Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Schumann.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We can actually maybe get that information for you, as well. There are 10 vehicles, and they range from $2,790 to $4,750, depending on their size. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. Thompson.

Roughly about $40,000 at the high end. Okay, thank you. When we talk about the petroleum revolving fund, when we talk about this, now we are saying that, using the Minister's words and I apologize if I didn't get them exactly right, they are going to eat the cost of the petroleum, the freight being back and forth. That is great that we are getting the petroleum and that into the communities, and I think that is great to hear.

My question, though, is: this revolving fund, how does that impact the cost of fuel next year for all communities? Because I am assuming the purchase is bulk, that is how the cost, you come out with it; you are able to purchase the best product for the best price. Now, we are seeing using the freight to pay for it. Now, it is going to be another cost to all of the Northwest Territories. Just not that because we are going to see the smaller communities being impacted. Maybe I am wrong, but can we please clarify that? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Mr. McCormick.

Thank you, Mr. McCormick. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you. I thank Mr. McCormick for explaining that. Will the Minister provide this information at the meeting and explain exactly how that works so we can understand that? I mean, for me, I understand a little bit better, but I would like to be able to get that information out to my communities, even though they are not on the large shipment process. With this petroleum product eating the cost, the freight, it has an impact or could have an impact. I am hearing from Mr. McCormick that it doesn't, but can we get that clarified and presented at the committee meeting? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Schumann.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, we can make sure we have someone from petroleum products to explain it to committee. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. Thompson.

I greatly appreciate that. When I was down south, I ran into a couple of individuals, and they talked about these air ships, the new technology. Has the government started to look at that as potentially something that MTS can get into in the future? Thank you Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Schumann.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. When they became commercially available, we will have a look at it. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. Thompson.

I hope that the Minister and the department actually really looks at it because, from what I understand, it sounds like a good idea.

The last question I do have is just in regards to when he talked about cost of freight going up the Dempster to Tuktoyaktuk. Now we have that road there. Have you guys or will you guys look at the cost of doing this? I understand that the railhead is here. This is the cost going up the railhead, but here is the cost going up on the Dempster to Tuktoyaktuk highway. Because I mean, to me, we spent a lot of money on building that road, and here is an opportunity to maybe help the communities in the Beaudel there. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Schumann.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. First of all, we have to point out there are millions of litres of fuel that get shipped up there. This isn't one of Basset's B-train loads here we are talking about. We are talking millions of litres.

The wear and tear on the highway would be on the Dempster, and stuff would have to be considered, but right now, as we start moving commodities anywhere around this country, marine and rail is the cheapest way to do it. There's no getting around that at this point. There are also safety and environmental issues if you were trucking it. There would be more risks involved in that. There are some other factors involved here, but the cheapest way is still, presently, in today's society is, marine and rail. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Schumann. Next on the list, we have Mr. Simpson.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. This is, you know, MTS is, a big deal in Hay River. It's a big deal in my constituency. A lot of people were glad when the government came in and purchased MTS. I don't think anyone saw it as the government was coming in to save Hay River. The government was coming in to save themselves because they require MTS to deliver fuel.

I was up at the all-candidates forum. I sat onstage with Minister Schumann and I said, "The government shouldn't be in the business of business" and lo and behold, a couple of years later, we are running a shipping company. You know, it's not easy, and government isn't made to run these types of organizations. You have to be responsive. You have to be nimble. Those are two things that the government isn't known for.

I think that this exemplifies the need to move towards a different type of governance model, something similar to the power corporation, a cost-recovery model where you can attract the right type of people to do the work, people who have history in the shipping industry.

You know, there's been a lot of talk about, you know, shipping out of somewhere else. The Minister has pointed out many times that a lot of fuel comes through Hay River. When I look out my window, I can see the tank farm where the fuel is delivered to, and I see trains day and night sometimes, you know, for the entire summer, coming through. There is an amazing amount of fuel, and you couldn't even imagine how many trucks would be required to ship that up and down the highway. I would like to see the numbers. I would like to see the Minister come up with these numbers. I think they would probably be extraordinary, to see how expensive it is to ship it via truck.

Like I said, I think that we need to seriously look at moving towards a different type of governance model and not, you know, a few years down the road we'll start thinking about it. I think we need to look at it now and see how quickly we can move towards it. We need a long-term plan and we need a short-term plan of how we are going to start getting there.

There are a lot of small things. There was the sailing schedule, I think, went out to consumers in May. It usually goes out in November. Right there, that's a small example of something that was six months behind, right off the bat. I think that's indicative of a lot of the other small issues. Well, you know, we do have a lot of the right people in Hay River to run this as it is. We bring a lot up, and the marine training centre is addressing that, but we have a lot of personnel in Hay River. I think that they need to be able to work in an environment that, like I said, is responsive and nimble.

One of the other issues, too, with when you discuss, you know, maybe shipping out of somewhere else and maybe moving to somewhere is the fact that there are the personnel in Hay River who have been doing this for years, you know. It's not just the physical infrastructure, but it's also the people.

Those are just a few things I wanted to point out, both for the Minister and for, you know, the public because there's been a lot of talk of maybe we need to ship out from somewhere else, but, you know, there's a reason that Hay River exists as it does, and it's because of, you know, mostly because of commercial shipping and commercial fishing. It is the port of the North for a reason. I just wanted to point that out. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Simpson. Minister Schumann.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Comments are noted.

Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. Simpson.

Nothing further. Thank you.