and they say, “I have no place to go tonight. It’s 30 below outside.” Who do you call?

Mr. Speaker,

our

Department of Education, Culture and Employment and also Health and Social Services and also Housing all work closely together and find out who will be the main contacts in the community. There are people who are on call: income support, the social services in the community.

Certainly, I can provide that list of contacts for each community to the Member and also to the committee. If that’s the wish of the committee, I can certainly provide that.

Thank you, Mr.

Lafferty. Final

supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My

final supplementary to the Minister is: are there any funds available for the development of a transients’ shelter in Hay River as a permanent structure?

Mr. Speaker, I spoke

about the Small Community Homelessness Fund, which we do have available to all communities based on their application.

There is up to $40,000 for small projects to provide emergency shelters. So whether it be in Hay River, Inuvik or other small communities, they need to access this.

Also, there are homelessness support projects, up to $10,000, to address community homelessness issues.

Those are the program avenues that each community can certainly apply to, especially those small communities. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr.

Lafferty. Oral

questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.