Thank you. We could certainly take a look at compiling those statistics for the Member and sharing with the Members of this House. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated, I’m making a presentation to Avalon public hearings today. My questions today are for the Minister of ITI related to that project. Has the Department of ITI begun to create a socio-economic agreement for this project and this company? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ve been discussing, with Avalon, their plans for the development of a mine at Thor Lake for a number of years now. Last October Cabinet gave us the mandate at ITI to look at the establishment of a socio-economic agreement with Avalon. We are currently in negotiations with Avalon on a socio-economic agreement and we hope to see that agreement put in place within the next several months. Thank you.
Thank you. As I indicated in my Member’s statement, we’re excited to see this project in the South Slave and I’m just wondering what the Department of ITI is doing to support Avalon in their ventures to complete this project.
Thank you. We’ve done a number of things. In the South Slave ITI office, we’ve looked at a feasibility study for a limestone quarry in the south part of the Northwest Territories that would help in supplying limestone to the potential hydromet facility at the old Pine Point mine site. We continue negotiations, as I mentioned, on a socio-economic agreement. We’re looking at the establishment of a special economic zone in the old Pine Point mine site. I know the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline preparedness office or petroleum planning office now in Hay River has also done a preliminary examination on the potential models and associated management of such a specialized economic zone at the old Pine Point site.
So we’re doing a number of things, and just yesterday I appeared at the EA for Avalon here in Yellowknife and provided comments, and I’d be happy to share those comments with the Members, as well, on behalf of all the government. Thank you.
The Minister indicated the special economic zone for industrial areas set up for the old Pine Point site. I’m just wondering if the Minister can elaborate on when the department will be able to formalize the industrial area to take advantage of the potentially lower power in that area.
As plans for the establishment of that mine move forward and it gets through the regulatory process, we will certainly be ramping up discussions on that specialized economic zone. We are also looking at the possibility of putting wholesale power into that area, as well, to make it more economical to have a hydro facility and the jobs coming to the South Slave region. So we continue those discussions. We want to see the regulatory process play itself out. Again, we do look forward to the jobs and the opportunities that such a development would bring.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What is the department doing to maximize the economic benefit impact for Northerners, workers and northern companies to take advantage of this project?
Avalon has gone out. I know they have an IBA in place with the community of Fort Resolution. For us, it’s through the socio-economic agreements and, again, we are negotiating an agreement with Avalon that would see maximized benefits for local businesses and people on jobs and business opportunities associated with both the operation at Thor Lake, the mine itself, and the hydromet facility south of the lake. We’re working on that and we will continue to try to get the best deal for Northerners. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I use the opportunity to ask questions to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. In my Member’s statement I talked about consumer protection. My questions really come down to the moves that Manitoba and Nova Scotia have taken to cap cancellation fees, stop auto renewals and, certainly, build a communication line between cell phone service and their customers.
What is the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, who is also the Minister of consumer protection, aware of and what can he enlighten the House about? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec currently legislate contract requirements for cellular phones and so we follow that quite closely. I do know that CRTC does regulate the telecommunications in the country and they have initiated a consultation process to see if the telecommunications sector is getting to the point where they may need some intervention from the commission. Thank you.
Clearly, two if not three provinces have felt that the regulation that exists is not enough and they’ve taken appropriate steps to show that their citizens matter. I am asking the Minister of MACA what he’s prepared to do to demonstrate that our northern citizens matter by providing them good, solid consumer protection. Thank you.
Our citizens in the North matter all the time and we do whatever we can to protect their best interest. MACA is of the view that we will wait until CRTC completes their consultations to see if the next steps we take is any introduction to any kind of legislation. I think before then would be premature. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The cell phone rates are clearly a problem to three large provinces. I’m surprised to think the Minister thinks it’s premature that they took action by stating that the NWT will wait until CRTC responds.
Would the Minister be willing to seek some consultation from the consumers in the Northwest Territories to get some input from their point of view as to how they feel about cell phone rates and how it impacts them? As I pointed out, cancellation fees are high, contracts are troublesome and there are ways to solve these things. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Absolutely, we would like to hear from consumers out there. We do know that some consumers have some issues with some of the services they are getting. I think we have to recognize, too, that with the cell phone service capabilities in the Northwest Territories expanding, then there is going to be a need to have a look at something. We’re not quite sure what it is yet, but I can assure the Member that we are working on this issue and we will come up with something that protects consumers across the Northwest Territories.
It’s really nice the Minister is assuring me they’re going to do this and I’m really happy when he says they like to hear from consumers. I guess my question now is: What should consumers expect and what type of activity is the Minister going to take to demonstrate that they’re going out and getting input from consumers? Because an office buried in a department doesn’t advertise far and wide enough to draw this type of discussion. So if he says he cares about them and he wants to hear from them, how is this Minister going to rise to that challenge? Thank you.
