Michael Miltenberger

Yes, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am requesting to return to item 5 on the agenda.

---Unanimous consent granted

We are working closely with the current federal regulator, which is the National Energy Board. They’ve just released their filing requirements a few weeks back as it pertains to hydraulic fracturing on their requirements. For example, the disclosure is there of fluids on a voluntary basis. They are encouraging industry to make sure that they do disclose. We are told as a government that it’s an industry best practice that there be public disclosure. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers agrees. We are working with all the various parties to come up with a guidance document. So this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today the news came out that ConocoPhillips got approval for their application. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I don’t think any human system, any tax system or any reporting system is foolproof, so I can’t give that ironclad guarantee. I can tell you we have a system that we believe is effective. We have a lot of very helpful feedback and advice from the Member. We’ve exchanged ideas. We’ve put into effect some of the recommendations he’s made and we are taxing due diligence. We are confident that the system we have is effective. We are going to make improvements like having all the black stock cigarettes are going to now move towards getting them so they have a mark and they are marked...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the Member’s statement he made some very clear comments about the public purse and having to mind the public purse. It’s an issue that we are, of course, very aware of. We work collectively on that all the time. We have an Aa1 credit rating. We have the lowest debt to GDP ratio in the country. Our debt servicing costs are the lowest in the country. We just tabled our public accounts information. We just approved our capital budget.

As we look at the revenues, of course, we also have to look at the other side of the equation, which is managing expenditures and...

The NTPC rate zone cost for residential for all communities is 18.73 cents. The wholesale rate to NUL in Hay River is 9.66 cents. The Northland Utilities power rate in Hay River is 31.26 cents. But, yes, those are all agreed to by the communities. The communities make their decision and it’s all approved through the regulatory process. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Power Corporation puts in general rate applications based on thermal zone and hydro zone. They generate and distribute. Northland Utilities operates and distributes, they don’t generate, and they look at their business on a community-by-community basis. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this relatively rare opportunity to recognize a very important person who has the patience of Job, my dearly beloved, Jeri.

We are collectively in the practice of managing risk. In this case, we are doing that and I’m of the opinion – and I’ve stated this already and I will restate that for the Member – as a government that we can manage that risk. There are things we have to do for clarity, for prudence on a go-forward basis and devolution is going to allow us to do some of those things. Thank you.