Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to recognize my constituent, Mr. Rocky Simpson. In a time of economic downturn, he’s fighting the odds and expanding his business at a great pace in Hay River. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 36-16(3), Supplementary Appropriation No. 2 (Infrastructure Expenditures) 2009-2010, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 36-16(3) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 37-16(3), Supplementary Appropriation No. 4, 2008-2009, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 37-16(3) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We all know that we are in unprecedented times of economic downturn and nobody knows what the next newscast or next bad lot of news is going to be. We’ve seen what the federal government has done in terms of the economic stimulus; small things, even, like the home improvement tax rebate. We’re waiting to see what the infrastructure dollars are going to actually bring to the North. Small things again on the part of our government. I want to thank the Minister of ITI for really looking at the SEED program, Support for Entrepreneurs in Economic Development, through our...

Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Yes, I had heard that there were some contractors, rather small contractors, local contractors, that there maybe was an issue with the cash flow on the project and some people who weren’t getting paid. I was just wondering if any of that has been brought to Minister McLeod’s attention. He is the MLA for that area. I was wondering if there were any financial problems being encountered with the drawdown and disbursement of funds to subcontractors. Thank you.

The very thing that makes this a timely discussion is also something quite unprecedented. We’ve just gone through the highest price per barrel of crude oil in history and this necessarily affects production of energy in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, has the government looked at how the increases in the cost of energy here in the Northwest Territories compare with the kinds of increases that have been experienced by Canadians in other jurisdictions? Thank you.

To the review of the Power Corporation and its operations, essentially the Power Corporation gets audited every time they go to the PUB for general rate applications. So we just have been through a GRA; we have just been through a general rate application. I wasn’t there. I don’t know all the ins and outs of the kinds of costs that go into the rates that are set, the kind of return on investment. Were we there at the general rate application proceedings as the Government of the Northwest Territories observing those proceedings? Did we learn anything from that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The analogy that the Premier goes on about extensively is a good analogy. That’s why I think there should be a sequence and order to these reviews. If the NTPC is a delivery vehicle for power to people in the Northwest Territories, let’s review that first before we put the ad in the bargain finder and start trying to figure out how much we’re going to sell the Power Corporation for.

Mr. Speaker, if the review of NTPC were to indicate that there is a more cost-effective and a better, more efficient way of having the Power Corporation operate which would have a positive impact on the rates that people pay in the communities, would that not necessarily impact whether or not we would actually want to entertain the ATCO proposal? I don’t really know all the reasons for entertaining the ATCO proposal, but it seems that the information from one review will have an effect on the necessity of the next one, so I would think it would be wise not to have all of these running...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to speak about some of the reviews that are taking place, which I’m sure people in the public have heard about and are probably becoming thoroughly confused about. I’m having trouble keeping track of them all myself and in the order in which they’re being undertaken.

We know there is an announced review of the ATCO proposal, the unsolicited proposal that came to the Premier’s desk, and it’s being undertaken by the GNWT with a team of senior managers and with the assistance of a former employee of the Auditor General’s office. No terms of reference have...