Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does this increase in the minimum wage include, have we considered the impact on the subsidy programs that we do for students in the summertime? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, these are just some of the areas that we have initiated as a department. We have considered those areas for our students as well. As Minister Miltenberger has indicated, we have met with various students in Ottawa. That’s a starting point for us. We want to track those students to come back to the North and create employment for them here in the Northwest Territories. This is a really good starting point as an increase in minimum wage from $10 to $12.50 an hour on June 1st . That is a really good news item.

We have shared that with the students, as well, and they are quite happy with that as well. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are two things, two main approaches we need to take as we deal with the impacts of climate change.

First, we are going to have to adapt to the changing world, and the changes that are coming have been coming for decades and the changes that were needed to be put into effect are going to take decades to be impacted. In the meantime, we have been adapting to the permafrost issues that the

Member has mentioned. We are adapting and paying for issues like low water, but at the same time we are investing millions, tens upon millions of dollars on alternate energy, changing our consumption patterns, looking at leading the country on biomass, investing in solar, investing in wind. The borrowing limit that we are talking about with the federal government is focused on two main areas. One is roads, the other is looking at the energy issues to bring down the cost of living and reduce our dependence on diesel. Those two areas have been centrepieces to just about all the work we’ve done. Adaptation has affected our roads; we had to replace all the piles in various houses, those types of things. We don’t argue with the science. We know it’s there, we live it every day, and every budget we’ve had in this House reflects that. Thank you.

I think one prominent point that I fail to hear from the Minister is the measurable gauge that every country in the world has been using and that’s the emissions of greenhouse gases and I didn’t hear that from the Minister.

I would like to thank the Minister for highlighting the major initiatives that this government has taken. I think we all, in the NWT, really enjoy the beauty of the NWT. We have very nice cultural areas, but at the same time very prominent are some of the special areas that we value. There are calving grounds and, more recently, the encroachment of invasive species that people bring up from other parts of the country. Minerals, oil and gas development threaten a number of sensitive ecological areas.

Will the Minister articulate the government’s position on protecting delicate ecosystems, such as the Peel Watershed at the Yukon-NWT border? Mahsi.

We have a Greenhouse Gas Strategy, as well, to address the Member’s initial comment on his second question. It is up for renewal this year. We are going to hit the targets we have in there. We are looking at modernizing and updating it to reflect the current realities.

When it comes to development, we have a very fundamental approach of sustainability and balance that’s required with protection of the environment and resource development. We have quite a rigorous environmental assessment and review process for all project applications where ENR, ITI and Lands work together collaboratively to administer the new responsibilities post-devolution that are going to see us make sure we address all the requirements and all our obligations. ENR, as well, is moving forward with the protected areas that were there pre-devolution and we are looking at concluding some of those and working with

communities and regions on areas of specific concern and sensitivity.

In regards to the Peel Watershed, we are in the process of renewing and revitalizing our transboundary water agreement with the Yukon government. Thank you.

I would like to thank the Minister for his reply. Climate change is a big concept. At the community level, people are, in some respects, anxious in terms of its implications. At the same time, they want to see some mitigated measures that they can see at a practical level.

This government has not shown a clear commitment to sustainable, renewable energy sources in our small communities. With electricity prohibitively expensive, economic development becomes less viable.

What is the government doing to ensure that renewable and affordable fuel sources are available in our small communities? Mahsi.

I would argue that we have shown an enormous interest and support for alternative energy in the communities. In the Member’s riding, for example, we have been working very, very closely with the communities. In Fort Providence, for example, and Fort Resolution to formalize forest management agreements that is going to allow the business opportunity to put in a $20 million pellet plant, creating not only environmental benefits but a huge economic opportunity. We lead the country in biomass applications here in the Northwest Territories. We have put in a significant array in Fort Simpson. We are going to look at combining solar with diesel along with batteries in Colville Lake. The government facilities that Public Works is administering across the North in all the communities have biomass. We have rebate programs, incentive programs and we see industry, as well, with Diavik putting a significant array of wind which is going to cut their costs.

I would suggest to the Member that we should be recognized collectively for the work we have done in that area and we are paying very, very close attention and definitely putting our money where our good intentions are. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister for highlighting a lot of the initiatives that the 17th Assembly has accomplished.

I think we could do more and it’s good that there has been a strong working relationship, especially at the community level.

I wanted to ask, in terms of this year’s budget, the ‘15-16 budget and going forward, what are some of the prominent and significant, perhaps,

commitments that the Minister’s department will be focusing on? He has mentioned biomass initiatives, he has mentioned forest management agreements that are still in the development stages and looking forward to addressing the overall concerns in terms of trying to mitigate climate change and how those policies and initiatives could take on a prominent and significant form. Mahsi.

The budget lays out our ongoing commitment to alternative energy, to the rebate incentive programs, to working with communities, but I think the biggest commitment is there in the charrette, and the Premier referenced it in one of his earlier responses, that as we deal with our borrowing limit and we get the borrowing limit raised, one of the key areas we’re looking at, and the budget address says this, as well, that we know that energy issues, especially generation issues in Yellowknife and all the thermal communities are critical issues to bring down the cost of living, reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and be more environmentally friendly. We’re intending, once that borrowing limit is resolved in a favourable way, to put the very, very many tens upon tens of millions of dollars that are needed to start that process in a very serious way. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We all know that the trappings of progress may be marching forward in a way that not only are helping us but on some days they put us in peril. You’ve often heard the peril argument from Mr. Bromley, but that’s not what I’m here to describe.

