Mr. Speaker, we are overdue for a thorough and independent review of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, its operations, its innovations and its response in meeting the evolving needs of communities and residents. It is my view that this review should include the potential need for a complete restructuring.

The Power Corporation is a utility — a public utility, an arm of the GNWT — rather than a private corporation, but this is not reflected in its attitude. It has been six years since the Public Utilities Board ordered the Power Corporation to file interconnection standards for net...

I’ll just hope I get an answer to the question eventually. I did ask if they are commenting on that situation, not about the past.

I’m wondering if it’s the perspective of the Public Utilities Board that the Taltson hydro facility is a facility that has been owned and maintained by the NWT Energy Corporation. Is it still owned, or has it been transferred to the Hydro Corporation?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on some of my earlier questions on the Public Utilities Board, if I could. Specifically, I just want to start by confirming that it’s the responsibility of the Public Utilities Board to ensure the fair treatment of our citizens with regard to the safe and reliable provision of power and fair pricing of power. Is that correct?

I appreciate those comments from the Minister. I think this is timely; a lot of our public are calling for it. I’m wondering if included in that could be the whole relationship with the Public Utilities Board. I haven’t heard the voice of the Public Utilities Board in this government. I wonder if there’s a way we could bring them to the table and get their perspective on this whole business. I know they’re saddled with some responsibility for at least the financial end of the Power Corporation’s business.

Nothing further. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks to the Minister for those comments. I recognize those situations.

Again, I think there is an opportunity here to save the taxpayer some dollars, to save the environment some greenhouse gas emissions. I think we heard the Minister of Human Resources talking earlier about how we want to develop a good working relationship with our employees and so on. I think challenges are something, especially for good causes, that our employees really react to.

Here’s a situation. The environment is on lot of folks’ minds, especially young engineers. The Minister’s noted big gains that could be achieved...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Housing.

I appreciated his Minister’s statement on the EnerGuide 80 Program — very progressive. The one thing I noticed is that it’s actually for implementation in 2010. Everybody knows a dollar saved is a dollar earned. The same goes for greenhouse gas submissions. Why can’t we get going and get some of this implemented this coming year?

Mr. Speaker, I don’t disagree with that. I just think that what we should be discussing is whether those dollars for youth should be going strictly to sports or whether they should be going to sports plus arts and cultural programs.

Are arts organizations represented in this review that the sports and recreation organization is doing? If they’re not, then it’s hardly surprising what they would come out with. So can we get arts organizations — territorial arts organizations, regional arts organizations — participating with the Council of Sports and Recreation in doing that review?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of MACA, and it has to do with the lottery funds that I talked about in my Member’s statement earlier today. What would be required to get that reviewed and some of those funds from the lottery program going towards arts and cultural programs, rather than just to sports?

Mr. Speaker, the amount of money generated from lottery proceeds in the NWT was $3 million last year, a significant amount of money. Currently in the NWT proceeds of the Western Canada Lottery program are exclusively allocated to sports organizations. The NWT is the only jurisdiction in Canada that exclusively allocates lottery proceeds to sports. Alberta and British Columbia divide their lottery proceeds between many different organizations and causes, and the Yukon divides its proceeds between arts and cultural programs and sports programs.

The arts play a significant role in a community’s...