Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Madam Chair. We as well hope that the Member is never driven to having to unwillingly watch the proceedings on TV to check up on this thing and we intend to honour the commitment that’s laid out here. Thank you.

I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 70, Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), 2016-2017, be read for the second time.

This bill authorizes the Government of the Northwest Territories to make infrastructure expenditures for the 2016-2017 fiscal year. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Member articulately laid out her concern on a previous item similar to this one and we had a good discussion. We agree that we need to try to count better. It’s very difficult to anticipate things like low water, the duration and such, but we are looking at how we can better account for the money and the increasing number of extreme weather expenses that we are being obliged to deal with. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following three documents, entitled “Environment and Natural Resources Strategic Plan 2015-2020,” “Conference of Management Authorities 2014-2015 Annual Report” and “Northwest Territories Species at Risk Committee Annual Report 2014-2015.” Thank you.

As we were dealing with the low water, we were also burdened with a major retrofit of one of the big turbines out at Snare, which is costing in the many millions of dollars. At the same time across the system, if that’s the question, we’ve done things like push for the conclusion in the thermal small communities that the transfer or the completion, sorry, the replacement of existing high use, high cost of sodium vapor lights, streetlights with LED lights. We’ve, of course, worked with the government to put in alternate energy replacements with solar batteries; we’ve concluded the operation in...

I don’t believe it’s unbalanced. Yellowknife also has just about 20,000 people, the majority of establishments and the majority of people in a high, high influx as a territorial centre where folks come in and out of town. So they have way more volumes than anywhere else as well.

Thank you, Madam Chair. As the appropriation for the previous low water surcharge was spent, the Public Utilities Board wanted to know, given the fact that the low water issue was continuing, what was the intention of the government and what was the intention, then, of the Power Corporation to respond? Were we going to raise rates or was there going to be some other accommodation made. We were monitoring the volumes of flows, the needs, the extent of the low water, and we wanted to be as clear as possible and see what was going to happen. So they wanted to know fairly early in June, if my...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t believe anybody is being unfairly targeted. Thank you.

One of the big areas has been on the preparedness with emergency firefighters and extra crews that were trained and standing by and ready to roll that were there right from the start last year. The year before last we were gearing up just because of the unprecedented nature and trying to recruit emergency firefighters. We had an amazing response, but this year we’ve kept it in place. We’ve worked on the training, so we now have a cadre of trained emergency firefighters. We’ve worked a lot on our communications. We’ve had the benefit this year of the weather that worked in our favour. We’ve had...

Thank you, Madam Chair. We anticipate that this is the final supp that will be required. Thank you.