I appreciate the Premier’s response. Can the Premier indicate what the budget is for holding this upcoming charrette?
We are still in the process of finalizing attendance and we’ll give him the proper accounting in due course. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It does sound like we have a bit of a murky mandate from transmission to generation. I didn’t quite clearly hear exactly what the intent is and we haven’t really heard a budget, but I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, I believe the last charrette did cost taxpayers about $100,000.
So, to be clear, can the Premier indicate if it’s the intent of this charrette to look at long-term solutions or short-term solutions? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We are looking at both, Mr. Speaker. Short-term, what can we do in terms of conservation and so-called low-hanging fruit and also the longer term approach to power generation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Less than a year ago, this government tabled the report the Northwest Territories Energy Action Plan – I have it right here – a three-year action plan and long-term vision. Mr. Speaker, I can assume we have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars preparing this, which really was supposed to be the blueprint and the hallmark of our energy concerns.
Can the Premier indicate to the House what do we do with this piece of equipment now? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That’s still a very good and important document. We will spend the money that we’ve outlined in that document over the next three years and I think it will benefit us all. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In listening to Members talk about their concerns and possible solutions to deal with the high cost of living in the Northwest Territories, are there any discussions the Premier has come across in doing a high cost of living charrette in the Northwest Territories to have people come together and look at ways that they could reduce the cost of living in their communities? Has there been any type of discussion like that that’s so important to people in the small communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ve been looking at finding ways to reduce the cost of living for a long time. There are no silver bullets in doing that. The biggest cost for the average homeowner or family is cost of energy, so we think an Energy Charrette will help us find a way to do exactly what the Member is suggesting. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Premier is right; there is no silver bullet. Energy seems to be one of the major factors, the high cost of food in our Northern Stores and the lack of employment. We have the resources. Infrastructure seems to be another factor in our smaller, remote communities. If we have one litre of milk here in Yellowknife, one litre of milk in Fort Good Hope or Colville Lake, why is there a difference between that and up in Ulukhaktok? What’s the difference? Where does the price add onto that litre of milk? That is what the people are asking. Or do we just accept the fact that living in the Northwest Territories is costing us a lot of money, to the point of $2 million in subsidies and the fact that when you live further outside the regional centres, you are going to pay a higher price and that’s the fact of the matter, Jack?
Energy is only one component. We have the energy in our communities. The sun doesn’t shine all the time and sometimes there’s no wind. We’ve been asking for wood pellets for a long, long time. There’s still a bunch of barriers to get there. I want to look at some of the real matter-of-fact issues that are the bread and butter issues today, not 10 or 15 years from now.
I think there’s a country song called “The Cold Hard Facts of Life.”
---Laughter
I think when you compare Yellowknife to Deline or Ulukhaktok or any other community, it’s obvious there's the cost of transportation, the fact that there’s competition in Yellowknife so that keeps the prices down, and also in the small communities the businesses pay the fully burdened cost of energy. They have to pass that on to the consumer.
As a government, as I said, we spend about $200 million subsidizing the cost of living. We have done studies that show in communities like Sachs Harbour, even though you make $100,000, you have to be subsidized to a certain extent. I don’t think there’s too many ways around it.
In trying to find ways to reduce the high cost of living, we’ve determined that the best way to reduce the cost of living is to invest in infrastructure. That’s the most tangible way of doing that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
There is also a song, “Put another Log on the Fire.”
---Laughter
And that’s free and good for the communities.
I think we need to look at some of those solutions especially for young people. We, in our generation, grew up cutting wood, hauling wood by dog team and then by skidoo. We need to look at those types of solutions.
This is the important issue in the North. Do we accept the cold hard facts that when you live further out than the larger centres it’s going to be a challenge because your options are limited? You don’t have as many options as down in the Yellowknife area. That’s a fact. So, what type of incentives, like Mr. Nadli talked about being a potato farmer, the potato capital in Fort Providence, to have those types of options that the Minister talked about and grabbing that type of energy and imagination of young people to say, this is what we can do to reduce the cost of living. These are the facts, Jack. It’s going to cost a lot in the small communities and your choices are limited. They’re not like Yellowknife. You cannot have that and that’s something we’ve got to look at. So that’s why I’m looking at the energy, the high cost of living charrette, so common folk can sit around and say, well, these are the solutions living in our small communities. Thank you.
