Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Committee Concerns

The committee was grateful for the sponsoring Member's work to draw attention to and advance solutions for the impacts of unaffordable electricity bills on NWT residents, particularly some of his constituents in Nunakput. The committee admired the advocacy and compassion of the sponsoring Member and was sympathetic to the intentions of Bill 23. However, the committee had concerns about some of the potential impacts of Bill 23, most significantly that the bill would likely increase residential electricity rates for all customers.

The committee noted contrary anecdotal evidence that Hydro One Remotes, a public utility that provides electricity to 22 remote communities across Northern Ontario, did not experience an increase in arrears due to similar legislation in Ontario that banned disconnection and load limiters in the winter.

The committee was also concerned that Bill 23, as a whole, would not address the root causes for which some NWT residents cannot afford their electricity bills. The committee recognized that the root causes of the issue are numerous and complex, and responsibility spans multiple organizations including the NWT Housing Corporation, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, the Public Utilities Board, and the public utilities themselves.

Ultimately, the committee was unable to reach agreement on how to proceed with Bill 23, and therefore moves the bill forward for consideration in Committee of the Whole. The committee believes that Bill 23 brings up important issues that require further exploration and action. The committee urges the government to undertake policy work to better understand the root causes of electricity unaffordability and take coordinated policy actions to address the issue. To that effect, committee proposes several recommendations to guide this important work.

Recommendations - Income Assistance

The committee is concerned that there are barriers, gaps, and policy redundancies that cause higher electricity bills and make assistance benefits and programs less accessible and less effectual for electricity customers. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment and the NWT Housing Corporation both design and deliver programs that support NWT residents who may also face difficulty paying their electricity bills. Therefore, the committee recommends:

Recommendation One

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment work with the NWT Housing Corporation to address potential barriers that can cause higher electricity bills for people on income assistance in housing units.

This should include reviewing the 2018 policy change that transferred more responsibility for electricity consumption from the NWT Housing Corporation to tenants, and whether this change resulted in increased income assistance from ECE or an increased number of customers in arrears on their power bills and value of those arrears.

Mr. Speaker, I now wish to pass the reading of the report to the Member for Inuvik-Twin Lakes.