Merci, Monsieur le President. The Arctic Energy Alliance is our NWT-grown centre of energy excellence. The alliance offers a suite of programs tailored to our energy use needs. Over the years it has developed made-in-the-NWT programs for energy use planning to improve energy efficiency and the use of the alternative energies for commercial and residential users. These programs help reduce our cost of living, benefit the environment through reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and create local jobs.
Like many organizations with good programming in areas of high demand, the alliance is a victim of its own success. I've learned from constituents that the limited funds devoted to the Alternative Energy Technologies Program and Commercial Energy Conservation and Efficiency Program were fully subscribed by the end of June this year, and that there is already a waiting list of clients hoping to receive funding with more than six months left in the year. These programs support the introduction of commercially available clean energy technologies to reduce fuel use and demonstrate the viability of renewable energy technologies. Funding support varies between $2,500 and $32,000 for residential and business projects, depending on whether the applicants are in communities with hydroelectricity or in thermal power and off-grid locations. Ordinarily, the alliance would have some ability to re-profile funds across its various programs, but that uptake on all programs has been strong and there is apparently not much from other programs to re-profile to renewables.
This raises a couple of issues. First, when programs run out by the end of the first quarter we obviously have a good program that needs to be better resourced. As Regular Members had requested during the last budget stalemate, I'm calling on the Minister to re-profile funds in 2017-2017 so the Alliance can approve applications on its waiting list and publicize the availability of funds for those who knew no funds were available so didn't bother to apply.
Most importantly, we need to ramp up our funding for programs that get us off fossil fuels. The government warns of increased cost of living resulting from carbon pricing. These programs by the Arctic Energy Alliance can help with that. The federal government will be introducing a program to offset introduction of carbon pricing; we should advantage of that and not roll back our funding. I'll have questions for the Minister later today. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.