In regard to the challenges we face in the Northwest Territories, one of the most vibrant problems we see is sustainability of small communities, but more importantly, the high cost of the power rates in a lot of our communities. Electrical power is an essential service to all people of the Northwest Territories. It’s mostly felt by these communities where the high cost of living, the high cost of groceries and, more importantly, the high cost just to maintain a lifestyle is driving a lot of our residents to leave a lot of our small communities for the larger centres, at a cost to the sustainability of our communities. But that is one of the priorities of the 16th Assembly.
It’s fundamental that this government, this 16th Assembly, take this issue seriously and ensure that we take a close look at power rates across the Northwest Territories to get away from the community-by-community–based rates that we presently have in place. The high cost of subsidizing those rates is in the area of some $8 million, and we are looking at the possibility of spending $11 million just to sustain this program.
We have to do as other jurisdictions and territories have across Canada. Yukon and Nunavut have looked at this issue. It’s fundamental, as a Legislature, that we ensure the people of the Northwest Territories can sustain a vibrant lifestyle but, more importantly, make it affordable and achievable for all people in the Northwest Territories.
I know it’s important that we look at the budget issue we have in the Northwest Territories, but we also have to look at how we spend our subsidies for different things, such as power subsidies, housing subsidies, programs and services. This is an essential service. It’s crucial that we do take this issue on at the earliest date possible, so we can provide direction from this government to the PUB to ensure that they will act with the direction that's going to be needed.
This issue has been out there for some time. In my former leadership of the Ministry Responsible for Power Corp., this issue came up in every visit we made to the communities. One of the things that floored me, Mr. Speaker….
Mr. Krutko, your time for Members’ Statements has expired.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement.
Unanimous consent granted.
You may conclude your statement, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The thing that really got me, looking at this issue, is I made a visit to Colville Lake, where I ran into an elder who was having problems paying her power bill. She had a bill for $1,600 for one month in Colville Lake, and yet she is a pensioner who has to depend on her pension. It was because programs and services weren’t being provided to her in Colville Lake. She had to heat her home with her electric range because she had no diesel fuel. This is the reality of what we are facing in a lot of our small communities.
I think we have to face the reality, which is to ensure subsidized programs and services. If it’s not working, I believe we have to take a closer look at it. So, Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will be asking questions of the Premier on this matter.
Mr. Speaker, the high cost of living in the N.W.T. is a fact of life, and it is a fact that unfortunately we all accept, because we choose to live up here. If we have to pay the high prices of living in the North, then that’s what we continue to do. I, too, would like to speak on the power rate increase, along with my colleague for Mackenzie Delta.
The residents of Inuvik are getting increasingly frustrated with the rate increases that continue to happen. They are allowed to happen because the Public Utilities Board is just rubber-stamping everything that comes before them, and we can’t have that. Just listening to a statement from a guy I know, who said that we have to be able to afford to live in our community…. And this is a good example of being able to afford to live in our communities.
Are they trying to price us out of the N.W.T.? Because that is the route we are going. The residents of Inuvik and the Beaufort Delta continually face high increases in everything. Not only does it affect their cost of living, but it also affects the community businesses who have to raise their rates to make up for the difference. This is something that we as a government…. We have to protect the residents, because they are going to price us out of the N.W.T. I don’t know if that is their attitude or that is their plan. We may have people starting to do two weeks in and two weeks out, working in the N.W.T. for two weeks and going to live in Alberta for two weeks where the cost of living is cheaper.
That is the reality, Mr. Speaker — that we are constantly faced with increase after increase in everything. We have the fuel increases that are going on up in Inuvik, and that is a subject I will be speaking about tomorrow. There are a lot of things that we have absolutely no control over, yet we are the ones that continually have to pay. We have to pay for a $2 million shortfall. We have our bills on top of our bills. We get our shortfall rider and our fuel rider. If they believe so much that they need to make some savings, why don’t they cut into their bonuses? That will save a lot of money. They continually pass their expenses on to the consumer.
Mr. Speaker, this is getting frustrating. Enough is enough. It’s time that we started having a serious look at this and protecting the people that we say we are obligated to protect from situations like this.
