Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi, Madam Chair. I got confused there because I see a line item of $1.7 million, and she is talking about $4 million here and there. I'm just wondering. It's the contract services on page 248, Madam Chair. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. We are using the GNWT staff, so we are paying back to the GNWT with that money. I also note, down on the contract services, what does that entail, that amount there, $1.7 million?

Mahsi. Mahsi for that. The other one I'm looking at is inspection services. We've got $1.6 million. What type of inspection services are these? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. I am looking under the line item, compliance and licensing. That is a $3-million price tag. Can you explain what this line item entails? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. I have gone past what's there. I was asking a question. How serious are we, as the GNWT government, to look at harnessing biomass energy for the Northwest Territories moving forward to get rid of the greenhouse gas emissions? Like I say, we spend a considerable amount of financial resources buying fuels, paying for fuels. Are we going to get serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions? Where do we have a line item within infrastructure for energy and strategic initiatives, energy department, that shows research and development, and are we going to be serious and start...

Mahsi, Madam Chair. What I notice in the main estimates is that the Arctic Energy Alliance is getting $1.6 million, and biomass energy is only getting $200,000. From what I am hearing and everything, we are getting pretty heavy on getting away from lowering our greenhouse gas emissions overall. It's not going to come overnight, but there were plans to bring those levels down overall. We spend a considerable amount of resources, lots of money, on fuels, whether it be diesel fuels or liquid natural gas, propane.

In the future, it looks like we are looking at biomass, whether it be wood pellets...

Good Lord, did I just waste my breath? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. I just want to touch up on under facilities management. In the small communities, I know the outlying communities, like in Fort Providence and Fort Resolution, they have settlement maintainers. I know it's costing the department quite a bit of money every time one of heating boilers or whatever goes down in either Fort Resolution or Fort Providence. The operating engineers have to come from Hay River, and we don't know if they will come all hours of the night most times. I had brought this up when I was an employee in Infrastructure, but it has not gotten anywhere.

However...

Mahsi, Madam Chair. Contract services, that's not for any specialized services or anything, is it? What type of contract work does this entail? I think you may have answered that before; I'm not sure.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. Most of your contracts for all those services, are they contractors based in the NWT, northern contractors? Mahsi.