I’m going to rise in this House and let them know we are going to look after their best interest. We are having a lot more concern with lots of consumer affairs issues out in the public. Our consumer affairs department, though it may be a small office, works very hard to ensure that the residents across the Northwest Territories are protected. So I can assure residents across the Northwest Territories that we will do what we can to protect their interest, and with the ever-expanding cell phone market in the Northwest Territories, I think that warrants serious consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister is sitting here saying, “I’m telling people in the House.” Well, I hate to say it, not everybody follows the House as closely as we do. My last question is: Would the Minister be willing to take an active campaign in the public trying to draw attention to consumer affairs issues, and how can the public get engaged on issues, especially such as this as I highlighted, cell phone usage and cost? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We will. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for the Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Premier and it has to do with the high cost of living in the Northwest Territories. In Sachs Harbour, Trout Lake, Colville Lake, Lutselk’e or Gameti, these communities are in remote isolation of the Northwest Territories. The cost of living is astronomical.
I want to ask the Premier, in his discussions with their federal counterparts, is the Government of the Northwest Territories looking at how we can reduce the cost of living in those small communities where there are high unemployment rates.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a government, we are always looking at ways to reduce the cost of living in the Northwest Territories. We’ve taken a number of initiatives over the years. We realize and recognize that the best way to reduce the cost of living is to have improved infrastructure in the Northwest Territories. We’ve also looked at the northern resident income tax credit deduction. We’ve looked at that very closely. We’ve talked to our territorial counterparts to see if we could move in that direction. I think one of the best ways would be to look at our use of energy and to find ways to reduce those costs as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
About a week ago, I spoke about a coffee can I bought in Norman Wells. I bought one can there. Here, I can buy three cans of coffee, the same type. That’s what I’m asking, the cost of living in that specific area in those communities that I named. Is that something that the government is looking at, where those prices would be comparable such as in larger centres like Yellowknife, where costs are pretty high up in the small communities at the store for food?
There are a number of programs that are tied to the cost of living in Yellowknife. For example, the employees’ of the Government of the Northwest Territories northern allowance is compared to the cost of living in Yellowknife. As you move further and further away from Yellowknife into the smaller communities, the amount of northern allowance that employees receive is increased. That’s one way of doing it.
We also have a significant amount of subsidy programs. I think the last time I checked, this government was providing about $180 million in subsidies and various programs throughout the Northwest Territories. So we are doing a lot in that area already. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the cost of living, as the Premier has indicated, increases when you go further and further away from Yellowknife. Is that cost sufficient enough for people in Sachs Harbour or Colville Lake or Lutselk’e or Gameti or Trout Lake where you know that they will be able to provide their family of four, five or six in a good manner that is equivalent to living in Yellowknife?
Mr. Speaker, a number of years ago, we did a survey where we looked at every community in the Northwest Territories to see how much money an individual or family would have to make in order to be able to afford to live in a community and I think Sachs Harbour was the most expensive. I think a family had to make at least $93,000 to be able to afford to live there without a subsidy of any sort. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the Premier for noting that it is very true that communities like Sachs Harbour where, my friend Mr. Beaulieu would say, the employment rate, not the unemployment rate, the employment, because only so many people can work in the small communities that would have a job that would provide for them.
I want to ask the Premier, is the government looking at the Social Assistance Program where it would up the cost to help them with the cost of living.
Mr. Speaker, we review the cost of living on a regular basis. We have a food basket that we calculate the costing, and the income assistance rates are adjusted accordingly. We’ve also done a lot of work on the housing costs so that with the rental scale adjustments and so on, it’s tied to the income that a family brings in. We adjusted our housing rental scale so that no matter how or what situation you are in, if you go to work you are always in a better situation than if you are not working at all. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up with my questions to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources on some of the fracking regulations that we’re doing. I expressed an interest in having people visit actual frack sites. I am wondering, first of all, has the Minister ever visited a frack site where, in fact, a horizontal frack was actually underway. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
No, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Minister. I haven’t myself, either, and I know most of us haven’t. Perhaps some have, and it would be good to hear from them.
I’m wondering, does the Minister agree that, based on what we have learned, the noise involved, the noise levels, the hundreds of thousands of large trucks and generators per frack, the indescribable amounts of water, cement and chemicals used, that based on this, an on-the-ground visit by those involved in regulating and those who are going to experience it on their homeland, an on-the-ground visit to an active fracking site would provide some necessary insight into what we are dealing with. Thank you.
Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, when you are on a roll, go for it. Will the Minister work with his colleague in Industry to, in fact, take our regional leadership to ensure they visit active frack sites as well as jurisdictions that have banned fracking, for whatever reason, to learn about those reasons and concerns and also to visit with Aboriginal people wherever they have experience with fracking, such as northeast BC? Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of ITI already has a trip scheduled to an active frack site where fracking is practiced. So, yes, we will do that. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
What standards will be in place in the NWT to govern gas flaring at petroleum exploration and production sites of horizontal fracking operations?
Is the release of toxic emissions, including carcinogenic gases, allowed under regulations, and what will be the regulatory limits for toxic emissions, including volatile organic compounds, carcinogenic gases and other related fracking emissions at flaring sites?
What will be the minimum safe distances for location of homes or human activity from carcinogenic emission sites, and what regulatory measures are in place to cordon off safe distances from sites for humans and animals?
How are the greenhouse gas emissions of flaring being estimated?
Mahsi.
