David Ramsay

Thanks, Madam Chair. It’s partially included in this year’s budget, but for the detail I’ll go to Deputy Minister Vician.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That plan is tabled in the House on an annual basis and I think it may be – the Member is asking a number of questions – very beneficial to get the board, the chairman in to meet with Regular Members. If Regular Members have concerns or questions about the operation, it would be a perfect opportunity to ask the board. They are an independent board. Certainly, they provide me with a corporate overview and I do meet with them to talk about their operations with subsidiaries. But, again, I think there could be a lot of utility in having the board come and meet with...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate the Minister’s comments, and as industry and energy go together with communities, that is something – and I mentioned it earlier in response to another Member – we have to always be looking for opportunities when there is resource development near a community that we can get long-term, lasting benefits for the community. You look around the Northwest Territories today, hydro is here because of the mining past and history of the territory with Taltson, Snare and Bluefish. So there’s been a history of that and if we are going to get to some long-lasting...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That was an exceptional circumstance with very high water in the Peel and Mackenzie, in the Beaufort-Delta that year. There were 13 claims that year.

Madam Chair, on the Hydro Strategy and plan, it does fit in with the Energy Plan. We hope to have the work done on that hopefully by the end of this year – by this spring, Peter says – then we can start making some decisions. I think the planning has to go into this.

The Member talks about getting off of diesel and I think that is our primary objective here. We have to find a way to get communities off of diesel, whether it’s hydro or through natural gas development in the central Mackenzie or in the Mackenzie Delta. We have to look at getting communities off of diesel. That has to happen. It...

Madam Chair, for a detailed response I will go to Deputy Minister Vician, but I just met with the BDIC board. There are going to be efforts underway to do the work the Member is talking about. For the specifics, I will go to Deputy Minister Vician.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I mentioned earlier, getting close to a deal on devolution, and certainly the Member hit a couple of high points here on the coordination. The proposal may be to look at a reorg and have a department like Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources set up where the coordination could take place inside one department. Those are decisions that are going to be made in the very near future, I would say. We have that to look forward to. I think that has been an issue for some time on the coordination side. This might be an opportunity to correct some of that coordination and put it...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just to the Member’s last question, it could be both. It depends on which community and the dynamics of it.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I thank the Member for the suggestion. Yesterday I mentioned that the remaining balance in the NWT Opportunities Fund is earmarked for economic pursuits in the territory. I haven’t seen a proposal. I know the department is working on a proposal on where and how that remaining balance should be spent and whether or not it’s on hydro, I would have to go to the deputy minister. We haven’t seen a plan come through FMB and that should be coming through FMB and hitting my desk, hopefully, sometime very soon. As I mentioned yesterday, when that happens our hope is to be able...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I will have that discussion with my colleague Minister Miltenberger and we’ll get back to the Members on that. We’ll see what we can make happen, Madam Chair. Thank you.