Jane Groenewegen

I’d like to call Committee of the Whole to order. Before we proceed with any business in Committee of the Whole, I’m going to call a break.

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So, nothing about our approval or assessment process has changed specifically in relation to fracking, which is something, as we said, relatively new.

On the issue of a timeline for the kind of things that Minister Miltenberger is referring to, how far down the road of approvals for this activity are we going to go before these things that Mr. Miltenberger refers to are actually in place? Are there a lot of companies out there, or even ConocoPhillips… Is there a lot more of this activity imminent at this time? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I continue to have questions and concerns raised to me by constituents around the issue of fracking in the Northwest Territories. There is so much information out there on this topic. People read it and they are concerned. We’ve had members of the EDI committee who have gone on investigative tours to see how this process is impacting other jurisdictions and this information has come back. I’d like to ask the Minister some really simple questions.

In terms of fracking, what is the status of approvals for this activity in the Northwest Territories at this time? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, another issue that seems to have been brought into this is the issue of the franchise fee. I just happen to have my Yellowknife power bill here. It clearly states in here what the franchise fee is about. Franchise fee is a flow-through fee that is approved by the Public Utilities Board that allows, in tax-based municipalities, the service provider to avoid paying a tax on the land or the infrastructure where transmission is located and then this cost is paid directly to the community by the service provider.

I will quote Mr. Miltenberger again, he said, “I will indicate clearly...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Granted the issue of power rates and how those rates are arrived at are a complicated matter, but I’d like to quote from unedited Hansard from yesterday in the House. I’m quoting Minister Miltenberger. “One of the big factors in Yellowknife and Hay River, plus a couple of small communities, is that there is another power distributor, NUL. While we provide and sell power at wholesale rates, the provider in these communities adds their own costs on top of that, which is why there is such a distinct difference...”

Mr. Miltenberger’s comments imply that there is a different...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to rise today to say what a pleasure it is to have Mr. David Hamilton back in the Chamber today. I was elected, as Mr. Miltenberger was, in 1995, and was greeted by a bigger than life personality that was around this institution at that time and certainly I don’t think you could describe his influence and his work in this Assembly simply as Clerk. Mr. Speaker, I just jotted down a few things. Today in P and P we talked about the team that worked on the building. I think the team was actually a team of one. I think that this building was, in fact, a vision and a...

I would like to call Committee of the Whole back to order. What is the wish of the committee? Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Minister Lafferty. Next for general comments I have Ms. Bisaro.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize in the visitors gallery Sophie Hall, who has been a tireless worker on behalf of French first language education in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Does committee agree?