Michael Miltenberger

Legislative Assembly photo

Roles

In the Legislative Assembly

Elsewhere

Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was going.
Historical Information Michael Miltenberger is no longer a member of the Legislative Assembly.

Last in the Legislative Assembly November 2015, as MLA for Thebacha

Lost his last election, in 2015, with 39% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters October 6th, 2015

Thank you, Madam Chair. The hydrological prediction and looking into the future is not an exact science. It’s tied to many variables that you don’t know from year to year. What we do know is that over the years the snowpack has diminished, the glaciers are melting, the rainfall patterns are changing and we’re now into year four of a drought. Around the world what used to be reliable weather patterns have now disappeared, so we are anticipating this is the second year, which is why we’re doing things like putting out the expression on solar and wind and we’re working to invest to get off of fuel. Here, the prediction on the water, I am anticipating we’re still going to be on low water next year unless we get what they say is going to be a warm winter with lots of snow. But at this point that’s a prediction and we don’t know if it’s going to come to pass.

We have a Fuel Stabilization Fund that’s set up to level out the impacts of these types of occurrences across the whole territory so that no one area has to pick up the tab if something goes wrong in their particular region. The Fuel Stabilization Fund doesn’t have the resources, so the options are fairly simple: we either just keep raising rates or we, as a government, step in to try to make sure that we don’t drive up those rates to make it unaffordable to live here. Thank you.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters October 6th, 2015

As I laid out in my comments, after a good discussion with committee, initiated by Member Bouchard, we are going to look at taking 10 percent of that money and putting it in towards efforts that are going to, hopefully, or help, diminish some of the demand through things like speeding up whatever streetlights need to get done to LEDs, and we’re going to put some more money into Arctic Energy Alliance and work with them to beef up their rebate programs, their incentive programs for people to switch to more energy efficient equipment or solar and those types of things. But I’d ask the deputy minister if he could walk us through the details.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters October 6th, 2015

As we have discussed over the years, we have to do both. The mitigation initiatives that we have to reduce our carbon footprint to get off fossil fuels will help do our part in terms of lessening the pressure on the climate change and warming temperatures, but we also know that those types of activities don’t bear fruit for 30 to 40 years. We’re also going to be spending more immediately and more greatly on the adaptation that’s going to be required with things like erosion, permafrost, the money we’ve spent in our lifetime here just on replacing failed piles and all those other related costs. We have to do both.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters October 6th, 2015

We place a high priority on the cost of living. We will do the things we can, like what’s before the House right now in terms of mitigating those high costs. If these extreme weather events continue to drive our costs then there are going to be some significant hard decisions that are going to have to be made on how we manage our way through that.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters October 6th, 2015

It’s early days, but absolutely we’re going to be spending in the many millions of dollars as we get started, and if it’s the whole community, all the low-lying areas, the relocation, the lock, stock, and barrel relocation of the community would be very expensive.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters October 6th, 2015

That work is underway. Senior officials have been up to the community, along with the regional staff, to look at what’s necessary. All the efforts to hold back the rising waters and the storm surges have proven fruitless, the amount of money spent on gravel and big rocks and it just gets washed away.

The issue of relocation is one that is clearly the most viable option that is being looked at and that work is underway.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters October 6th, 2015

We had those discussions with Finance. The costs are all there, separating out what we want to attribute directly to weather and climate change versus the more normal occurrence. We’re looking at that. But clearly, as I said yesterday, there is a need for us to capture that more accurately so that it doesn’t overpower or blur into other areas of normal government operations, and it is, as the Member has pointed out, getting to be a fairly high number.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters October 6th, 2015

Yes, I would, Madam Chair. Thank you.

Bill 71: Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2015-2016 October 6th, 2015

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that Bill 71, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2015-2016, be read for the second time.

This bill makes supplementary appropriations for infrastructure expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. Thank you.

Bill 71: Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2015-2016 October 6th, 2015

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that Bill 71, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2015-2016, be read for the first time. Thank you.