Wally Schumann
Statements in Debates
I'd gladly sit down with the Member and the proponents of the Canadian Natural Gas Proposal, whatever their legal entity name is, and the people who want to discuss it, and look at opportunities for the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As of late, when we are at the Mineral Roundup, that group was there and I had a chat with them, and they have sent me a proposal of how they see they can use the Cameron Hills LNG possibly in the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I'd like to recognize Braden McCullough, a very good friend of my son's, who lives here in Yellowknife, and it's her first time here to the Assembly.
The government is committed to investing in all of the communities in the Northwest Territories, but, in particular in the Sahtu, we have completed a biomass heating which was installed in the schools in Tulita and Fort Good Hope last year; we hope to expand the wood pellet use in the Sahtu region; we have the wind monitoring that will be getting under way very soon in Norman Wells, as that is one of the sites that has the potential to put a windmill in there; we have solar still being considered for a number of communities in the Sahtu; and I think there is some considerable potential that...
We believe that transitioning to a strong, healthy economy that is less reliant on diesel fuel is to the benefit of all residents and communities in the Northwest Territories. To secure sustainable sources of energy, we will help to stabilize the cost of living as we move forward, as the new technologies come along and as the new infrastructure money rolls out. That is why we have developed our 2030 energy strategy that I have talked about, which we have engaged with communities to find solutions and set long-term targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the Northwest Territories, from...
The department always has ongoing discussions with the people of Aklavik who have applied for this funding. There are ongoing engineering and technical challenges that need to be worked out, and the department is working with them. As I've said, the CAP funding is on a first-come-first-served basis, and the community has done very well on it, and we're looking at if we're going to be able to fund them this year as well.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We've worked diligently with the community of Aklavik on this road and bridge project for the Richardson Mountains. They've accessed the CAP funding since 2011, and they do have a new proposal in right now to the department that's having a look at it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Member is talking about, maybe, the original proposal which they had submitted previous to both him and me being elected to the Legislative Assembly. The latest one they've sent me, they revised their proposal, and it is a different approach of how they can use the gas out of the Cameron Hills, ship it to Alberta, process it just across the border, and then be able to sell it back to proponents in the Northwest Territories, being either NTPC or a mining company or something like that.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. LNG is used specifically in Inuvik right now, as well all know. As we develop our 2030 Energy Strategy and our energy plan going forward, LNG is a significant part of that, to reduce our greenhouse house gas emissions. When we roll that out later this spring, we will see the opportunities that are available to residents of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We have our web page where we continually update the highway conditions of the highways in the Northwest Territories. The department also uses Twitter on a lot of occasions, because I always re-tweet out what the department is putting out there, from waits on winter roads to closures of the Dempster and such.
On the Tuktoyaktuk to Inuvik Highway, I think a lot of people maybe even don't even realize they're driving by, because as the Member said, people don't pay attention to signage sometimes. At the beginning and at the end of both sections of the highway, there's a sign up there to say if...