Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased they are moving forward and beginning the dialogue. I think if they can go further and identify some office space they need for the future, that will go a long way in firming up that project. As well, I think I asked about the RFP on the Fort Simpson Health Centre planning study, Mr. Chair. Thank you.
Debates of March 6th, 2015
This is page numbers 6021 – 6060 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 communities.
Topics
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
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Guy
Thank you, Mr. Chair. My understanding is that RFP is out for bidding right now. It’s out to tender and I believe it closes on March 20th . Thank
you, Mr. Chair.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
The Chair Robert Bouchard
Thank you, deputy minister. Committee, we are on general comments for Public Works and Services. Does committee agree to go into detail?
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Some Hon. Members
Detail.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
The Chair Robert Bouchard
We will come back to page 417 after we have gone through the detail. Page 418, Public Works and Services, revenue summary. Questions?
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
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, Mr. Chair. Could I just get confirmation about the capital transfers? Are there just no capital transfers this year and no Labour Canada agreement? Was that transferred over to another department?
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
Lewis
Thank you, Mr. Chair. With regard to the capital transfer, that represents a depreciated replacement cost value of the asset that was transferred through devolution. So it’s a one-time identification of value.
In terms of the other item, the labour, it has actually been moved down under the boiler registration. It doesn’t really represent a payment; it represents recovery of work we do for boiler inspections for the federal government. So, it’s more accurately represented where it is. So it’s not a loss, it’s just a movement. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
The Chair Robert Bouchard
Thank you, Director Lewis. We are on page 418, revenue summary. Questions?
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
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
Some Hon. Members
Agreed
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
The Chair Robert Bouchard
Page 421, Public Works and Services, asset management, operations expenditure summary, $98.885 million. Mr. Bromley.
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, Mr. Chair. I know asset management is obviously a huge program for the government. This division has been doing a lot of work on the utilities and so on. Where are we at on the utility side for asset maintenance, or is that in another division? The intent of moving it all into this department was to be able to see where the
opportunities for savings were and act on those. I’m just wondering where we are on that.
Also, there is a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions element to that, which is in this division. If I could just get general comments on where we’re at with respect to our assets and opportunities to shift them over to renewable energy and increase efficiencies. I know we have been very active for at least seven or eight years. How are we doing? Where are we at? 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
Guy
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That’s a large question, but our utilities are shown on this page. We did consolidate utilities a number of years ago in this department and that was primarily driven with the intention to better manage and track our utilities and seek opportunities to reduce those costs. We have done a lot of work in that area. We have an energy management specialist in that department who analyses the building consumption on all building assets. That information is what we used to develop our work plan for the Capital Asset Retrofit Program, so we look for projects, energy investments that can provide a payback through the utility savings that you see here. So that’s been working well for us.
We do publish the results in our annual general report, so we provide a lot of detail on the utilities and where we spend our utility money and how we’ve recovered and made those savings through the various projects.
As we move forward, we continue to look to biomass as one of the biggest opportunities for us to achieve both the greenhouse gas savings and the reduction in utility costs. We had a number of biomass boilers come on line this year that are doing exactly that for us. The boiler in the new office building in Yellowknife is up and operating, and now that is heating that facility as well as the Stuart Hodgson Building and the Laing Building. So, I think there’s about $297,000 litres of fuel that will be offset through that boiler alone.
Other opportunities we’re looking for is there continues to be leaps and bounds in some of the technology that we discounted a number of years ago, so we have to go back and look at things around lighting. We can do a lighting upgrade. Five years ago it may not have been economical, but this year it is. So we go back and revisit those decisions that we’ve made in the past. LED lighting is probably one of the biggest opportunities for us going forward. We’re starting to see some technology there that we may be able to use in general purpose office space and we’re starting to do some demonstration projects around that. We will have some LED lighting in the new building, as well, to test its performance and we’re trying some in other places.
Those are some of the activities we have underway in that area.
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 get the sense that there are still lots of areas for investments and pretty positive payback periods and returns. On the utilities side, I’m just a little bit surprised at the increase of $2.5 million given our focus on this, especially when our fuel costs are down. The deputy minister has mentioned LED lighting and so on, and I have to say I’ve just put that into my kitchen and I’m pretty amazed with some efficiencies and still some very good lighting.
Is this simply new assets that are being brought on stream and if I can get an update on that? Like I say, $2.5 million given reduction in fuel costs and some of the new technology, we know what’s happening on that front. 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
Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe
Thank you, Madam Chair. The majority of those increases are forced growth: $838,000 funding for new electrical rate increase by NWT Power Corp, $1.2 million in funding for a new YK office building, the Norman Wells Health Centre, the Hay River Health Centre and the new trade shops in Fort Smith and Fort Simpson. So when all of those are online the next fiscal year, we’re going to start to see that we’re going to need that money for the utilities.
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’ll leave it at that, Madam Chair. I know there are many efforts around the world now for zero consumption, zero net consumption buildings and I know this department is interested in making progress in that direction. So, I’ll look forward to further gains there. I’ll leave it at that. Thank you.