Ronald Bonnetrouge

Vision from 2020 was founded upon the goal of reducing imported fuels and greater utilization of local and renewable forms of energy. Can the Premier commit to developing a comprehensive biomass strategy that can be utilized by all departments, including NTPC?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I do notice that former Premiers' photos are in the past energy reports, so my questions are for the Premier even though her photo is not in one yet. The Premier must be aware of the need to get a grip on the escalating cost of living in the territory. Has the Premier provided direction to Cabinet to come up with innovative ways for energy savings to curb the cost of living? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All my questions are all related to biomass strategy and not to liquid fuels. Electricity rates keep climbing every time the price of diesel goes up. I note the hydro dams and plants burn up a significant amount of diesel to operate. Can the Premier or Infrastructure Minister commit to having NTPC find innovative strategies to lowering their greenhouse gas emissions using biomass, and that, in turn, lowers the cost of electricity customers have to pay? Mahsi.

Some of the largest energy users of fossil fuels are the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, and Marine Transportation Services. Can the Premier commit to directing the departments to submit energy plans to guide the long-term development of secure, affordable, and sustainable energy for transportation, heat, and electricity?

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...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I support the motion. For far too long, we've had lots of racist overtones happening to our people. It has currently been happening in my community for well over a year at a specific institution that I probably have mentioned many times in the House and within meetings, and it is still continuing to this day. I made a Member's statement on it, and I don't want to have to go through it all. Mr. Speaker, I do support the motion. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Systemic racism is alive and well within our society. It may not be physically prevalent but does hide behind closed doors and closed minds. Systemic racism is an action that is common to a system such as racism in society. As Indigenous people, we face systemic racism on a daily basis. Just the colour of your skin, the fact that you have a treaty number, the community you live in, the crowd that you hang around with, the people who you represent as a leader, those contribute to the harsh realities of systemic racism. This can happen at schools, stores, hockey rinks, even...

Mahsi, Madam Chair. Mahsi for that answer. You are mentioning that it's electrical, boiler, gas, and electrical. That sounds very familiar because we do have those safety services within the GNWT, whether it's under Infrastructure. Are these the people who you are actually using who are within government? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. You mentioned maintenance in there. Can you tell me what you mean by maintenance in there? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. I am just wondering because I know you are just listing what you currently have. I am looking for a research and development section of everything so that we look at biomass seriously. It should be a separate report saying, "Hey. This is what we are looking at," and the different types of biomass energy. I have a problem with just keeping it within Infrastructure because the NWT Housing Corporation needs help to address harnessing biomass energy in our communities up and down the valley. It went from 2,400 units to 2,600 units, and I heard now there was 2,900 units, and...