Floyd Roland

Mr. Speaker, I’m hopeful that we will be able to come up with a game plan for the Territories. Again, we’re working off the work of previous Assemblies with an agreement that was put on the table. We know what the federal government has sent back on revenue sharing and the cap. We stated that that’s not a level we are ready to sign off on. We continue to work with the regional leadership on how we can move this forward. In fact, we will be discussing the last correspondence I had with the Prime Minister, as well, and then, hopefully, see if we can move that along any further.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Power Corporation General Rate Application or the rate rider application that is being looked at right now, that the Member’s pointed out, is to deal with the past expenses of the Power Corporation on fuel prices. In fact, it goes back quite a number of months, so it’s a makeup for loss of money that was looked at when they went through the general rate rider application over a year ago. So that makes up some of the issues not for going ahead.... It is more dealing with the costs that the Power Corporation had to deal with.

Mr. Speaker, maybe I should take a better look at my Members’ portion of benefits. The ministerial piece is $1,500 for the year, and it covers other expenses that Members who are Ministers would incur in their duties, whether it is in the capital or when they are travelling, to cover off some of the additional costs that one would run across.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Executive Council, as well as the Legislative Assembly Act, covers a number of areas. The Executive piece is following work that was done by previous governments and put into place, in fact, to kick in with this the 16th Legislative Assembly.

The work was done prior to this Assembly. It came into effect, and in fact, this tabling of this information is the first time we are putting it forward for information for the public.

Mr. Speaker, one of the things we’ve done in looking at the potential shortage is to make sure we’ve got our bases covered for our facilities and assets in communities. We would be prepared to work with the private sector if a scenario were to arise that there needed to be some movement there. Of course, we’d be working with that.

Mr. Speaker, the Member is talking about an “if” scenario, and it’s pretty hard to look at that option. We haven’t been contacted by any of the fuelling operations here — for example, in the capital — about any concerns.

Mr. Speaker, in making a decision as to whether to go to any meeting, whether it’s provincial/territorial or FPT, in this situation one weighs all the options and tries to get as much information as possible. I was aware that there is going to be a First Ministers’ meeting with the same subject matter: the economy and the impact it will have on Canada. At that next meeting we will have the Prime Minister there, and that would lead to a more fulsome discussion about the initiatives that may be taken or may not be taken. That’s what I weighed.

In fact, as well, we had communications go down the...

Mr. Speaker, I think the Member can answer that question by looking at the Hansard that was taking place, printed in this House, and what was happening. The fact is, in operating as we do, in a consensus style government we have to weigh the options of where we go and the influence we may have at a certain meeting. I kept in touch with the Chair of the Council of the Federation, Premier Charest, and followed up with him and will look to have another meeting with him directly in the weeks coming.

I agree to disagree, is maybe the term we can use. I look at the cost of living and I think a lot of us look at the cost of living as what we have pay out of our pockets to survive here in the Northwest Territories. Some of our steps are taken to mitigate that cost of living.

I agree that the cost for the real product is still there, and we have to work with that. For example, one of the other things we are working on through the Minister of ENR and his department, along with the Arctic Energy Alliance, I believe, is rebates on stoves and other equipment for homes. That, in the short term, can...

Mr. Speaker, the process the Power Corp has looked at…. It has in fact joined the Department of Public Works and Services’ Petroleum Products Division so that they can bring the volumes to a larger amount, thereby seeing some additional savings. We are topped up in most communities because of a resupply scenario by barge, which has to be done in our spring and summer operation. Unfortunately, this year it was one of the highest prices we faced, and that’s an issue that we’re all going to have to face as the colder temperatures hit us. We’re looking at options where we can try to lessen the...

I would agree with what the Member stated. The way we look at how we generate our electricity costs or just the generation of electricity and how it’s distributed across the North and then how we as a government deal with that side of it…. Again, our Territorial Power Support Program does limit and help with the cost of living in our more remote communities. If that full cost was passed on, then more dollars out of our constituents’ pockets would be spent on just utilities.

But we do need to look at other things. That is why, for example, the discussion paper has been launched by Minister Bob...