Louis Sebert

The Power Corporation participated actively in the drafting of the energy strategy, so I expect that our corporation, the Power Corporation, will be developing alternative renewable energy solutions for the communities of the Northwest Territories. If I could just outline some of the things that we are hoping to do, one of the things that clearly is a priority or a concern of the corporation and all of the communities is to reduce costs, so we are looking at LNG in Fort Simpson and Tuktoyaktuk; reducing emissions; wind, we are looking at possible wind projects in Inuvik, Norman Wells, and...

Yes, there is set-off for some of the costs that we have incurred as a result of the late delivery, in fact, non-delivery of the last two generators. It is expected that overall, however, that the $8 million budget that was anticipated for this will be exceeded by about $500,000. I think the only way of collecting the extra money would be to commence litigation against Virdi. There was a set-off on some of the payments to Virdi, but I don't know whether it will be worthwhile to litigate this in California.

Certain emergency matters can be fast-tracked, but apart from that, it is first come, first served. Corporate applicants or respondents are not given priority over anybody else, and tenant applications are not given priority over landlord applications. We do realize that there is a problem, which was identified in the report that has been referenced. Hopefully, the improvements that we are putting forward, in particular the hiring of a part-time officer to assist, will reduce the wait time, because we do realize this is a very serious matter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As was mentioned in the question and the response to earlier inquiries, we have noted that the complexity of applications has increased over the last few years. I understand that much of that is driven by the increased amount of paperwork that is filed with the applications, dealing such issues as rental arrears, arrears repairs, and other matters, so the applications have become lengthier and therefore more complex. This has of course put pressure on the office administrators' workload, and, in response to this concern about the workload, the position has been reviewed and formalized...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents entitled "Follow-Up Letter for Oral Question 138-18(3) and Oral Question 144-18(3): Rental Office Wait Times in the NWT"; "Follow-Up Letter for Oral Question 150-18(3): Proposed Access to Information and Protection Privacy Legislation"; and "Follow-Up Letter for Oral Question 186-18(3): Perimeter Fence Repair at North Slave Correctional Complex." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Power Corporation, of course, is a publicly regulated utility, so there is the necessity of filing each year or each time there is an increase in front of the PUB, so the process is quite open and transparent. In addition to that, we file annual budgets, capital and operating annual financial performance, and a corporate plan, which will now include a 20-year strategic plan, so the corporation is quite open. We did appear in front of committee and would be prepared to do so again if required or if asked.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of course, in January, the corporation made the determination that they had to terminate the contract because of the non-delivery of the two generators. There was a set-off for some of the costs. I would expect that overall, however, our costs will be more than anticipated because of the necessity of re-contracting for the final two generators. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's not as though the police are only going to these communities in response to criminal activities. So when they do go to the communities, I know their presence is known. I know that, in some of the communities, whether there's a detachment or not, the police are not as busy as they might be, they are quite involved in the communities. So I have no concern about that. Thank you.

In addition, I understand that they will be able to get an audio version if they request. Thank you.

Obviously, that would be an important part of the training. I am not sure whether that specific training has been offered here, yet. Thank you, Mr. Chair.