Tom Beaulieu

Mahsi cho. We have supported the road recently and we, at one time, had requested infrastructure stimulus funding through the federal government. Unfortunately, that was denied. We recognize that the community needs that road. It’s got huge benefits to the community as it would ultimately run to a gravel source. The full cost of that road to make it accessible for hauling would be $90 million. It’s fairly substantial. So we recognize that we may have to go outside of just a simple Access Roads Program in order to continue to fund this and produce that road in a decent time.

So, as I indicated...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize a couple of Tu Nedhe residents here with us today. They are here for the Cultural and Heritage Awards from the Minister. Rene Fumoleau was awarded the Individual award. He’s from Lutselk’e. Representing the Deninu K’ue First Nation with the Minister’s Choice Award is my cousin Stanley Beck. Thank you.

The reason is because we have the revolving fund and that if we were to subsidize one community, we would have to actually take if from another community. For the most part, as I indicated, each of the communities we try to come in at 100 percent of the actual costs for us to deliver that product to a home. In some communities, the smaller communities we have tried to go below 100 percent cost, and in fact, where the subsidy is not picked up by anyone else, like some of the larger communities, at 100 percent will allow us to bring some of the higher cost fuel prices down, but not lower than 95...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Actually, under the Department of Public Works and Services we have a petroleum products division. That division is created with a Petroleum Products Revolving Fund. We have a certain amount of money that we use to buy fuel in communities where it is not feasible for anybody else to go into the community to sell fuel. We take communities in this Member’s riding, like Jean Marie, Nahanni, Wrigley and Trout, and in those communities no other supplier wishes to go in there and supply fuel because it’s not feasible. We are bringing it in at cost and the cost to distribute...

If we were to change the Petroleum Products Revolving Fund, we would have to come back to the House. This is a fund that’s approved in the House to be able to subsidize or actually deliver fuel to communities where no other individual or private enterprise wishes to venture into. We, as a government, look forward to any community or any organization or industry that wishes to take over delivering fuel. We do it because communities need to have fuel; communities need to have gas. We do it, and we do it at cost.

Like I said, there’s a little bit of flexibility there, but beyond that there is no...

The revolving fund that I spoke of is a fund that is put out by the government. It is, again, intended to provide fuel to communities that otherwise would not be able to have any fuel delivered into the community. Within that revolving fund there is no ability for this department or the petroleum division to subsidize any of the communities that they deliver the fuel to. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m seeking unanimous consent to return to number five on orders of the day.

---Unanimous consent granted

This particular case was a maneuver that had been performed various times by the contractors under the supervision of the Government of the Northwest Territories. The reason that we had received the lion’s share of the fine was because we’re the owner of the contract and that we also owned the ferry. They made a decision in the courts that only a small portion should be administered to the contractor because of the injury that was received on-site. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Members can appreciate, this is a very complex issue with many employees scattered across the North doing many things, and many other people working for the GNWT that are not necessarily employees, but contractors, even down to people who are doing the custodial work in our buildings and so on. So, as I indicated, a complex issue.

The Department of Human Resources is working with all of the departments to strike occupational health and safety committees in the regions and in headquarters and are having regular meetings, trying to put as many safety programs on as...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. I’d like to recognize a couple of constituents of mine in the gallery, Paul Bushey and his son Davis.