Thebacha

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 21)

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.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 21)

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.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 21)

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.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 21)

Of the 139 non-subsidized public housing applications that were filed in 2016-2017, 51 of them involved individual landlords as applicants or as respondents to a tenant application. I would assume the rest were corporate.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 21)

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department, of course, did review the recommendation, and the act has been amended several times in the last few years. There were significant amendments made in 2015. In the last 10 years, there have been amendments in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2017, so there have been significant amendments, often in response to suggested amendments from the office. Some of the amendments that we have made this year is to permit the filing of rental officer orders in the Supreme Court registry and the authority to rental officers to correct minor errors in their...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 21)

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...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 21)

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.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 20)

I rather doubt that we would be training all officers, but three certainly does not seem to be very many. I understand that a funding proposal was launched in mid-February. They expect to finalize the proposal by March. The GNWT has been informed by Public Safety Canada that areas of funding will include -- I am reading here -- "investments to increase capacity of police services to train members as drug recognition experts (DRE), investments to increase capacity of police services to train members in standardized field sobriety testing, and investments to purchase oral fluid testing devices."...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 20)

First of all, Mr. Chair, I want to say that there have been no financial reductions at the corrections facilities that I am aware of, and I also understood that senior staff are meeting with corrections officers on a regular basis to inform them of any changes in programming. Thank you.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 20)

Yes, Mr. Chair. I think we could provide a history of when the rates changed over time, going back some time. I am not sure how long. Thank you.