Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation is dictating to the communities as to the types of new housing to be built in their community.

Mr. Speaker, it's as if the Housing Corporation has free rein in the communities and decides where in the community they will build.

Typically, back in the good old days, anyone or any organization wanting to conduct any type of business or new builds in the community would consult with the various leadership organizations of their intentions. Mr. Speaker, this is meaningful consultation, and any time this path is taken, it...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker and mahsi to the Minister for that and her willingness to follow up with the LHO. She mentioned stickbuilt, but I was hearing otherwise. There was talk that these units will be sandwich panel construction with the panels being built by a Yellowknife company.

Has there been a cost benefit analysis or cost comparison to determine if this method has significant savings versus stickbuilt construction?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to first thank the NWT Housing Corporation for the units that are going into my community this year. It's very much appreciated. Mr. Speaker, my Member's statement expressed concerns with the lack of consultations with the communities by the housing corporation.

My question to the Minister is why is there no consultations with the communities, especially the local housing organizations' board of directors.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. It has been another long, arduous year, ending with capital acquisition plans, business plans, and the cream of the crop, the main estimates. These exercises are a necessary evil as they set the departmental budgets for the upcoming new fiscal year. What I mean by "necessary evil" is the many long hours reviewing departmental budgets and then doing it all over again in its final stages during the Committee of the Whole. This entailed all 19 Members to be present and work together to come up with the final budget that is somewhat satisfactory to Regular MLAs on this side of...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I've been known to state that when the price of diesel goes up, so does my power bill. Can the Minister confirm or elaborate whether power rates go down when the price of diesel drops? Mahsi.

Mahsi to the Minister for that. The GNWT Infrastructure Department has an energy division that looks at alternate sources of energy. Perhaps they have information on biomass generating electricity. Can the Minister ensure NTPC collaborates with the energy division to come up with greenhouse gas emission-cutting alternative sources of generating electricity?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The Northwest Territories Power Corporation was established in 1988 and is the largest supplier of electricity in the Northwest Territories. According to the 2019-2020 annual report, they were to ensure continued reliability of electricity systems and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Their mission statement is to generate, transmit, and distribute clean, reliable, and affordable energy to the residents of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, they also note having 26 diesel plants. NTPC announced new projects to include a refurbishment of the Taltson hydro-electric...

I note that NTPC has incorporated LNG use at the Inuvik power plant and the soon-to-be new electricity generating plant at Fort Simpson. Can the Minister elaborate as to why these have gone to LNG rather than diesel?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. NTPC has had its work cut out for them since its inception in 1988. Supplying power to a vast territory covering the large landmass with a small population sure has its challenges. Can the Minister elaborate on how NTPC expects to cut greenhouse gas emissions when they are increasing diesel generating plants on top of what they currently have? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The cost of living in the Northwest Territories keeps rising year in and year out. Every time the cost of diesel goes up, so does the power bill, skyrocketing costs of groceries, cost to repair appliances, cars, trucks, and all-terrain vehicles.

Mr. Speaker, our message for staycations will come at a cost. There's a document from the 17th Legislative Assembly entitled "A Vision For Energy In The Northwest Territories which states, "There's a great deal of consensus across the Northwest Territories on the need to reduce our high costs of energy and the impacts of our energy...