Mahsi. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Premier and the Ministers, we take every opportunity we have to engage with the Prime Minister and the federal Ministers on issues like the Nutrition North program. We are fortunate that this term we have a Member of Parliament who is part of the governing body, and we also have a Minister from Nunavut who understands the food problems that Northerners in isolated communities face. We also know that the program is being reviewed, and we’re hopeful that positive changes are coming. We continue to lobby the federal government to follow through on their promise to increase the northern allowance by 33 per cent and hope to see it in this year's budget that is being tabled on March 22. This change, should it come through, will result in Northerners having more money in their pockets come tax time next year.

In my Member's statement today I also spoke of the high cost of fuel to heat our homes and to pursue traditional on-the-land activities like hunting and fishing, activities which can help residents lower the cost of living and eat healthy. Can the Minister tell us what the government is doing to lower the cost of fuel in our communities that are represented?

The cost of fuel is one that this government has taken immediate action on to lower the cost of living in the communities served by the Petroleum Products Division. The Minister of Public Works and Services announced on Tuesday that, effective February 5, the price of home heating oil was reduced by $0.09 a litre in Paulatuk, $0.07 a litre in Sachs Harbour, and $0.08 a litre in Ulukhaktok. With this reduction, heating oil prices in these communities have been reduced by approximately 20 per cent over the last year. We recognize that the cost of heating fuel and gasoline in our smaller communities is a great concern to residents. It was also announced by the Minister of Public Works and Services on Tuesday that the department will be closely monitoring the prices of fuel that is delivered over the coming months and passing any further reductions onto residents as soon as possible. The reductions in the gas prices have been a little less. They've been five per cent over the last year, but if the current prices remain, then we should be able to pass those savings on to the community residents as well. For the members of other communities, Tuktoyaktuk is considered a market community; the Petroleum Products Division does not operate in the community of Tuktoyaktuk. Through the NWT Housing Corporation, our home heating costs for public housing are subsidized at about $9 million a year, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources provides funding through the Community Harvesters Assistance Program, funds that can be used to offset the fuel costs for harvesters.

Can the Minister of Finance outline what other plans this government has to lower the costs of living for residents of the Northwest Territories, especially residents of Nunakput who face the highest costs?

Lowering the cost of living is one of the agreed-on priorities of this Assembly. In addition to the efforts that I’ve outlined earlier in this exchange, all of the departments are being tasked with examining their business plans to look for opportunities to lower the cost of living for NWT residents. I expect that we will have some proposals that we will be able to put in front of committee during the business planning review that should help. We continue to encourage people to move north to grow our population. This helps with our Territorial Formula Financing, and the more money we have means more money that we can spend on new programs to reduce the cost of living. We also have to look internally at reducing government spending in the near term so we can have the money to invest in programs that can help lower the cost of living for all Northerners, especially those in our isolated communities like the ones my colleague represents.

Mahsi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in follow-up to my Member's statement earlier, I have a few questions for the Minister of Transportation. As I mentioned, many times travelling the Dempster Highway, we have whiteout conditions, high-blowing snow, high winds. It's challenging. Many times, travelling the Dempster, there are no delineators along the highway. I’d like to ask the Minister, will the Minister ensure that we begin work on replacing delineators along the Dempster from kilometre 0 to kilometre 30, which has the majority of high winds?

Mahsi. Minister of Transportation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Reconstruction on the Dempster Highway has been in progress for the last several years, and the Department has spent numerous amounts of money on widening and doing significant safety improvements on that section of the highway, but due to last year's excessive rain and poor weather conditions, weather hindered the reconstruction work and also the replacement of the delineators for the snow levels and safety stuff that the Member is talking about. The department will be installing these things in the coming construction season, when weather conditions are favourable. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am sure the Minister will know first-hand the importance of signage and delineators along our highways. Does the Minster know exactly which sections will be worked on this summer? Is it kilometres 0 to 30, as I mentioned, or is it further down the highway?

Additional maintenance work is planned for the complete section from the Dempster to the McPherson-Peel River section. We will be looking at all the signage and delineators as work continues this year on the widening of the highway.

I know the Minister will be up in the region next month, in the middle of the month. Will the Minister be open to travelling the Dempster with me for a trip so he could see for himself the challenges up there?

Time permitting, I would gladly take up the Member's offer to take me out to the Dempster.

Mahsi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance about the problems with the building of the fibre optic line down the Mackenzie Valley. The contracting company Ledcor has relieved its subcontractor for deficient work. The Minister has said that he expects the line will still be completed on schedule, but Ledcor says it won't be able to assess the effects of warm construction until the winter's end. Can the Minister tell the House what contingency plans are in place in case the project is delayed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our department officials will be assessing the options available to the GNWT under the Project Management Agreement to ensure that the work gets completed. This will include working with Northern Lights and the communities to ensure construction can be completed early in 2017 and the line commissioned shortly thereafter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you to the Minster for his reply. Reports of problems with erosion and other problems with installation of the line go back to last summer. Can the Minister tell us what actions were taken by the government to address these issues?

Following winter 2015 construction, as the Member said, there was some erosion and slumping area of concern were identified by Lands inspectors and Ledcor personnel. Northern Lights produced and acted on the remediation plan, and all the sites that were identified are being attended to. Ongoing monitoring is in place and with additional remediation being staged this winter in advance of the spring melt.

Thanks again to the Minister for his response. Can he tell us how we can be sure the remediation work on known deficiencies will not increase the cost of the project and cost to taxpayers?

The structure of the P3 agreement with Northern Lights is such that the ownership, design, and construction of the fibre line was a transferred risk from the GNWT to Northern Lights. Additionally, Northern Lights has the obligation to fulfill the requirements of the regulatory permits. As indicated by Northern Lights, the cost of remediation was borne by Northern Lights in accordance with the project agreement. Unlike a traditional build procurement, the construction risk was transferred by the GNWT to Northern Lights.

Mahsi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.