Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that this dialogue we are having today on the Taltson expansion and the delivery of hydro to the diamond mines is a very good discussion. The
Premier has been doing an excellent job of responding to these questions. I would bet you the people out there in the Northwest Territories listening to this are getting a much better understanding of how this whole thing is working. I have been trying to listen to it through objective ears. I think we are accomplishing that.
Mr. Speaker, we cannot deny that the diamond mines have been a tremendous asset to the economy in the Northwest Territories. They have brought jobs. They have spent money. The expansion of the Taltson and the construction of the new transmission line would also bring tremendous economic benefits to the Northwest Territories during the construction phase. The power to the diamond mines would definitely reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That is also a good thing.
Mr. Speaker, what I hear my colleagues saying, if I can put it in this kind of analogy, is that we have this tremendous hydro resource in the Northwest Territories, but the only people who can afford to access it are entities such as the diamond mines. It is like having a banquet and we own the banquet hall and we are putting on the food, we are doing everything but we can’t afford to buy the ticket to come to the banquet because we don’t have that kind of resources.
The diamond mines have got the money, the power purchase agreement. They have the money, but what we are asking for our people who want us to be involved in businesses that require cheaper power and for our residents who could have their cost of living positively impacted by the hydro is we are asking, other than the 30 percent ownership of the GNWT and the dividends, is there any other way that we can configure this so that we could pick up benefits for our residents and our small businesses along the way. We just want to in some way benefit from this resource. Thank you.