Frame Lake

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 43)

Thanks to the Minister for confirming that the large emitters are not going to be contributing towards energy investments for communities and households.

Regular MLAs and the public have been waiting patiently for the costed action plan for the Climate Change Strategic Framework, and that is a key part of our climate change plan. That includes carbon pricing. We have had an action plan for the Energy Strategy since May. Can the Minister tell us when the Regular MLAs and the public will get a costed action plan for the Climate Change Strategic Framework and why this is so out of sync with the...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 43)

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Finance, who is in charge of carbon pricing.

The Minister has said that we haven't quite signed onto carbon pricing by stating that a memorandum of understanding is yet to be completed. Can the Minister explain what this memorandum of understanding is all about and whether there is a deadline for its completion? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 43)

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yes, okay. The document the Minister is going to give us is only going to deal with the O and M side. I will double check myself, but I understood that this gap also was on a capital side, and that's why I'm raising it here. I know some folks don't want us to talk about O and M, but I am talking about capital. As I understood, that municipal funding gap review also had a capital component. I look forward, if the Minister can clarify that when he provides the additional information, that will be much appreciated. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 43)

Merci, Monsieur le President. The recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says we are already seeing the consequences of a 1-degree Celsius increase in global warming. There is more extreme weather and diminishing Arctic sea ice among other changes. Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius would require "rapid, far-reaching, and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society." Ninety-one authors and review editors from 40 countries prepared the report with more than 6,000 scientific references cited.

The good news is that some of the kinds of actions that we...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 43)

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Okay, so we are going to have a recalculated figure. That figure, can someone tell me how it is actually calculated? I know there is some sort of an inventory that the department has prepared, a condition of buildings and infrastructure changes over time. Presumably, somebody's going to have to go out and look at some of that stuff again. Can I get just a bit of a general explanation of how that figure is arrived at? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 43)

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that. I look forward to getting the document in February. Can the Minister tell us whether the gap itself has been recalculated? Obviously, as we move forward in time, infrastructure changes, cost of living increases and so on. Does the department actually recalculate this on a regular basis? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 43)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Now that the clock has almost run out, I do have some bigger-picture concerns with the capital budget that I think have been articulated by some of my colleagues, as well. There's an overwhelming focus on roads again, and I understand that some of this is related to federal funding, but I notice, and I've said in the House, that our sister territory Nunavut has found ways to support public housing to a greater extent than we have through federal infrastructure funding. I'm concerned about the local government funding gap, the municipal funding gap, that we had identified...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 43)

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yes, I look forward to the Minister then finding a way to make that information public, whether he tables it in the House or posts it on the Department of Finance website. Those are my two suggestions.

I've heard some concerns from Regular MLAs, and I too have concerns about the amount of carry-overs. Can the Minister tell us: is there a percentage of the capital budget that really represents carry-overs or a dollar amount that would allow us to understand what the carry-overs are from previous years? Can the Minister provide that information? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 43)

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I do have some general questions for the Minister, so I would like to start with whether there have been any calculations done to ensure that the capital budget fully complies with the fiscal responsibility policy. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 43)

Merci, Monsieur le President. Thanks to the Minister. I look forward to seeing this draft action plan.

The carbon tax plan released by the Minister in July does not contain any information or analysis of other scenarios or approaches, including the federal backstop. The federal government just announced how funds will be redistributed in jurisdictions that do not have a federally approved scheme. It is not clear to me whether our government has actually done any analysis on the federal backstop.

Can the Minister explain whether the work on an NWT carbon tax considered other scenarios, including...