Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have a couple of questions. The first one references the study and the potential changes to the Business Incentive Plan, which has been out there being studied, being reviewed for quite some time. I wonder if I can get an update from the Minister on where the consultation on potential changes to the BIP is at and whether or not there is any plan to make changes. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation.

What kilowatt hour rates has the NWT Power Corporation charged to Northland Utilities in each of those communities where Northland Utilities provides the services within the community, from the year 2000 to present?

What kilowatt hour base rate has the NWT Power Corporation charged to residential customers in each of its NWT communities from the year 2000 to present?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to pay tribute to the Yellowknife Association of Concerned Citizens for Seniors, or YACCS. YACCS was formed in 1983 by a group of Yellowknife citizens concerned about issues facing YK seniors and it’s governed by a volunteer board.

From its inception, YACCS has worked continuously to achieve its mission and that mission is building a supportive community for the health of seniors. YACCS first accomplishment was to plan for and build a long-term care facility. Aven Manor, which opened in 1987, is a 29-bed facility for NWT seniors who require...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Item 8, written questions.

---Unanimous consent granted.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have a comment here. I’d like to thank the department and commend the department and their staff for the work that was done on the city of Yellowknife by-pass road. It’s a huge improvement in terms of city safety. We have another access to get in and out of the city. I just would like to express my appreciation for the fact that this is basically completed. Thanks for the work.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I asked the Minister what the plan was that exists. I don’t think I have heard an answer to that. But I appreciate the offer, which I think I heard in that answer and the previous one, of looking at the process. I really think that is something we absolutely have to do. It is not fair right now. There is not an opportunity to assist communities in achieving their end goals; not the government’s goals, the communities’ goals. As this government revises the Greenhouse Gas Strategy, would this idea of an NWT green fund be able to be considered under the revision of that...

Okay. Thanks to the Minister for that. I’d like to know whether or not this government has a policy relative to recreational facilities which are on Commissioner’s land for which there are leases. Do we have a special policy or just a policy in regard to recreational leases?

I thank the Minister for his 60 million reasons. I only want 55 million. I’ll take the other five million, thank you very much, and put it into an NWT green fund.

The Minister has, I assume, but since I asked why he isn’t enabling, he must consider that he is enabling, and I don’t feel if he thinks that enabling that it is a fair process. He talked about the gas tax money and that communities have gas tax money, but in my estimation the gas tax money is used for the communities’ capital projects in general. It’s not specific to energy projects, and energy projects can be very costly.

A green...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have a question with regard to recreational land leased to recreational organizations. I believe that the Yellowknife Golf Course, at least part of it is on Department of Transportation land or Commissioner’s land which is managed by the Department of Transportation. I wondered if the Minister could comment on whether or not there’s any possibility that because this is a Yellowknife recreational organization and I know that other recreational organizations within the city of Yellowknife that lease land from the city pay somewhat reduced lease fees, from what I can...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Minister I guess I have to say that I appreciate that people can apply for these funds, but there’s no identified pot of money that is going specifically to communities. I guess I would encourage any community out there to apply to the Minister for some funds.

The last thing I want to say is that the situation that exists now with no specific process for communities to apply does not allow them to apply for a loan, and in many cases it’s the community needs a loan not necessarily a grant. So can I ask the Minister how a community who needs a loan for a project...