Bob Bromley

Thank you once again for that commitment from the Minister. I think it has been very frustrating as far away as Sachs Harbour where energy is so costly and people have taken action there and then found out after things were in place that they couldn’t afford to do it, to literally hook it up. So the facility sits there.

I’d like now to turn to our general renewable energy, energy efficiency programs. It’s no surprise to this Minister or this government that committee has wanted to see a major effort and expenditure in the energy area. We see huge opportunities for addressing many, again, of our...

It will be really great to see this get off the ground. We’ve been looking at it for some time. I’m happy that real progress is being made here.

My last one on the recycling aspect is, I still have people coming to me and really saying, you know, why will Cabinet not put down the price that they have to pay for milk containers in relation to what they get back. We do not want to raise the price of milk and this Minister has insisted on doing that. This obviously goes against our greater government goals of helping people and so on. Milk and the equivalent soy products are known to be really...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My thinking is in line with many of the comments that have been brought up. Certainly on the fracking side of things I guess I would like to note that we did learn a lot on the trip that ITI sponsored for committee. Unfortunately, despite being shepherded about by industry, none of this committee, to my knowledge, has ever visited a frack site. So we still have a tremendous amount to learn.

I would say what we do know is that there is some very, very nasty stuff that routinely is both put into the ground and much more very, very nasty stuff is brought up from the ground...

I didn’t excel in math, but two years are reported here and both years are about $450,000. So I’m not totally clear on where the Minister is coming from here. Thank you.

Thank you for that information. Just in closing, I’ve had concern with a lot of our energy dollars, like some other departments are actually left until the last minute in the fiscal year to be spent. Can we get a commitment from the Minister that we will get some of these things identified early on in the fiscal year so that we can actually be effective with the dollars and make better progress throughout the year, as opposed to saving the dollars until the end of the fiscal year and perhaps lapsing some of those dollars? I know there is a lot of work to be done, but I think if we get at it...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thanks to the Minister for his opening comments. I’d like to start, as he essentially did here, with the energy programs. I’m very disappointed, obviously, in the decrease. We established $1.7 million last year. What this government wants, and I think it’s spoken clearly on, is increasing spending in energy initiatives. I suppose I have to make it clear that I’m not talking about subsidies on fossil fuel, which is where we seem to be putting literally hundreds of millions of dollars. When I add it all up, it’s that sort of number. It’s pretty startling. So I’m very...

Mr. Chair, I am just wondering, under the Alternative Energy Program I see it looks like we spent about $1 million last year and it’s down to $7.75 million this year as proposed, but that is up from a couple of years ago. Is there a ready explanation for the source of convolutions that are going on with that budget? Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister. I appreciate his supportive approach here. I have to say I am disappointed. When the House approves expenditures, it’s with the intent that the Minister get out there and get the program on the ground so that we take benefit that year. So I’d like to ask, what were the issues causing this amazing delay in getting the Family Resource Centre dollars out the door into Ndilo, apparently just happening this week, other than their obvious reluctance to commit to a flash in the pan program when a long-term one was needed. What were the other issues and how were they addressed...

Mr. Chair, thank you for those comments. I appreciate the Minister’s comments there. I am glad to see he is still focused in on those things. Those sound like important opportunities to me.

I just want to acknowledge that the department is playing a very important role extending geographically the opportunity to use wood pellets for our residents and businesses by being such a good customer of wood pellets. I know there is a very new supply of wood pellets in Norman Wells. The action we are taking to take advantage of that supply and also to start considering the opportunity for generation of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on my questions the other day in my Member’s statement on early childhood development with the Minister of ECE. I’m wondering, are the new family resource centres that are going into place this year meant to be a flash in the pan program, or do they actually recognize, I think, the intent and the need for a long-term comprehensive approach here? Thank you.