I think it’s fortuitous that our Finance Minister is starting his round of budget consultations so he can hear directly from the people. I think going back to, I guess, the old days, if I can use that terminology, where everybody was independent. They went out and got their own country food. They cut their own wood. It was a full-time job making sure they had food on the table. They could grow their vegetables, they’d set nets to catch fish, they’d go do their fall fishery and so on. That was the only way that they could afford to live in those communities, because nobody had power and nobody had running water.
So in modern day equivalency, we have all those amenities. It’s very hard to go back to living that lifestyle, but I think that we’re starting to see more and more of that with ITI. I think we now have 28 communities that are back growing their own food.
We, as a government, are moving more and more to biomass. We have most of our large buildings that are heated by biomass. We’re very close, perhaps a year or two away, from a wood pellet facility, and a lot of the people are moving back and using wood pellets. So I think this Energy Charrette is one of the focuses to get people to be more independent in generating power and so on.
I think those are the kinds of things we have to seriously look at. I think we have no choice. Thank you.
Thank you. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services, and I’m really just seeking an update on where we’re at with the implementation of midwifery. Perhaps I could get where we’re at with Fort Smith and Hay River to start with.
Are those positions filled and are those programs fully up and running? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Minister of Health, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There’s one midwifery position vacant in Fort Smith that they’re currently actively recruiting for. The two positions in Hay River have been filled and we’re looking at going live early 2015. We have already begun some preliminary discussions with the Beaufort-Delta, but those positions and that program will not be moving forward until 2015-2016 as per our plan, but we are in early negotiations with those. Just recently we had the Deh Cho approach us, indicating that they’d be interested. So we’re in conversation with them as well.
One of the challenges we have right now is our coordinator position within the department has left the department. So we’re actively out recruiting for that position. We anticipate that that position will be filled in short order, which will allow us to continue to make the progress that we’re making today. Thank you.
Thank you. If memory serves – and I can always look this up – the schedule after Beau-Del, I believe, was to return to Yellowknife and the Tlicho, so ’15-16.
Can I assume that ’16-17 will be Yellowknife? Mahsi.
Thank you. We continue to move forward as the plan outlines, which is Fort Smith done, Hay River, Beaufort-Delta, Yellowknife, but we will look at other communities and regions as well. Thank you.
Just to return to the Beaufort-Delta, I believe the last we spoke there was something that was going to happen in December or January of 2015, December this year, January, in terms of negotiations were supposed to be starting.
Perhaps I could just get some more specifics from the Minister on exactly where we’re at with the Beau-Del, given that Hay River is fully up and running and, I guess, this year it should be the Beau-Del. Mahsi.
Thank you. Just for clarity, the Hay River program is not up and running to full capacity. We are actually working on the development of some evaluation parameters with the staff and making sure that everything is going to be appropriate for rollout and we’re looking to roll out in early 2015. We have already begun some early and initial consultations for the expansions of the services to the Beaufort-Delta, and we’re looking forward to having some public consultations up there in 2015-2016 as we move forward with rollout. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I guess I would seek more clarity. There was a lot of fluff in that response. Some early consultation and then moving into consultations in 2015 and 2016 and rollout in 2015-2016. I’m not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling here. We’re looking for some steady progress here and I think the Minister knows that.
Can we expect April 1st of 2015 there will be some implementation happening on the ground in the Beau-Del? Mahsi.
Thank you. There have been some consultations with physicians and other professionals in the Beaufort-Delta. The result of those consultations, a number of challenges and concerns were raised around things like deliverables, potential complications and individuals’ responsibilities. We’re working through those right now with the Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Services Authority. Once we’re a little bit closer and we have that information worked out with the physicians, we intend to do some public engagements as well.
We will not be moving forward with staffing until such time as a budget is actually approved for the 2015-2016 calendar or fiscal year, which means we will not be moving forward with staffing until at least April 1st, and it will take a number of months to fill those positions. But I’m prepared to move forward without a confirmed or approved budget. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Written Question 21-17(5) asked by Mr. Dolynny on October 20, 2014, to the Honourable David Ramsay, Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, regarding the regulator of oil and gas operations.
