Michael Miltenberger

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...

The Premier is the Minister responsible for the Power Corporation and has already indicated through questions in the House — and it’s been well discussed with Members in other settings — that there’s an opportunity here, as we look at the electrical rate review, the energy strategy and all the energy priorities that we’re developing, to take a very fundamental look at the Power Corporation — the regulatory regime, how we generate and distribute electricity. I think that opportunity is there. Through that process, if a regular, built in review is deemed appropriate, that would be the venue to...

Mr. Speaker, I arise galvanized by my colleague’s questions to respond with alacrity and great definity.

Mr. Speaker, we have the opportunity, through the strategic plans…. For example, the Housing Corporation has just incorporated an accompanying action plan to look at having that built in. The government is moving, too, across the board for all the departments to have strategic plans. I’m sure they’re the same discussions we had in regard to the Power Corporation, and that is what is deemed beneficial or essential. So I think the opportunity’s there to look at those processes, especially if...

We provided the Members information over a four year period both by constituency and by community to give Members a sense of the money that was spent. We managed to get the housing dollars as well as the money contributed by MACA, which makes for a significant amount of money that we are spreading across the North.

We want to be very careful as we look at per capita. It’s one of the issues we always take exception to when we deal with the federal government when they want to allocate the money that they have on a per capita basis, because invariably, because of the small size of our...

Mr. Speaker, firstly, I would differ somewhat from the Member’s characterization that the system is not working. It’s working, and I think that for the most part it works well. In some cases it may not be working as well as we would like, but I think overall…. We’ve been evolving this process for many, many decades now.

We have come up with what we think are the latest improvements, where we will commit to providing a ten year retrospective for Members. We’ll look at the 20-year plan going forward. We’re going to get feedback, we hope, from committee in terms of the process and steps that are...

I as well would like to recognize J.M. Miltenberger, the younger — my brother Jean-Marc Miltenberger, a successful businessman and mayor of Hay River.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Friday, October 24, 2008, I will move that Bill 6, Species at Risk (NWT) Act, be read for the first time.

Mr. Speaker, my assumption was that I was stating quite unequivocally that there’s an opportunity here through the strategic planning process that departments are moving to and that corporations like the Housing Corporation have moved to, to build that process in. If that is something that is deemed appropriate, through the discussions in the House and as we go through the business planning process in the coming week, and that is an issue that has value enough built into the way we do business, then the opportunity is there through that process. As I understood the Member to say, in his mind...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t feel that I’m newly minted. I’ve been the Minister now for four months, and I’ve had four months of hard riding on me. I feel I’m, I think, ready to roll — seasoned, as the Member says.

The issue of performance reviews. There are annual financial audits done. We have the ability though motions and requests to get the Auditor General in to look at Crown corporations. We’ve just structured a program review committee in government that’s going to start looking at the operations of government. As well, we have the opportunity, as has been mentioned in this House and...

We work with a committee of deputies. We work with the Cabinet. We work with committees to review the plans. We’re committed to reviewing and updating the 20 year plan. We started a new process this year. We have an infrastructure committee that’s at work on improvements to the capital planning process.

This new staging of the process in the fall, for example, is one of those significant improvements that we brought forward collectively. We’re going to look to what other advice the infrastructure committee brings forward and, as well, whatever input the committee and Regular Members would...