Thank, Madam Chair. Is any of that cost associated with, say for instance, Snare Hydro going down and the cost of running off hydro here in Yellowknife? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Madam Chair. No, it has nothing to do with this budget item, but I do want to state that, just in general under utilities, we have longer, colder winter seasons, which cause increased heating expenses, so there are shortfalls in the budget and increased costs, as well. However, no, it does not cost what the Member is asking in terms of the hydro stuff. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Madam Chair. That is all.

Are there any further questions from Members under regional operations? Member for Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. I just want to touch up on under facilities management. In the small communities, I know the outlying communities, like in Fort Providence and Fort Resolution, they have settlement maintainers. I know it's costing the department quite a bit of money every time one of heating boilers or whatever goes down in either Fort Resolution or Fort Providence. The operating engineers have to come from Hay River, and we don't know if they will come all hours of the night most times. I had brought this up when I was an employee in Infrastructure, but it has not gotten anywhere.

However, I was really hoping this department would really look into providing training for those settlement maintainers at Aurora College because, every year, Aurora College, sometime in May, has a six-week oil heat technician training. It used to be OBM. They are open for anybody with an electrical ticket, but if not, there is specialized training that you could work in conjunction with the Housing Corporation. If you even went on a course for furnaces and boilers, the theory and the practical instruction that they get onsite opens their eyes as to what they are really dealing with. It certainly has for me.

I have worked as a housing maintainer for quite a number of years in my community. When you go get the theory and the training, you are sitting in front of a furnace for four weeks, and you are able to wire it at the end of the course. That is really something. When you learn about the boiler systems, the zone valves, and everything, it really opens your eyes to what you are really dealing with and what you can do in the communities. I don't want to drag this on any further, but I was really hoping that the department would consider helping those settlement maintainers in the communities. Let's get some training done. Mahsi.

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Department of Infrastructure has a lot of specialized training, including building maintainers, which are an important role in ensuring that our communities are kept going, that the assets are kept going. I do want to turn this over to Deputy Minister Loutitt, just to expand a little bit further. I think this is an opportunity to be able to just talk about some of the great things that we are doing with other departments, including our friends at MACA and housing. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Deputy Minister Loutitt.

Thank you, Deputy Minister. Member for Deh Cho.

I think I was asking about the training component. You haven't touched upon that. Like, I made a big speech out of it.

---Laughter

Good Lord, did I just waste my breath? Mahsi.

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I thank the Member for his long-winded question. I do want to add that maybe I answered it; I will say it again. We do partner with our friends, our department, our colleagues at Municipal and Community Affairs under their training program. They have a number of training programs that are offered for recreation, for facilities maintainers, and as a department, we utilize some of those training opportunities for our communities to get some of the training and the skills to be able to stay local in our communities. I think that is important, to be able to build the capacity for building maintainers to come and get the training here in the territories, finish your program and come back to your community and be able to work. I think that is an opportunity for us to continue the partnership. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Deh Cho.

Yes. Thank you for that. It's interesting to note that you do have 14 settlement maintainers spread out throughout the territories, and I imagine they are in the smaller communities, not in the larger centres. The larger centres, they carry the operating engineers. They are the ones who deal with all of the heating appliances. I suppose, say you were in a community like a fly-in community, maybe Aklavik; somebody would have to fly in from Inuvik who is an operating engineer or else from Fort McPherson. I don't know if they have one there.

What I am saying is: can we get these settlement maintainers trained up in oil heating technician? That opens their eyes so that they can do basic heating appliance repairs in the dead cold of winter, if need be. That is what I am getting at. Let's get these people trained up within the department. I don't know why there is reluctance to even train. There is not much training. When I was in there myself, too, as a project officer, we did not have anything offered to us. I wanted to expand more my knowledge about the building systems, the exterior systems, the updated stuff. I could not get that. Anyways, I am just arguing this one here for the settlement maintainers. If we could look at, really look at, providing that training to them, it would go a long way for savings for the department in the long run. Mahsi.

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think that is a really good point, what the Member is suggesting. It would all depend on each facilities maintainer, whether that is something that they would want to work on. Some people just like working as building maintainers and to continue what they are doing. However, to work on boilers, I do want to point out that you do need a steam ticket, which takes some work. It's not something that perhaps we offer. I don't know this for sure, but we may not even offer some of these tickets in the Northwest Territories. If any of the building maintainers are interested in pursuing further training, then I think it's important that they perhaps come forward, work on a career plan with the department, and see if that is something they want to do. However, I hear the Member's concern where it is something that we can look at, as well. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I was just wondering about the utilities. I want to go back to the utilities line. When the Minister was answering the question to my colleague, this is under regional operations, and she was mentioning about the utilities of just over $2 million for Stanton, why would it be in this section when it's a territorial hospital, when we are doing regional operations? I just want to ask that question.

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. On an annual basis, if you look at our main estimates this year, we are estimating an increase of $35 million just towards utilities on an annual basis. That's for pretty much all government buildings in the Northwest Territories. I am pretty sure it is. If you look at the budget here, there is an increase, and I am stressing the increase of $2.5 million, the increase for Stanton Territorial Hospital utilities and increase for the electrical costs. Because Stanton just came on board in this fiscal year, we have perhaps not budgeted in the previous years such a high increase. That's the increase in the utilities. It is captured under all regional operations, such as utilities and leases. All that is captured in this area of the budget. Thank you, Madam Chair.