Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Where are the power purchase agreements? That really is the question. Where are the diamond mines who are willing to sign on the dotted line and say they are willing to buy power at ‘X’ rate? Where is the proof that they are behind this project? That could settle a lot of uncertainty today.

There have been ongoing negotiations for quite some time with the mines. In fact, there will be a meeting held in the very next...probably within the next week with the

key folks from the mines. That will tell us if in fact we’re going to put any more effort into this. It is based on power purchase agreements that have to be signed off. But before we can get there, much like the Mackenzie Gas Pipeline, much work needs to be done to build the business model to go through the environmental phase, then a final decision on should the project go or not. We’re faced with the same scenario in the Taltson system.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, too, will talk about the Taltson expansion. I’ll try to ask some questions that are different than the questions that the Minister responsible for the Power Corp has already answered. My first question is: what is the GNWT’s overall management role in the Taltson Hydro expansion? Who has the lead management role in this expansion? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the GNWT, through the Hydro Corporation and more specifically the NWT Energy Corporation No. 3, that is a partner at the discussions and the Deze partnership. It is through that involvement that we’re involved and, again, our relationship through the Minister responsible to the Hydro Corp exists through that avenue. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, another question I have for the Minister: what is the GNWT’s long-term financial plan insofar as the Taltson Hydro expansion goes, including any corporation owned by the GNWT aside from and including the diamond industry? Thank you.

That would be difficult to provide an answer at this point. The long-term fiscal plan, again, of the partnership is, one, the partnership will have a board of governors, a governance council set up to make these business decisions. The business model that’s been put in place sees this project being viable because of the power purchase agreements and the return on investment through those after paying down the initial portion that would grow, of course, would grow faster if we were to do the full expansion up to I believe it’s 56 megawatts. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, considering the difficulties, I believe that this expansion or the partners in this expansion are going to have to go through the area, the eastern route, to negotiate anything with the Lutselk'e First Nations. I can’t see any of that being settled ahead of the land claim, and I can’t see that being settled after the land

claim because of the position as taken and the value that Lutselk'e First Nation considers on the land. I would like to ask the Minister what examination has occurred for other potential users insofar as in relation to where the transmission line runs, actually, to try to get them to see if he’s examined other routes due to potential users or so on. I’m trying to say that. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, as a result of the environmental review process, additional routing is being looked at, and that’s to incorporate the concerns raised by the Lutselk'e band when it comes to especially the area of the Lockhart River and the importance that river is held in by that band. So there is alternate routing looked at in that area still along the East Arm to try and deal with that and still get power through the process.

Right now, if we were to talk in today’s business case, there are no other potential customers except existing customers. There are future potential customers that could be looked at, but we don’t even know if, until they get through a regulatory phase, there will be a mine and how it will be done. We’ve got a long journey on that side to go. We see that as a potential future customer, yes, and we will have to look at how we go forward on that basis. But right now this business case is built on existing customers that we could bring on to our grid system. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Your final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister tell me if the Taltson Hydro expansion has potentially viable partners? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the partnership that’s been formed, the partnership agreement that’s been started and worked on and has been initialled by the other partners, we, as the GNWT, as the sole shareholder of the Hydro Corporation and down through to, well, it would be the NWT Energy Corporation, have yet to sign that. We have to review that to see if, in fact, that is the best business case model that we could support of this project, and we’ve asked for some additional time to review that document. We don’t want to get into a situation where we’ve not protected our full interests, as Members have been laying out. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to join my colleagues in asking the Premier some questions on the Taltson Hydroelectric Expansion Project and the government’s involvement with Deze Energy Corp.

First of all, I think the question that I’d like to ask the Premier, and I know a number of folks across the Northwest Territories watch the proceedings of the House, I’d like to ask the Premier if he could explain to the public and to the Members of this House exactly how the $700 million or the estimated cost of the expansion and the transmission line is going to be paid for. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the project will be paid for by the power purchase agreements, the sale of energy to the mines. That’s how it’s going to be paid for. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Premier for that. I was thinking more of the upfront cost, the initial capital investment of upwards of $700 million. How will that be arrived at? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, once the power purchase agreements are signed, then those are bankable in the sense of being able to go out and go to the financing market so that they can then get the money to build this facility. The issue, as was laid out to Members and was raised earlier, was during the construction phase, until the power can flow there needs to be a backstop. There were initial requests made in the previous government to have a request made to the federal government to give an exemption around this project. The last government, the response wasn’t favourable to that request. The work has continued and the idea…and there’s been some discussion lately about finding a private sector partner to step in and carry that and see that part of the project started. Thank you.

There certainly are some parallels here between the government’s participation with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation and Deze Energy Corporation. We backstopped the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation in the early stages, to the tune of almost $10 million. I’d like to ask the Premier how much investment the Government of the Northwest Territories, through the Power Corporation and the Hydro Corporation, have invested in Deze Energy. Thank you.

Since the start of this, the concept of this has been put together. It’s been, I believe, and I’ll have to double check the information, but I believe it’s in the neighbourhood of $13 million of investment since the previous government into the life of this government. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Your final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, considering we have a substantial investment of public funds in Deze, I’m just wondering how we account or how we provide

oversight as a government to the work of Deze Energy. I’ve been a Member here since 2003 and we’ve talked about power purchase agreements in this House for years and there still aren’t any bankable power purchase agreements that the corporation, the Hydro Corporation, the Power Corp and Deze have entered into with any mine. I’m just wondering, again, when can we expect any movement on power purchase agreements, because it is taking an inordinate amount of time for these guys to work out a deal with the existing mines. Thank you.