Brendan Bell

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Member knows, from the discussion at committee, that the Power Corporation, for instance, has been working on issues related to hydro development and other renewable sources of energy. This is around the theme of trying to lessen our reliance on fossil fuels. In some regard, we are hostage in the short term to the crisis of oil. There is not a lot we can do in the very short run to lessen that reliance. I think, as the Member heard yesterday, the Finance Minister has sent out a directive to departments to come forward to make sure that they update the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Member is referring specifically to our ability to reject the costs that it will have internally for our own GNWT assets. We do have a program that the Minister of Finance referred to yesterday, the Energy Conservation Program. This program does provide financial assistance to territorial and community-funded departments, boards, agencies, non-profits, to undertake capital projects that will result in long-term reductions in the usage of electricity, heat, energy, water, et cetera. I think it is a very good program. There are a number of examples that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All this is predicated on us getting a successful agreement with the federal government. In the end, the $90 million is federal money and they could determine that there are strings to be attached or that there are criteria to be met. We have given them our preference and our suggestions; we think they are strong because the three territories are in agreement. We hope that they will see the merit in doing it in this manner. At this point I don’t have enough detail to tell the Member exactly the mechanism that we would use, other than to say if we get our hands on...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is certainly our position. The federal government had sought to, as I had mentioned, have a policy committee in Ottawa to determine which projects could qualify for this money. We don’t feel that is adequate. We feel those decisions need to be made in the North. We are prepared to defer the $10 million that would need to be spent this year in a very quick manner, we don’t think effectively, probably, and talk about the $90 million going forward. But that would be based on decisions made in the Northwest Territories for the Northwest Territories, and likewise...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to apologize, I would like some clarity from the Member. I am wondering if the Member is referring to the Northern Economic Development Strategy money, the $90 million that was referred to in the Throne speech. If that is the case, I can get into some detail. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the support for the Arctic Energy Alliance. I think the Member makes a very good point. This is something that is funded by a couple of government departments and by the Power Corporation. I think there has been a lot of good work over the years and a lot of merit in continuing to work with this organization to find solutions, especially in the case of this organization, primarily on demand side issues. As a government, we recognize that we do need an energy plan, both for supply side and demand side issues. We will be moving that agenda forward.

I...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled NWT Development Corporation 2003-2004 Annual Report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hope I got the nature of the question. The PAS is, in fact, grassroots driven. It’s really up to communities to identify areas that they think are culturally sensitive or natural or cultural areas that they feel are special and indeed need protection. So we rely on communities to identify those and then the various partners in the PAS all combine to make sure that those areas are, in fact, protected from future development. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member has indicated, the filing of the EIS is another important milestone for the pipeline project, and we’ve always said that it is important and this is why we support the Protected Areas Strategy currently, financially and in support to the secretariat. But it’s important to have protected areas established and we’re working toward doing that. This is a three-way partnership with some ENGOs and the federal government. We are trying to find the money in our government to fund our portion of the Protected Areas Strategy -- I think it’s $1.5 million over five...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First, I want to give the Member every assurance that we have wildlife officers and the department has wildlife officers in all the regions, and we believe they do a very good job of enforcing the regulations under the Wildlife Act. We acknowledge that it is a difficult job. It’s a vast territory and admittedly we don’t have as many wildlife officers as we would like to, but we are constrained by resources. We were both surprised and, I suppose, concerned that barren ground caribou arrived so soon so close to Yellowknife and on the Ingraham Trail; concerned about...