Mr. Dolynny had asked the following questions:
At times the regulator is privy to information that would not be in the public’s best interest to disclose or debate, such as a company’s net profit projections. What mechanisms are in place to ensure that information disclosure will respect the public’s best interest and not place any corporation, agency or other organization at a significant disadvantage, and how will this information be dealt with in response to questions and debates within this House?
The regulator is bound by Section 91 of the Petroleum Resources Act (PRA), which states that information or documentation provided for the purposes of the PRA or the Oil and Gas Operations Act (OGOA) is privileged, with the exception of some areas of permissible disclosure identified in that section. Financial information submitted by a company is privileged under the legislation.
The regulator cannot disclose or discuss information that is privileged under Section 91 of the PRA in the Legislative Assembly
The regulator is also bound by the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (ATIPPA). Where there is a conflict or inconsistency between the provisions of the PRA and the ATIPPA, the PRA provisions are to be followed (per Section 91(11) of the PRA.)
The regulator values and strives to achieve transparency and openness with respect to decision-making processes and other regulatory activities. However, as outlined above, the regulator is bound by the privilege provisions of Section 91 of the PRA.
How will corporate involvement and development of government programs and strategies, such as the Mineral Development and Economic Opportunities Strategy, continue under this new regime?
The regulator acts as an independent regulatory and decision-making entity and does not participate in the development of government programs and strategies relating to the support of economic development through industry engagement and promotion. These functions are carried out by the Government of the Northwest Territories departments.
How will decisions be reached in situations where the views of departmental advisors differ widely from the oil and gas committee or the Members of the Legislative Assembly?
The regulator, or his delegate, is a statutory decision-maker who can only consider evidence that is put before him in accordance with the requirements of the legislation and the information requirements, guidelines and interpretation notes issued under the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act prior to April 1, 2014, and carried over under the transitional provisions contained in OGOA.
The regulator has service agreements in place with the National Energy Board and the Alberta Energy Regulator to provide technical expertise and recommendations in support of decision-making. From time to time, the regulator also accesses technical expertise from other regulators.
While staff of the National Energy Board, Alberta Energy Regulator and others provide technical expertise, decisions are made by the regulator or his delegates, as appropriate.
Due to the confidentiality requirements in the PRA and the need to maintain an arm’s length and independent decision-making process, the regulator cannot discuss specific applications with GNWT departmental officials, MLAs or other stakeholders, including members of the public, except under the limited circumstances provided for in the legislation. The regulator also cannot discuss applications with Executive Council.
The oil and gas committee identified in OGOA has not been constituted. However, its role is limited to decisions with respect to pooling and unitization, where the committee is empowered to make decisions and issue orders under OGOA that bind the operators in question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “Annual Report of the Director of Child and Family Services 2013-2014.” Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Pursuant to Section 5 of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, I wish to table the Summary of Members’ Absences for the Period of May 28, 2014, to October 15, 2014. Thank you. Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents, entitled “Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, 2014-15,” and “Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 2014-2015”. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 33, An Act to Amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act, No. 2, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, Bill 33 amends the Elections and Plebiscites Act to:
replace the provisions for advance polls with a new special voting opportunity;
modernize requirements relating to campaigning, including requirements with respect to campaign advertising and sponsor identification;
require candidates to file statements from banks or approved institutions in support of their financial reports;
increase the number of electors for whom another elector may vouch and prohibit candidates from vouching;
prohibit candidates from accepting more than $1,500 in anonymous contributions;
permit candidates to pay for petty expenses incurred in a campaign period;
enhance the investigation and enforcement powers of the Chief Electoral Officer; and
modernize the drafting of the offence provision.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. There’s a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. Bill 33, An Act to Amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act, No. 2, has had second reading.
---Carried
Mr. Moses.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 69(2) and have Bill 33, An Act to Amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act, No. 2, moved into Committee of the Whole.
---Unanimous consent granted
Good afternoon, committee. I’d like to call Committee of the Whole to order today. What is the wish of committee? Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We would like to continue consideration of Tabled Document 115-17(5), Northwest Territories Capital Estimates 2015-2016, with the Department of Environment and the Legislative Assembly and, time permitting, Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, 2014-2015, Tabled Document 154-17(5); and, time permitting, Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No.24, 2014-2015, Tabled Document 155-17(5). Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We’ll commence with that after a brief break.
---SHORT RECESS
