Mr. Speaker, energy initiatives in the Sahtu. As of this morning, Imperial Oil started supplying gas powered electricity to the community.
Mr. Speaker, energy has been on my mind lately, with the reopening of the Enbridge pipeline and the announcement of the new funding by the federal government for energy programs in the Northwest Territories.
I understand that, back in March, the GNWT secured $570 million from the Investing Canada Plan, and more recently, this government secured the first $23 million of its $31 million allocation from the federal Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund.
Mr. Speaker, these new program dollars have come out around the same time as the GNWT Energy Strategy and Action Plan. The people of the Sahtu are interested in the details, how this money will be spent, and more importantly, how we can be involved in the transition to more efficient and cleaner energy systems in our communities.
Mr. Speaker, in the last few years, we have seen real progress in the Sahtu on the use of biomass heating. Cord wood has been an important source of heating in the Sahtu for generations, and the introduction of wood pellet heating has brought a new source of high-efficiency wood heating to our region.
Mr. Speaker, most of our communities have begun a transition to the lower-cost wood pellet systems and high-efficiency wood stoves. Heating with wood has many benefits, including being carbon neutral. As the supply chain for wood pellet improves, we hope to see it being more used in the Sahtu.
Mr. Speaker, we have also seen the installation of a state-of-the-art solar diesel plant in Colville Lake that has reduced the use of diesel fuel and reduced the emissions. Other efficiency upgrades were also made on the electrical side. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Mahsi.
---Unanimous consent granted