Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to introduce to you and through you a resident of Range Lake sitting with us today here, Mr. David Wasylciw. Mr. Wasylciw just launched a brand new resource website today called openNWT.ca. Congratulations, David.
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Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to recognize a couple of hardworking constituency assistants, both of whom are residents of Weledeh. Of course my CA, Bob Wilson, a long-time businessman and involved in many aspects of the community with the city and so on. Also, Amanda Mallon, another Weledeh resident involved in many aspects of our community in the NWT. A big welcome to David Wasylciw as well. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Thank you for taking in our proceedings here today. Welcome to the House.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Premier, the honourable Mr. McLeod, some questions on the cost of living.
What is this government’s plan as we move forward to lower the cost of living in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This government is doing a tremendous amount to reduce the cost of living. We subsidize the cost of living to the tune of about $200 million a year. We are organizing an Energy Charrette to give more personal responsibility to the people so that they can become more independent through energy generation, and we are also investing in infrastructure as we find that’s the best way to reduce the cost of living. Thank you.
As I mentioned in my statement, we pay the highest costs for fuel, diesel and gasoline in our region.
I’d like to ask the Premier, is that because we’re trucking this into our territory? Would it be cheaper if we were to barge this into our territory? Thank you.
Of course, it would be cheapest to barge or buy it on the offshore and bring it in by tanker and deliver it by barge to the communities. Obviously, if you truck, the more times you handle the molecules, the more expensive it is. We also, in a large part of the communities, can only bring it in once a year. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I think last week, or the week before, I was raising questions with the Premier, but I would like to ask the Minister of Transportation about the cost of delivering fuel.
There is a global oil glut in the world and it’s reducing gas prices across Canada. Why aren’t those gas prices being reduced in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay. Oh sorry, Minister of Transportation, Mr. Beaulieu.
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 and that is it. We can charge anywhere from 95 percent of what it costs us to 105 percent, but we try to be at 100 percent as much as possible. Thank you.
When it comes to the cost of living, the purchase of fuel is very important for the small communities. The fuel is delivered once a year. They use it for hunting and trapping, they have to use it to heat their homes, especially in the wintertime, and these are fixed costs.
I’m asking the Minister: Will this government consider some kind of special subsidy, because the local prices are falling, they are almost down to $1.04 in Alberta and I know that eventually it will hit Yellowknife and our smaller communities that they will be reducing the costs. I would like to know, people in the small communities are trapped and once the gas prices and fuel prices start declining, can this government do something to help our people? Thank you.
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.
The next logical question is, actually, why not? Why can’t we subsidize these people? The people in small communities deserve to be considered for the fuel prices being fixed and there must be a way to change it. 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 percent of the cost. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Robbing Peter to pay Paul I think is what the Minister said, but I don’t think that that’s the kind of solution that the government should provide to the people in the smaller communities.
I’d like to ask the Minister one more time: We just saw government write off $20 million for electrical power rate. Why can he not write off some of that money for the smaller communities that have fixed and locked-in prices?
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 flexibility in this fund. If we were to build subsidies into the particular fund, then we would have to return to the House to request that that be something that we put into the fund.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s not all doom and gloom in the Sahtu, but some people are struggling. Whether a young family in Deline, an elder in Colville Lake or a single mother in Fort Good Hope, people are having to pay more to put food on the table and more to warm their houses this winter.
Will the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment tell us about the increase of people relying on income assistance since the drop of oil prices has slowed the economy in the Sahtu?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We are fully aware of the high cost of living in the communities and the income support does reflect on that as well. ECE is working to enhance benefits for clothing, food and other incidental expenses to ensure that clients receive adequate benefits to meet their needs and that we are current with the high cost of living in the communities. We are currently spending upwards of $16 million in income support alone, and there is also a seniors heating subsidy of $1.8 million, and the list goes on. Those are the subsidies that we provide to the communities, and we also keep in mind the high cost of living as well.
I know the honourable Minister doesn’t set the oil prices, but it’s having a huge impact. Let’s shift our attention to the working poor or the single-income families.
Why would income support only grant one purchase order to a mother of twins when clearly she is trying to feed two children? Can the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment explain to this House how a front-line worker could deny the basic support for infants in these remote communities?
With our programming there are upwards of 1,600 caseloads within the Northwest Territories and on average 3,300 people access income assistance. We’re mindful of those individuals with dependents, especially if there are twins, even young twins. Those are some of the areas we closely monitor with client service officers. We need to have those individuals access our income support programming because it’s there for them. We do continue to explore those areas and having a program identified as part of education awareness on to the communities as well.
