Masi. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know last week was Small Business Week, however when you represent Kam Lake there's always a good reason to talk about business. Mr. Speaker, today I'd like to acknowledge the achievements of one of my constituents who recently won the Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Award at the Yellowknife Chamber's 70th Annual Business Award Gala, Garth Wallbridge and his firm Wallbridge Law Office. Mr. Wallbridge is a Metis public speaker, lawyer, and a leading northern entrepreneur.

Having over 30 years of experience in the North and operating the only 100 per cent owned Indigenous law firm in the NWT, Mr. Wallbridge's influence has had a profoundly positive impact both locally and nationally. He was the founding director of the McGill Aboriginal Law Student's Association and the Metis Nation's Lawyer Association. He's also been invited to speak nationally on a variety of issues, but none more important to him personally than offering a better understanding of Indigenous people in Canada.

I would like to congratulate Mr. Wallbridge and wish him well in his continued success that he's had so far over the course of his prestigious career and for the future years to come. He's an inspiration to everyone here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to be very brief so we can all make it out of here early and get down to Chase the Ace. Chase the Ace needs no introduction, everyone in the territory is talking about it, the territory's a buzz. Tonight’s total potential payout should be just shy of half a million dollars. If your ticket's drawn, you have a one in 11 chance of pulling the ace and taking it all home.

Hay River, it's a short five-hour drive from Yellowknife, so I encourage everyone in the capital to take the afternoon off. Perhaps the Ministers can let their departments go at 1:00. You've got to get in line for tickets by about 6:00 p.m. at Riverview Cineplex, Ptarmigan Inn, The Back Eddy, The Legion, Diamond Jenness Secondary School, or the Soaring Eagle Friendship Centre. Mr. Speaker this fundraiser is put on by the Hay River Curling Club, but because it's grown to be such a huge event, it benefits multiple organizations, and really the entire community. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s also a lot of work to put on, and I want to give a shout out to all the volunteers that make it happen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. See you in Hay River.

Masi. Good luck to all those who participate. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great honour and pleasure to welcome my father, Mr. Winston John Moses, joining us here today. Both he and my mom, Martha, are avid watchers, they rarely miss a -- I want to say an episode -- but a day in the House in sitting when they're watching on TV. I'm glad that he could be here joining us today and taking in the proceedings. So welcome, dad. Thanks.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to use this opportunity to recognize and thank two pages from Inuvik Twin Lakes. We've got Kyra McDonald with us today and Jazelle Pokiak, and I want to thank them and all the other hardworking pages. I also want to recognize Mr. Winston Moses as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also too would like to recognize Mr. Winston Moses who went to residential school with my father, and I'm proud to be working here alongside his son now. So welcome, Winston. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we missed anyone in the gallery, welcome to our proceedings, it's always great to have an audience. Masi. Item 6, acknowledgments. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation. Mr. Speaker, it's well known that the Power Corporation was asked and chose to bid on the Hay River Franchise Agreement. My question is how has the Power Corporation made the determination knowing that they could potentially change the relationship landscape, the business landscape as it relates to power in the Northwest Territories? Can the Minister explain the rationale behind NTPC, a Crown corporation, going into direct competition with the private sector? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister responsible for NWT Power Corporation.

Mr. Speaker, as is well-known, the franchise in Hay River came to an end and the Town of Hay River, on its own, decided that it should seek bidders for the franchise. One of the bidders was of course the Power Corporation itself. I think there were actually two other bidders. The town accepted our bid, and our sole goal of this was to provide power at a lower rate to the citizens of Hay River. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This leads to my second question then. I would like some clarification. What is the Power Corporation's vision for its relationship then with private industry and Aboriginal development corporations? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, our vision, the vision of the Power Corporation, is to be provider of choice to our customers, a valuable partner to industry and Aboriginal groups within the Northwest Territories. So that is the vision of the Power Corporation.

I'm getting flat answers, quite frankly, but I'm going to take this in another direction, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during the briefing on Wednesday, the Power Corporation president alluded to work that's being done on energy options for communities. Could the Minister provide some detail on this planning and the rationale for coming up with these options? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, Mr. Speaker. The Power Corporation is involved in the development of an energy plan which has been spoken of several times in this House, so we are committed in the Power Corporation to, as I say, look at new ways of providing power, keeping in mind our vision of supplying power to communities at the cheapest, affordable and safest rate. Thank you.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

The president said that there was going to be specific options that communities were going to be able to consider. Can the Minister speak more to the options that the communities are going to be able to consider, and can the Minister describe a strategy for public consultation and involvement as these options are being developed?

Mr. Speaker, this is all tied, of course, to the strategy to which groups will be invited to participate including NUL. So we're hoping to get a broad discussion about where the Power Corporation is going. Certainly, we are looking at more inventive ways and cheaper ways and more energy-efficient ways of delivering power to the Northwest Territories. That remains our goal.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The element of surprise is well and true today. Mr. Speaker, recently the Yellowknife Catholic School Board has gone to the press and expressed their frustrations with additional pressures being placed on the district schools by the implementation of the Junior Kindergarten Program, and in the words of the school board, “we want to make sure that we're providing the best and the best school for our kids.” Right now they're looking to appropriate some portables from the YK1 School District. Has the Minister had a conversation about these resource needs and how does he plan to address it? Thank you.

Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.