Kevin O'Reilly

Merci, Monsieur le President. As the government consults on its NWT Energy Plan and Climate Change Strategic Framework, one non-governmental organization has done its part in pointing the way to a clean energy future, with minor funding but major commitment. Alternatives North has produced a way forward to 100 per cent conversion to renewable energy for the Northwest Territories.

The analysis is contained in the report "A 100 per cent renewable energy NWT by 2050 – Starting the Conversation," which I tabled in this House on November 2, 2016. It was also the subject of one of the Ledge Talks...

There are, I think, about 10 months between now and the end of the year. I was hoping you could be a little bit more specific here. In this plan, will there be a schedule for implementation? Is there going to be a budget, some resources identified to help carry it out and some public reporting? Is that the sort of thing that we can expect to see inside the plan?

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. Earlier today, I talked about this report from Alternatives North that provides a roadmap to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2050. I am just wondering, as the department is going out doing its consultations on this energy plan, will that sort of perspective, of 100 per cent renewable energy, will that be reflected in what the consultations come up with? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, monsieur le President. I will use my reply to the budget address to set out some of my thoughts on the following: a quick review of what I recommended to the reply to the budget address of 2016; description of the process for 2017 and how it might be improved; and the good, the bad, and the ugly of the 2017-18 budget as proposed by Cabinet.

What did I recommend in my last reply to the budget address in 2016? I recommended the following: open up the budgeting and business plan review to allow for some level of public scrutiny; set firm deadlines around negotiation processes between...

Mr. Speaker, may I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement?

---Unanimous consent granted

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Great to hear that, and I really look forward to the next budget having some investment into renewable energy beyond what we have already. Can the Minister tell me, is part of that energy plan going to be a carbon tax or carbon pricing system for the Northwest Territories? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the response from the Minister. It sounds like that will be one of the scenarios that will be looked at in this NWT energy plan, to get us completely off non-renewable energy. That is great to hear that. I am just wondering, can the Minister give us an update when we can expect to have this energy plan presented to this side of the House? I understand there are still some consultations going on. The latest one is March 8th in Hay River, but when would this side of the House and the public start to see some results?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I'm not sure if she is there anymore, but my wife was in the gallery earlier. She usually just has to hear about these things afterwards, so for her to witness me talking a lot today, that says a lot about that poor woman and her dedication to me.

---Laughter

I do appreciate her presence even if she's not here anymore. I can't quite see. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

I believe I heard the Minister say last week in this House that he was going to personally attend this meeting. Is that the case anymore?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Nailing down this junior kindergarten funding issue is almost as slippery as a dead fish. Congratulations to the Minister; he had a good statement today about full funding. That full funding for junior kindergarten, is it going to include two things, inclusive schooling money for junior kindergarten students and busing costs? Will it include those two things? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.