Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister Abernethy.
Debates of May 29th, 2014
This is page numbers 4467 – 4510 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 5th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was services.
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Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Glen Abernethy Great Slave
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is the intent. It is intended to be completed by August 2014.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Bob Bromley Weledeh
Thanks to the Minister. That’s good to hear.
The next item there, the biomass boiler in the Deninu School in Fort Resolution, I’m very happy to see that going to that community. I think it will help establish a bit of a biomass market there and it’s also very much in line with their forest management agreements and some of the jobs they are contemplating and activities they are contemplating. So I am supportive of that.
I am wondering what the source of the $300,000 is for that project.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Kalgutkar
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The source of the funding is the surplus funding that’s available from the Whati transmission line project that was approved under ITI. Thank you.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Bob Bromley Weledeh
I understand that that project is not going forward and thus the money is freed up. I’m concerned about that.
I’d like to ask how many project feasibility studies have we now concluded in Whati over the last decade without ever embarking on a single project.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Glen Abernethy Great Slave
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don’t have that detail in front of me. I’m not familiar with the number, but I am happy to get the department to pull that information together and provide it to committee.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Bob Bromley Weledeh
I appreciate that. I suspect the next question might be the same response. How many millions of dollars have we now spent on
Whati project feasibility studies without ever having actually done a project there? Thank you.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Glen Abernethy Great Slave
Mr. Chair, we will include that information in the information I’ve already committed to providing the committee.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
May 28th, 2014
Bob Bromley Weledeh
Thank you. Why did the Whati transmission line project not go forward? Why are we at this impasse here?
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Aumond
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the original costing of the Whati line was supposed to come in, I think it was around $22 million and it has now come in at $30 million. So we need a subsidy, we’re required to do that and the reason for that is that the original anticipation was to have a much smaller line, but the terrain proved too challenging. It required a higher voltage line, which required more substantive towers to bring that in. So really we’re looking at an increase of $12 million to $30 million and the subsidy to make ratepayers whole on that project is now up to $20 million. So the decision was that it was not really economical to proceed with that project. Thank you.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Bob Bromley Weledeh
Thanks to the deputy minister for that. My understanding was the latest was $12 million and came in at $30 million, but either way obviously a substantial increase, but on the other hand there is a significant demand for both heat and power in that community to which we subsidize probably over $1 million per year, and there’s also a mine being proposed not far from the community, the NICO Mine, Fortune Minerals. I think I’m just not convinced that we are doing the strategic thinking we need to do to enable these projects to actually go forward beyond feasibility studies. Partly I understand these are very steep, upfront capital costs and we need to wrestle with that and that requires fiscal management that enables us to take those projects on, and my feeling on that I think is clear. I don’t think we’ve done that. We’ve been investing in very large, very expensive projects way beyond our affordability with the hopes that they’re going to be economic when here we have projects that mean something to the people in their homes, businesses, at their small business sites and are struggling with the cost of living. Meanwhile we are pouring literally $100 million into subsidizing these things when we could actually address them. These are long-term projects. Hydro is 50 to 100 year horizons and so on.
So I am very distressed and I wanted to take this opportunity to say that we need to get on top of this and start. When we do these feasibility studies, we need to make sure that the part of a strategic approach to get some resolutions in place for what
our people are facing in their homes. So, thank you. I believe that’s all the questions I have on this page.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Glen Abernethy Great Slave
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the Member’s comments and I am listening and I know my colleagues are listening as well. The additional cost would have to be borne by somebody, which could obviously affect the ratepayers, but I understand what the Member is telling us. We do know that if NICO does go ahead there may be an opportunity to revisit this as we’ll have a larger market for power.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Bob Bromley Weledeh
Thank you. I appreciate that comment from the Minister. I’m wondering: how proactive are we right now at working with Fortune Minerals, NICO Mine to help them ensure that the project goes forward based on renewable energy? Thank you.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Aumond
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do believe that NICO has been working with Northwest Territories Power Corporation on looking at options to provide power to the mine, which would include hydro obviously in conjunction with what we just discussed for that purpose. Thank you.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Bob Bromley Weledeh
I understand that we have very little extra on the Snare power line. So is that with development of Whati hydro power potential? Thank you.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Aumond
That’s correct.