Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I think the Minister was thinking, or the deputy minister was thinking or both of them were thinking, that that was my next question, so I thank them that they are going to make that commitment next week and look forward to that presentation as we move forward. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Any further questions? Mr. Vanthuyne.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Maybe not so much a question but just a comment at this point. I think some of the previous speakers have pointed out a little bit of what the concern I am going to raise, and that is: we are clearly a government that has mandated ourselves to make investment in energy and alternative energy. We recognize that we have a dire situation as it relates to our reliance on fossil fuels and diesel. We are, time and time again, challenged with trying to find ways to get off that reliance, and so, if I am just to look at page 234 in the broader perspective, it is troubling to see that we have reduced or lost investment in energy commitments here to the tune of over a million dollars in the last two fiscal years.

Although some of these programs might be seen as sunsetted or you can get them, apply for them, through other NGOs or what have you, what we should be doing as a government is making sure that we are making constant, steady investment in this area because we know, once again, that this is an investment that has a much larger return on investment. So I think, I am hoping, that I am capturing my colleagues' general concern with regard to seeing these programs kind of go by the wayside.

There is never no opportunity that we can't find to make investments into alternative energy sources and alternative energy programs. It is a mission of ours to try to get our communities, in particular, off their reliance on fossil fuels. I mean, we could put a hundred wood stoves if not a thousand wood stoves into homes tomorrow; we could invest in more solar energy like we have in Colville and other areas tomorrow, so it is troubling to see this pot depleting over the last couple of years when we have made clear commitments to invest in alternative energy sources.

We have got a potential carbon tax coming down the pipe that is going to be another heavy weight for us to bear as residents of the Northwest Territories, for the cost of living. It is many of these little, small investments that we see here that make a big difference. It does not always have to be about trying to reinvent the wheel and the big picture. A lot of these small, little, tiny investments are the ones that actually go further, so I just share that comment so that the department and the Minister are aware. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister Schumann.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am going to sum up a little bit of everything that we are doing on this file. As we know, this is important to everybody in the Northwest Territories. It is a true fact of life that is coming down the pipe for the whole country.

First of all, we are working with the federal government on a number of initiatives. We have some people working directly to get remote communities off diesel fuel, which is important to all Northern communities right across Canada. The Department of Finance is working with the carbon tax file. There are two things right off the bat.

When we were down in Ottawa, we were pushing all our renewable initiatives, the Taltson Project, the windmill project, renewables file. That is another initiative, and we are waiting to see what the federal government gives us money for in the coming budget in the next couple of months.

The department also does a number of initiatives internally already that we hope address a number of these things. We are working on the capital refit program. We have the new construction where we apply all the new energy strategies and legislation to make them the most efficient new building construction. We work with E and R on the biomass file to push that forward for the residents of the Northwest Territories. There are a number of initiatives besides just this page.

As all Members know, I have said the reductions on this page is due to a sunset due to a one-time Low Water initiative that was put forward in the last Assembly. That is where we sit right now. The department is working very hard to address these issues. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Schumann. Any further questions, committee? Seeing none, we will now return to page 233, programs and services, operations expenditure summary, total activity, $28,420,000. Mr. Vanthuyne.

Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. The motion is on the floor and is being distributed. The motion is in order and is non-debatable.

Question has been called. All those in favour. All those opposed. The motion is carried.

---Carried

We have deferred consideration of this activity. Committee will now proceed to the next activity, found on page 239. Regional operations, operations expenditure summary, total activity, $126,995,000. This includes activity distribution on page 238 and information items on page 240. Before returning to the departmental total -- Mr. Testart.

Thank you, committee. We will try this again. Regional operations, operation expenditure summary, total activity, $126,995,000. This includes activity description on page 238 and information items on page 240. Any questions? Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In regard to the winter roads, you have heard my brief comments at the very beginning, the importance of helping the communities and especially Sambaa K'e with their winter road. Can the Minister please advise us what they have been doing to make sure this winter road is safe and efficient? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I need to know which road he is talking about. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Thompson.

I will try this again. Sambaa K'e winter road. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We make sure that all winter roads are safe for travel for the general public. There have been a number of initiatives done on this road in the last five years. If we go back to our stats, we spent roughly $1.6 million on the Sambaa K'e road in the last five years. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the Minister for that answer. In this section of road, there is a hill that the community has been trying to renovate or fix up in the last year or so. What has the department been doing with the community to address this issue? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As far as I am aware, the community has never approached us about this issue. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Actually I did send an e-mail, but maybe I will have to pull that out. The community has brought it to my attention. I did forward it from the development corporation and they have asked for work to be done on this section of road. I am trying to get that message out there to the department to work with it. It is a safety factor. Just recently, they had six elders or six individuals being shipped to Fort Simpson for medical appointments and they got stuck there for six hours. This is the section of road that they are talking about. Can the Minister look into this with the department, and then maybe I will look into my files as well and bring this e-mail forward again? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.