Michael Miltenberger

The majority of those positions are tied specifically to the operation of the Snare system and, of course, the Jackfish plant and Bluefish, as well, in the larger service area that we do have. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories Power Corporation is working to provide residents, communities and businesses of the Northwest Territories with a safe and reliable source of electricity that is both cost effective and environmentally sustainable.

NTPC’s renewed strategic plan is aligned with a number of this Assembly’s key strategies, from the Greenhouse Gas Strategy, the Biomass Energy Strategy and the Solar Strategy, to the Energy Plan and Power System Plan that will soon be tabled in the Legislature.

NTPC plays a critical role in our government’s plan to move the territory’s energy...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just appreciate the Member’s comments. Thank you.

Yes, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents, entitled A Powerful Past: 2013 Annual Report, Northwest Territories Power Corporation; and Northwest Territories Hydro Corporation Annual Report, March 31, 2013. Mr. Speaker, I also wish to table the following two documents, entitled Public Accounts 2012-2013, and List of Interactivity Transfers Exceeding $250,000 for the Period April 1 to September 30, 2013.

Thank you. I have a note here from the president and one of his comments is they are in fact struggling to fit everyone in on the second floor of the Hay River head office building where engineering is located. But, yes, we will commit to make sure that all the positions in Yellowknife are required and, of course, being from Fort Smith where we have almost no NTPC presence…

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Roughly about 45, I believe. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is my third go around with this type of report and debate. The hard issue that tends to get overlooked every time is the fundamental discussion of how many MLAs do we think we need in the Northwest Territories to run the government, and work back from there and design our system. We tend to want to follow the line of least resistance, which is either the status quo or just add more. It’s very similar to some of the budgeting processes where we very rarely cut government. We tend to just add more because it’s easier to add than it is to cut.

I know we have the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is an important discussion to have in a thorough, measured way, and I do agree with Madam Groenewegen’s concern that this has been an intense time here. There’s been a lot of emotion and a lot of debate, and it’s late. This thing deserves better from all of us. We clearly want to look at how we do this, because I’ve been in five elections, I’ve been through this process three times, and I can tell you, the process needs adjusting or fixing.

It’s not that we give up our authority. Our job, in my mind, the more I think about this and I’ve been watching over the years...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document, entitled Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditure), No. 1, 2014-2015. Thank you.