Thank you, Mr. Chair. We wish to continue with Tabled Document 188-17(5), NWT Main Estimates 2015-2016, with the Department of Public Works and then the Legislative Assembly. We would then like to consider Tabled Document 205-17(5), Tabled Document 206-17(5) and then Tabled Document 207-17(5). Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Does committee agree?

Thank you, committee. We’ll commence after a brief recess.

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I’d like to call Committee of the Whole back to order. I’d like to ask the Minister of Public Works and Services if he would like to bring witnesses into the Chamber. Minister Beaulieu.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, I would.

Thank you, Minister Beaulieu. Does committee agree?

I’ll ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to please escort the witnesses to the table.

Minister Beaulieu, for the record, could you please introduce your witnesses.

Thank you, Madam Chair. To my immediate right is the deputy Minister of Public Works and Services, Paul Guy. To my immediate left is director of corporate services, Steve Lewis, and to my far right, director, Technology Service Centre, Laurie Gault.

Thank you, Minister Beaulieu. Members, we are on page 425, directorate, operations expenditure summary, $11.874 million, for the Department of Public Works and Services.

Page 426, directorate, active positions, information item. Questions?

Page 429, for those just joining us, energy, operations expenditure summary, $8.456 million. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just have some general questions for the Minister on the petroleum products division and the energy conservation department here. I want to ask the Minister, in the government’s dealings, where are we receiving our fuel products from? Which country, which area, and how much are we receiving?

Thank you very much, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister Beaulieu.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The fuel originally comes from a refinery in Edmonton and then from there we truck it to Hay River and distribute it from… Pardon me. We rail it to Hay River and then from there we truck it to the area. Right now we are trucking it to all the communities that we’re responsible for.

I understand, also, there are different times of the year that you purchase the petroleum products. Specifically, about the diesel and gas and mostly looking at the smaller communities, so all our fuel for the smaller communities – and I’m just going to stay with my region – comes from the Edmonton refinery? Is that where we’re getting our products coming from now?

Yes, currently that is where we are buying the fuel that is going into the Sahtu.

Thank you, Minister. I have two other themes here. The second one is, with the low prices of the fuel products, are we now into a position where we are now possibly saving money for our territorial government. I’m not too sure how long that will remain in the low bracket of pricing our fuel out. How are we doing comparing that to the biomass, the wood pellets, in regard to putting wood pellets into our communities and using that

product now? Because at one time the diesel prices were quite high and so we started to look at other means of energy into our communities, especially into my region where it’s the capital of the oil in the Northwest Territories.

The Member is correct. As the House knows, we had lowered the fuel costs, using our Stabilization Fund, between 8 and 9 cents recently. Now that we’re finishing our deliveries, we’re seeing more savings and fully intend on lowering the fuel costs as we’re finished deliveries into the communities. At this point, even with the lower cost of fuel – and it’s a fairly substantial drop in the cost of fuel – biomass is still feasible. Maybe the payback would be extended a couple of years perhaps, but we were getting a fairly decent quick payback on biomass, so we still consider biomass to be a feasible way to heat.

I certainly have to clear it with the Minister that we want to use the biomass, and I just want to make a point that some things in life are unpredictable. Biomass, certainly now, if you look at it, if the Minister is to do an analysis, it is costing us a little more than the fuel right now, I believe, and it’s a different form of energy use in our small communities. I just wanted to raise that point there that hopefully one day we don’t have to go outside the Northwest Territories to use fuel. Right now we’re getting this from Edmonton.

On my last point, I want to raise the point that I appreciate the Northwest Territories Power Corporation putting in a solar power diesel plant in Colville Lake. Colville Lake also sits on a large field of natural gas. I’m not too sure why this government – maybe they have – looked at using the natural gas system to use it as an energy means for Colville Lake. It bewilders me as to we have these resources tapped into our region and they’re sitting there stranded. Colville Lake is one example. This is from one of the constituents in the region that pointed this out to me. Hopefully, that will have some other type of consideration and thinking as to the energy use in the Sahtu. We have the natural gas fields there, we have the Canol shale play that’s there, and we have the use of the Bear River hydro opportunity there for some use and we are looking at other ways to energize our homes and our businesses. I’m thinking here under this section.

Those are my comments. I appreciate the Minister working with the community and working with the region looking at ways that I’d like to continue to support the trappers and the hunters with their harvesting methods, their lifestyle on the land to see if there are ways we can reduce the cost of gas for community members for heating up their homes or for going out and practicing their way of life by harvesting wildlife and trapping and all the other good things that go along with being on the land.

Those are my comments. I’m not too sure if there’s a question in there. Thank you.

In addition to biomass still being feasible, we know that it contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases. Also, in future, there’s a possibility that there may be an increase in the cost of the heating fuel. I know that the Member speaks about the traditional economy and that they need to have lower gas prices to pursue their hunting and trapping and so on.

So, our intent is this Friday in Colville Lake we will lower the cost of gasoline by 24 cents a litre. Also, in Fort Simpson right now, the Power Corp is installing solar panels at the NTPC generator, so they’re going to be looking at solar power to augment electricity in the community of Fort Simpson.