Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just quickly on a couple of the items. I understand the bridge for the Willow River is in Inuvik just waiting to be hauled over to Aklavik so it can be put in in the coming year. So, very timely as you think about it.

The extension of the ferry or the changing of the ferry, I think that’s a discussion you’ll need to have with Transportation. My understanding is there is significant differences in the ice and how hard the ice freezes up north as opposed to much softer ice and the way it freezes down on the Mackenzie at Providence, but the Minister is listening closely...

We’re going to continue to talk about our own employees negotiating very competitive wage packages where some of our teachers, for example, are some of the best paid in the country. We are going to be talking in an Energy Charrette about the need to look at the issue of type of generation, and we’re going to indicate as a government that we’re prepared to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to deal with the generation issues that have a direct effect and impact on the cost of living tied to energy requirements that the Territorial Power Support Program we currently have does not benefit...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the Member’s comments, the overall support. I’m not wanting to look like I’m just pushing off his issues, but he has made some very specific comments about new units, burned units. I’ll leave those for Minister McLeod.

The issue of upgrading a 38-year-old loader as being too old, at 63 I get really sensitive about replacing things that are too old, but the Minister of Transportation will deal with that issue in detail as well as the discussion about the ferry.

The good news is, as we’ve pointed out previously to Minister Moses, with the Building Canada on...

I would be happy to share with the Member the analysis that was done last time this issue was discussed among the three territories. There’s a benefit to higher wage earners, but overall, the general consensus from the three territories was it’s not something that would directly benefit Northerners overall or the territories as a whole. I would be happy to share that information with the Member and we could always revisit it once again as well.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Member commented about the millions that we’ve spent, and we have, since the last government. In the last government I think we earmarked about $60 million, and this government has continued to spend additional millions on things like biomass, solar, wind, looking at other alternatives, energy conservation. We’ve spent money probing out the issues tied to the connecting of the Taltson grid and the Snare system with an intertie to the south. We took the approach that if we created a market for biomass, which we have done both with our own facilities and with the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Not recently.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to thank the Member for his comments. I’ve been now in this Chamber with the Member, this is going on our eighth year and I just made note of one of his comments that I put quotation marks around. I never thought I’d hear him say this in the House, and maybe he’ll say I’ve taken it out of context, but I was quite struck by his comment about how we have to be conservative. That’s not something I would normally tie to the Member.

The question I would ask, and we have to ask, is: How do we build the territory, and what investments do we make, and what are...

On a go forward basis, the Member is correct, when you do a renovation as opposed to a new build, there has to be these extra, very critical steps taken to protect the quality of the air, infection control and those types of things. I know this personally, as well, because we just went through that situation at the health centre in Fort Smith. It requires that extra special step which will be done. We will ensure that, of course, we will use all the resources available, including all the human resources available. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I was going to raise the same concern, because I could have the appropriate deputies here to have that fulsome discussion. But in regard to the question, there was no lapsed funding that we can detail to the penny where the funds were spent. Things, start-up costs, there were big-ticket items like the payment for the gravel are two that come to mind. I’d also point out that the first year was the toughest when it came to the amount of culverts and bridges and terrain to cross. So that big piece has been done and on a go forward basis it’s considerably less onerous when...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There has been no final determination as to what is going to transpire or even if there is going to be any layoffs. There are some things being considered as part of the P3 process and what services and what requirements will be in the final agreed to RFP. So when we have that certainly, we will be sharing it with all affected parties as well as all the MLAs. Thank you.