Bob McLeod

Mr. Speaker, over the last few days, the future of energy and the approach of the Government of the Northwest Territories to energy in the Northwest Territories has been explored, deliberated and discussed at length.

The 2014 Northwest Territories Energy Charrette has generated a great deal of interest throughout our territory and beyond. Over 120 people participated in the entire charrette and there were many more who attended the public discussion held on Monday, November 3rd.

We had representatives from communities and Aboriginal governments from every region of the territory and attracted...

As I indicated, the business plans for 2015-16 will be rolled out early in the new year. It’s very difficult for us to be prescriptive to the next government, and certainly as part of the transitional planning, we will continue to identify decentralization as a priority and we will lay out our thinking on decentralization, but it will be up to the 18th Assembly to make those decisions subsequent to 2015-16. Thank you.

The Member will be very pleased to hear that we have just started phase three and we have decentralized 141 positions in this 17th Assembly. This is the most positions that have ever been decentralized in the history of this government and we are just starting phase three. So the plan will be, when we roll out the business plans for 2015-16, they will be very clear and I am sure that the Member will be very appreciative. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We have a number of international researchers that set up and operate right in the Aurora Research Institute. We also provide a lot of logistical and backup and equipment support. As I said, the Aurora Research Institute receives funding from the Department of Education for annual operations, and they also access funding on an application-based process. We do involve and utilize them to do research on behalf of the government, and certainly, with the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Link, I understand that we will do further investing in that regard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a very exciting year to be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Aurora Research Institute in Inuvik. Considering that they’ve been conducting research or helping facilitate research for 50 years in the Northwest Territories is quite an achievement.

I’m very pleased to say that through the Department of Education, Culture and Employment that Aurora College is allocating $1,000 for every year of its existence, so they’ve allocated $50,000 for the 50th anniversary celebrations.

I should add that Aurora College provides the institute with about $1.7 million a year...

We receive results on a regular and ongoing basis. They are channelled through the Aurora College and through the Department of Education, and it finds our way to us. I myself, I think I’ve been to Inuvik about 10 times this year. On almost every visit I have the opportunity to drop in to the Aurora Research Institute for one reason or another, and at the risk of indicating how old I am, I negotiated devolution of the three arctic research centres from the federal government to the territorial government about 25 years ago. I think we have really benefitted from it.

I think it’s a very exciting period as to what’s happening in Inuvik, especially with the satellite tracking facilities that have been put in place. I think there are three satellite tracking facilities there now. When I attended the first one, we were told that with this fibre optic link that conceivably there could be 35 of these facilities, because Inuvik’s got the best location in the world for tracking of satellites. The Aurora Research Institute has been a very active participant and promoting this, and as part of construction of the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Link, we see the research...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am very pleased to recognize a constituent of Yellowknife South, Gayla Thunstrom. Welcome to the Assembly.

I guess you will just have to wait for tonight where we address that front and centre in both my remarks and in the Minister of ENR’s remarks. Certainly, we recognize that subsidizing is not sustainable, and at some point, very soon if not now, we have to have a very sustainable method of providing electricity going forward. Thank you.

Over the past two assemblies, the role of NTPC has evolved. We now have the Ministerial Energy Coordination Committee, where all of the Ministers and departments that have responsibilities in this area come together, and the Power Corporation is working much more closely with the government to fulfill the objectives of the government, and certainly we are recognizing that one size fits all is not necessarily the way to go. We are looking to the Energy Charrette to point us in the right direction. Thank you.