Daryl Dolynny

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Maybe just a point of clarity here. This Legislative Assembly amount, I believe these were funds that were put in place from investment funds that are now in the hands of government to control for very specific enhancements and improvements to the facility of the Legislative Assembly. Aside from what we are seeing here as a new phone system, which I believe is a separate entity, the enhancement to the Water’s Edge Park of $147,000 and improvements to increase accessibility of $56,000, the $147,000 and the $56,000, is that just the lapsed money from this fund? Will that...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’d again like to welcome the department here today as we review these supplementary appropriations. In a general sense, the concern I have is about the timing of these appropriations. To put it into context, the fact that Members here had very little time to review the numbers, to do the analysis, to read the number of briefing notes that were accompanying each line of change, even though it’s a carry-over or a lapse or an offset. Some of these documents do require some time to filter through and to balance off main estimates and even to look at past historical...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Too bad it’s a done deal, as it appears to be here. The NWT Power Corporation, by its own statutes, is more than able to submit a bid for an open RFP process. However, this week we clearly saw political interference and action on our Minister of Finance responsible for NTPC, and our Premier jointly endorsed a ticker tape parade press release in support. The question we need to ask is why. Why would this Cabinet need to endorse and intervene with an open public process? Can the Minister explain this?

I’m a supporter of the truth, transparency and accountability, so the Minister of Finance can characterize all he wishes. I’d like to go back to November 7th to the Northern News article where the Finance Minister was openly musing about the NTPC’s demise, suggesting that NTPC be taken over by the GNWT and, as he stated, “If we hadn’t given them this $80 million, I shudder to think what the rates would be.”

Again, can the Minister elaborate why he was so keen on threatening to dissolve the NWT Power Corporation? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to applaud yesterday’s Oscar performance by the Finance Minister in attempting to answer questions about NTPC’s recent attempt to enter into an RFP franchise process in Hay River.

As I said yesterday, I respect the openness, fairness and transparency of the RFP process. However, what I don’t respect is when the process is flawed and riddled with a hidden Cabinet agenda that has secretly changed our energy policy without the public’s oversight.

Now, every resident in the NWT wants cheaper power. This is a given. However, the way this government is trying to sell...

Now, months later, the Minister in his own press release of May 26, 2015, clearly and boldly supports NTPC’s participation in an RFP process in Hay River, and he points out this “could potentially lead to lower electricity rates.”

To the Minister: Why the flip-flop? In November, you’re shuddering to dissolve the Power Corporation and now you’re praising their ability to somehow lower electricity rates. I think the people are a little bit confused. Can the Minister explain this flip-flop?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a follow-up to my Member’s statement earlier today, I would like to reference from edited Hansard, March 11, 2015, where Minister Miltenberger stated, “Depending how we evolve in terms of distribution and generation, we have to look at things as I raised previously, the role and relationship of the Power Corporation. Right now it is a stand-alone power corporation with a board. Given our close working relationship and financial investment, is that the best structure, could it be structured more efficiently and effectively in any other way?”

Mr. Speaker, can the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To put the Minister’s answer in context, this was a response done in camera, so I can’t believe we are talking about that in the House here. But I can tell you that, quite frankly, Ordinary Members have not seen this report yet, so we are talking about a report that is still not before the House or before Members, and what we know is that I can’t comment on something we haven’t seen.

NTPC is the only organization set to gain anything from the expropriation of Northland Utilities, and yet the Minister of Finance claims to open up competition. Yet it is he who writes the...

I was trying to find an answer in that to my question. The issue will be eventually if NTPC is successful, we are going to be talking about taxpayers’ money, and I think we need to come back to the point of the question.

To change things up a bit, I would like to take a moment to ask the Minister about a report, a report that the Minister has been referencing publicly in this House at a recent energy charrette and in media, whereas the Minister has more or less summarized that having one electricity distributor in the North will be more cost effective and can lower rates.

Can the Minister...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The past 48 hours has been host to a power struggle, a fight, not based on improving electricity rates or lowering our cost of living but a war of ego and ministerial legacy building.

I want to take this opportunity to speak about not what I believe is a legitimate RFP process in Hay River, but an ad that appeared in this week’s newspaper suggesting this government’s intention is to expropriate Northland Utilities, a successful, northern, private company, 60 years’ history, 50 percent owned by 27 Dene First Nations, and sure enough, today this Cabinet responded...