Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Madam Speaker. To use a phrase used in this House by you, we are looking to see if we can do things better. Clearly, we started back in 2007 or thereabouts with the Greenhouse Gas Strategy. We have worked our way through or are partway through the second iteration and we’re going to be looking at what improvements can be made to our work, to the significant investments that we make to the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee and to new initiatives, and how do we look at and measure what’s most effective in achieving the various goals. Thank you.

Madam Speaker, we are collating all the greenhouse gas savings that we can across the territory. Absolutely, Diavik deserves full credit. If the Member says they are valuable credits, if it’s political credit, absolutely. If they’re using them for some type of carbon trading credit, that’s totally their purview, but when we look at the success in the Northwest Territories, we can’t just look at government. We have a very significant private sector and industry, the diamond mines, and Diavik has, in fact, invested money. It’s saving millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases and it’s something that...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. After the number of years we’ve been in the House together, nothing the Member asks surprises me any further. Thank you.

---Laughter

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise on a point of order today under clause 23(m) which states, “In debate, a Member will be called to order by the Speaker if the Member introduces any matter in debate that offends the practices and precedents of this Assembly.”

I’ve waited until today, Madam Speaker, to look at Hansard to make sure of the remarks. Yesterday during question period and I quote from page 18 of the unedited Hansard from Wednesday, February 12, 2014, “We’ve heard that deputy ministers will move money that is intended for human resources over to projects because they want to fulfil...

Thank you. I’m not sure if that’s code for carbon tax, but we’re prepared to look at all these tools. In fact, we have looked extensively at a carbon tax, as well, and what systemic changes are there, policy changes, legislative changes that are there when you look at our environment, our cold weather environment, the fact that we rely so heavily for diesel for heating at this point, the high cost of living within those factors. Of course, we are always looking to see what we can do, which is why we’re spending so much money on biomass, trying to advance solar, wind, batteries, we’re looking...

Madam Speaker, rather than debate the details of the policy approaches, I’m not sure what suggestions the Member has in mind. For example, we would be more than willing to appear before committee with all the appropriate folks to have a discussion about those detailed issues.

Right now we are spending millions on rebate programs, support programs, incentive programs to encourage individuals and businesses to convert. As a territorial government, we have embarked upon a government-wide biomass retrofit process, in some cases with hydro as well. So we have, I believe, moved past the one-off pilot...

I can appreciate the Member’s concern and his patience and his resolute pursuit of this issue along with his other colleagues from small communities. What I would suggest, since he’s referred to and looking for hope potentially, in his mind, with the review of vacancies that the committee asked yesterday for some more detailed information and we are in the process of finalizing that information. But once that information is reviewed and we all have a common understanding of the breakdown of the numbers, which I think will meet the concern of the Members, then we can have a more informed...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll speak first, of course, to the fiscal reality that we face, which the Member is very conversant with and well aware of. I can also speak to the fact that there are health and safety issues for employees now. It’s no longer a case of one nurse or one RCMP, but it’s going to be two or maybe even three to cover off all of these health and safety issues, which gets back to being a significant cost factor.

We are trying to profile our resources to make sure that we provide coverage for health and social services and for the RCMP to provide that security and comfort to...

We have collectively approved in this House every budget that comes before it that runs the Government of the Northwest Territories. This is my 19th year, so I’ve been through the budget cycle 19 times. I believe my colleague has been through that cycle 10 times. This issue of vacancies has come up periodically about what’s happening, what’s the vacancy rate and what are we doing to fill them, all legitimate questions. The Member now has taken it to another level where he’s implying that there’s some kind of conspiracy and planned wrongdoing here, and there isn’t, Mr. Speaker.

We have numbers...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No.