The benefits of progress sometimes provide us the opportunities such as power and being able to turn your lights on and the great opportunities that they create.

My question for the Minister of the NWT Power Corporation is: Can he explain in simple terms how power can be supplied to a particular community in single digits, such as the Hay River region to the Pine Point area, picked up by the franchise holder and sold to its customers at over 30 cents a kilowatt? I’m trying to understand how the distribution works, the fairness of how it works and certainly the evaluation the NWT must be keeping a keen eye to this particular problem. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to observe first, though the budget address is replete with references to the

cost of living, an issue that the Member raised earlier in the House and about the McLeod government not paying close enough attention. I would suggest when you read the full budget address you would note that it’s replete and I’m somewhat offended at the fact that the Member didn’t notice that when he perused it in great detail because they are standout in significant numbers.

As it relates to the issue that the Member raised, I think the fundamental piece that we’re looking at as a territory that ties into the Member’s statement is the cost of living and how do we bring down the cost of living, we bring it down by reducing the cost of energy, and when we do he has raised some good points about how we do the generation, how are we structured to deliver power and distribute power and how are the costs distributed. Those are all good, legitimate questions that we intend to address as we move forward with the whole initiative of bringing down the cost of living. Thank you.

I want to thank the fine, old Minister because he was calling me young Member yesterday. So the very old and elderly Minister of NWT Power Corporation of pointing out the budget dialogue that he read. By the way, I followed it keenly word for word, I enjoyed reading and I will enjoy reading it for years to come if I ever get sleepless and have to find ways to cure that.

---Laughter

On a serious note, though, it’s my understanding that some hydro communities are subsidized. Rather than pointing out a particular hydro community, one over another, maybe the Minister can put officially on the record which communities are subsidized and to what cost they’re being subsidized. Furthermore to the point, what are we doing about that subsidized problem to hydro communities that were supposed to be baseline costs for power? Thank you.

The intent of the Territorial Power Support Program was to make sure that thermal communities are subsidized to the Yellowknife rate, and as the Members have heard, there’s one hydro community whose rates are higher than the Yellowknife rate and that’s Hay River. Thank you.

One of the particular problems I’ve noted is that power, in my view and the view of many others, by the way, including the mayor of Hay River, Andrew Cassidy, is power, in our opinion, should be delivered a lot cheaper than it is.

Competition could be argued as a good thing for everything, but maybe not, as well, but the argument I usually see is competition is good. So the question for the Minister of the NWT Power Corporation is: In their capacity as an organization, why have they not bid to provide the distribution

services in these types of communities that do have franchise agreements in communities like Yellowknife and Hay River, which would create a bit of competition and hopefully those who’ve been receiving these sole-sourced franchise agreements would probably have to really sharpen their pencil? Thank you.

The ability to put out a franchise call is the community’s responsibility and right. They’ve done that. We can’t speak to the past. There is a current one coming out. We’ve been asked to consider bidding on it and we are considering that and we’re looking at it, as we discussed in this House earlier this week.

I would just point out that when it comes to the NWT Power Corporation, and I believe all of us in this room, we would see that provision of electricity is an essential service and the same as we deliver and we look after all the fuel in the small, off-road communities to ensure that there are those essential services there, we provide that service at cost. Our interest is keeping the cost of energy down, keeping the cost of living down and the Power Corporation over the years has evolved out of Alberta and out of Edmonton coming north and it’s a vehicle for our Energy Strategy and our fiscal policy and we are intent on, across the land as we’ve said as a priority, looking at the cost of living and energy is one of those key factors. We’d have to look at all facets of how that issue is generated and delivered. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m really glad that the Minister described it as an essential service because that’s very important. We all know that the government, or I should say the Power Corporation through the government is working to create generation of power as cheaply and efficiently as possible. We know without more customers it’s difficult to continue getting it any cheaper without, of course, technology as well.

We know customers are encouraged through energy efficiency programs and encouraged to reduce their consumption, and that’s a very important element, but the distribution side seems to continue to be the solution, or maybe the obvious problem that’s evading us. The Minister did say the other day about how they are looking at this. Perhaps the Minister could explain a little further into the detail as how they’re evaluating the distribution process in these communities, if not in all communities, how we can lower the cost of that delivery of power to our citizens, which is absolutely an essential service.

We’re looking at a number of things. In fact, we’re looking at the whole range of challenges as we look at how we’re structured historically and as we look to the future,

distribution is definitely one. The question was posed at the Energy Charrette, it was posed by myself to the attendees at the charrette with the question of how many distributors of power do we need in the Northwest Territories to make this as efficient as possible. That is a question that we have to look at. We know we have to look at generation in thermal communities, bring down the costs. Total reliance on diesel is not acceptable and we’ve made a commitment with the government that with the borrowing limit one of the big areas we would make critical economical investment would be in the thermal communities and Yellowknife to look at using alternative energy, looking at generation where there’s a significant need in Yellowknife and the small communities.

I might as well put on the record again here, I put it on the record in the budget yesterday, that does include looking at the efficacy and value of liquid natural gas as well as other alternative energies like biomass and solar, batteries, wind. Anything that’s better and cheaper than diesel is being considered. Thank you.