Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’ll just touch on a few of these areas and then we can get into some details where I can answer some specific questions.
With respect to Mr. Yakeleya’s comments about the high cost of energy in the communities, we see that and we recognize that, which is one of the reasons with public infrastructure we have been looking at alternatives and we have been using the Capital Asset Retro Fund to help us deal with those things. I acknowledge that we haven’t gone to any alternatives necessarily in the Sahtu with respect to heating, but we have been working in the Sahtu. One example is the Norman Wells school, the Mackenzie Mountain School, where we’ve been putting in plumbing and electrical retrofits to increase the efficiency of that building. In the studies for that building, as an example, there is a plan where we can switch to a pellet boiler in that school. The problem being, obviously, is the supply of the pellets and the technology in the Sahtu.
We’ve had recent conversations with SSI where they’ve been talking about alternatives, as well, and we’d like to continue that conversation and see what’s out there as far as an opportunity. Most importantly, what is the supply opportunity for pellets, so if there is a guaranteed supply of pellets available on a regular basis to the Sahtu and everybody’s comfortable with the distribution of those pellets, making sure they are getting in there and we are confident they can get in there, it makes it easier for us to utilize the Capital Asset Retrofit Fund to put in those technologies in the Sahtu. So we want to continue to have those discussions. We see future possibilities but we need some certainly around the supply.
Video conferencing and whatnot that was mentioned, we’ve heard constantly over the last four years and even into this year the need for bandwidth into the communities. We hear about the fibre optic link which is certainly going to increase that opportunity into the future, but we couldn’t afford to wait. We have services and programs we have to deliver now, and as a result, the department has gone out and negotiated for increased bandwith into the Northwest Territories which is going to benefit all of the communities throughout the Northwest Territories. We are pretty excited about that. We can go into some more detail when we’re going page by page.
To Mr. Bromley’s point about the Capital Asset Retrofit Fund, we are very proud of this program. We see a lot of potential, a lot of future here, and we’d like to keep building on it. We’d like to
continue to move to alternatives as we can afford it. As we save money by utilizing the technology, it’s a double positive. For one, we’re contributing to the environment, supporting the environment, and we’re also saving money which is allowing us to invest more money. So it’s a good news story and as we save more, we should be able to invest more.
I’m going to get my deputy to just talk a little bit about the apprenticeship programs. Both Members brought that up, so we’ll get him to talk a little bit about that.
Just in closing to Member Yakeleya, we are serious about finding solutions in the Sahtu. It may take a bit of time, but we know there are good people there who want to work towards the same end and we will continue to work with them in moving forward.
So to Mr. Guy for apprenticeships.