Floyd Roland

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In July 2009 the Northern Leaders’ Forum was created as a means for all leaders in our territory to work collectively to advance the interests of our territory and its residents. As a foundation, we set out the task of developing a common vision and roadmap for the future of the NWT.

In varying ways, members of the Northern Leaders’ Forum engaged their respective constituents asking them to describe the future that they envisioned for themselves and their territory; to identify areas of common importance and concern and to articulate the direction and growth that they...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled Report Respecting Benefits Paid to Ministers under the Ministerial Benefits Policies for the Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 2011.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document: Forging the Future – Anchored in Our Past, Building on Our Present: Summary of People’s Perspectives on a Vision for the Northwest Territories and Planting the Seeds to Achieve It.

Thank you. We know that the groups have been working in the North with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and have been looking to get additional support for some of the travel costs. Right now we’re limited to what we can do in in-kind support or with volunteers, with office space, with residential occupancy areas of trying to make some of our facilities open to them. So that’s the extent of what we’ve been focusing on doing.

We don’t have a budget line right now for travel, for example, and we know that a number of groups have been working with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to...

Thank you. The process underway is working with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. They’re running and we’re supporting them in their work and delivery within the community. I can’t speak to it and I’d have to find out if there’s a process of if they’ve invited those within our correctional facilities. I think that when you look at the programs and services, that we do provide those who are in the facilities the counselling opportunities, on the land. In cases, we’ve reached out and tried to provide our own counselling over the years.

When this became a growing matter across Canada and...

Again, as I was saying earlier, we are aware that Alberta is going through a number of critical changes in its power generation moving away from coal-fired generation, having to replace it with either natural gas generation or clean hydro as a potential. We know that there are opportunities available. We have had that initial discussion to begin looking at that to see if there’s an economic base there where we can open that up, and that would also help us with our industry side here in the North when it comes to anchor tenants.

If there’s that grid connection, that means at times when they don...

The work that we have done around the Hydro Strategy and, more specifically, on the Taltson, as the information has become available, it’s caused us to have another look at how we would continue with the work that’s been done on Taltson, looking at the grid connections here in the Northwest Territories as well as to southern potential customer base that is there. We know that Alberta is going through quite a process of having to remove its coal generation, so there’s a potentially large client there.

One of the meetings I’ve had with the chair of the corporation, and he shared this with the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is an honour to introduce in our gallery Premier for the day, Ms. Erin Nadli, who has come to watch our session and been involved in a number of things today, accompanied by her mother, Paschalina Nadli, and her aunt Edith Squirrel, and also accompanied by our intern at our press office, Victoria.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents entitled Northwest Territories Power Corporation 2009-2010 Annual Report and Northwest Territories Hydro Corporation 2009-2010 Annual Report.

I don’t have any of that information available to me at this point, so I’ll have to take the question as notice.