Michael Miltenberger

Mr. Speaker, a lot of that initial direction was set and laid out as we concluded the budget for this current year. As we look forward to ’09–10, we are looking at, as has been pointed out very clearly, living within our means and what it’s going to take to do that, both on the reduction side and looking at revenue options. We are very, very sensitive, as is every other government and individual, to what’s happening in the economic landscape around the world and in Canada with the markets, the interest rates, the fiscal tightening up and moving into an economic recession. So we have to look...

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to recognize and acknowledge the two pages we’ve had from P.W. Kaeser High School in Fort Smith: Mr. Carson Roach and Adam Gruner, chaperoned by Judy Vendorver.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following documents: NWT 2008 Forest Fire Season Report; Inter-Activity Transfers Exceeding $250,000 for the Period April 1, 2008 to August 31, 2008; Public Accounts of the Government of the Northwest Territories Interim Report for the Year Ended March 31, 2008; and the 2007–2008 54th Annual Report of the Northwest Territories Liquor Commission & Liquor Licensing Board.

Document 1-16(3), Northwest Territories 2008 Forest Fire Season, tabled.

Document 2-16(3), Inter-Activity Transfers Exceeding $250,000 for the Period April 1, 2008 to August 31, 2008...

It has significant weight. I point the Member once again to the business planning process, where that issue will be clearly articulated. There will be an opportunity to talk and review with every department as they review their business plan with the appropriate committee about traditional knowledge and how it’s going to be implemented in those various departments. It’s a cross government initiative. The commitment is to have this once and for all put into practice within the life of the next business planning cycle.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue of traditional knowledge is an important priority for the Government of the Northwest Territories. ENR has continued to work as the lead department with other departments to advance this so that government-wide it’s ready and applicable. We will be speaking to this in the coming weeks as we move forward with the business plan. The commitment will be that within the course of the next round of business plans we will have a government-wide traditional knowledge strategy that is implemented across government.

The Premier has indicated today and it’s been mentioned in the past that we have an opportunity with the work that’s occurred and underway to look at the regulation, the generation and the distribution of power in the Northwest Territories: the subsidies, the differential rate zones that are currently in place, the structure of the Power Corporation. Those are all subjects that are on the table for discussion as we look at dealing with the cost of energy, the cost to the small communities, sustainable communities, conserving energy and greenhouse gas emissions. All those things are now here...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We inherited the Territorial Power Support Program when we took over the Power Corporation in 1988. The 700 kilowatt figure was, as I understand, sort of an average cost for your average household. It’s been there for some time, but I believe it’s for the total cost per household, as opposed to a fridge, a stove and a couple of light bulbs.

How it’s brought in may vary, but the fundamental point is the one that the Member has indicated: the role of the elders, the handing down from generation to generation of traditional knowledge. That will be built in department by department across government. It will all be ready for review as we come forward into the business planning process here in the next number of weeks.

Mr. Speaker, I can give three specific examples. The water strategy we’re working on for the Government of the Northwest Territories has built in as a key component the issue of traditional knowledge as it pertains to water: the decisions made with water, the natural capital and how it fits in with western science.

With things like transportation, for example, I’ve always heard the example of the Trout Lake Airport, where we didn’t listen closely enough to the knowledge of the people on the ground. The airport was located the wrong way.

I remember working with the Member in Health and Social...

Better than that, Mr. Speaker; we’re basically, as a government, reaching out to the Members to say, “Let’s engage together to look at this very complex, difficult subject, in terms of the redesign, the structures” — the very issues that the Members have identified as problematic. The opportunity is here. The work is underway. We’re looking at doing a lot of things in the next number of months that are going to be fundamental in terms of the changes they could bring. Collectively, we could do a very good job of this.