Can the Minister of Education tell us what emergency measures are available for those who might be in between jobs or students without work? What can they do to ensure they have a roof over their heads this winter and dealing with the high cost of living?
It all depends on the individual. If they are younger than 19, then we have to work with the Department of Health and Social Services. But there are various programs within our income support area, whether it be early childhood or other departmental programs such as emergency measures when it comes to MACA or the Department of Health and Social Services or my Department of Education, Culture and Employment. It is an interagency responsibility and also working very closely with the community organizations that deal with those matters at the community level as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment commit to this House that when he meets with his federal/provincial counterparts that the high cost of living in the Northwest Territories will be a priority item that he can discuss with the other provincial leaders as something that needs to have the full attention of Canada, to raise this issue to know that this issue here is important to people and Members of this House?
Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what’s happening. I’m just one part of government that addresses this with my federal counterparts. My colleagues around the table here also stress the importance of the high cost of living. When it comes to remoteness in our jurisdiction, we’re very remote with a high cost of living in our communities. At times federal Ministers and federal representatives are not fully aware of our situation. So it’s always a learning curve when there are changes in the federal government, but it’s a challenge that we always put at the table and we will continue to do so. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for Premier McLeod, following up on my statement from earlier today on related issues.
Recently, Cabinet announced that rather than pass on the true cost of power generated by diesel due to the hydro shortfall we are experiencing because of climate-change- induced drought in our hydro-generating system, the government would provide a direct subsidy yet again, this time to the tune of $20 million.
Public Works, of course, is replete with hundreds of examples of reducing energy costs through infrastructure with short payback periods.
Is there an equal commitment of $20 million this government is making to provide energy infrastructure identified through rigorous evaluations to provide cheaper power? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When we explained the rationale behind the $20 million it was so our clients and every community in the Northwest Territories wouldn’t have to pay an extra 13.7 percent increase in power for two years.
At the same time, we announced that we are holding an Energy Charrette on November 3rd and 4th. We’re committed to investing millions of dollars so that we can look at alternative and renewable forms of energy and any ways that we can empower the clientele that use energy in the North so that they can find cheaper ways to generate power. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the Premier’s explanation of their thinking as far as they got.
Regular Members of this House, of course, were caught by surprise by the announcement of this Cabinet largesse, learning about it the way most citizens of the NWT did: through the media.
Were any members of responsible committees meaningfully consulted or consulted at all on this latest $20 million subsidy Cabinet has come up with?
We have a protocol that we developed amongst all of us in this Legislative Assembly and we conformed to the protocol measures. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Indeed we have, Mr. Speaker. We in this House all swore an oath to uphold the 10 principles of consensus government. Principle number five states, “Except under extraordinary circumstances, Members of the Legislative Assembly should be made aware of and have an opportunity to discuss significant announcements, changes, consultations or initiatives before they are released to the public or introduced in the Legislative Assembly. Use of the element of surprise is inconsistent with consensus government.”
Is Cabinet aware of this guiding principle? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re well aware of it and we gave the Members notice. We told them that we would be coming forward with some initiative in this area, and I believe we told them at least a week ahead of time. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
I would ask the Premier to reread that principle for himself in some nice quiet time when he can fully comprehend it. Being constantly aware of the principles that we all swore an oath to and honouring the spirit of those principles – just to be sure the Premier heard the spirit of those principles – require the commitment of all Members of this House, the commitment of all Members of this House.
Is the government committed to conducting the business of this House in the spirit of the 10 guiding principles of consensus government? Mahsi.
The Member seems to be opposed to the fact that we assisted all of the clientele that use energy to the tune of $20 million and we’re hearing people are leaving the North because of that, and I’m very prepared to adhere to the principles and I gather that the Member is as well. So, thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ve heard some really good questions from Members on this side of the House today in terms of how we’re trying to address the cost of living in the small communities and all communities across the NWT. We’ve also heard subsidies. Just in terms of heating fuel, this government over the last five years, including this fiscal year, has subsidized public housing units and affordable housing units to the tune of $39 million in heating fuel alone. We have residents out there who pay market rent or who also own their own homes.
I’d like to ask the Minister of Finance, seeing as he does write off on these subsidies, if he’s willing to look at subsidizing specifically homeowners on the high cost of fuel, heating fuel, as well as small business operators. Is he looking at creating some type of subsidy for these individuals who, as one other Minister stated last week, are the backbone of our economy? Thank you.
