Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, our officials have had discussions with federal officials and the indications are that funding that will be used for climate change and to introduce carbon pricing will be in the federal budget that will be coming out sooner. Specifically to the $50 million fund, I'd be pleased to get more information for the Member on that.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have some questions for the Minister responsible for Public Works and Services. We have made a commitment to reduce a certain per centage of our greenhouse gas emissions in line with international agreements and with our own commitments. We also have an obligation to support our mining industry and to develop new mines. So how is the Northwest Territories going to do both, essentially, when one new mine can increase our greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 25 per cent? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Public Works and Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member is well aware, we are in early discussions on how we're going to move the climate change framework forward. As the Premier just stated, we are out in community engagement. We have also met with power suppliers in the Northwest Territories and we are reaching out to the mining industry on how we are going to implement this moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That work is important work. There are some mines in southern jurisdictions that have converted to 100 per cent electrified processes, which has greatly reduced their greenhouse gas emissions, something that is unlikely to happen in the Northwest Territories.
Is there a plan along with these transportation corridors to expand power supplies for communities and mines? Is that a tangible plan, or are we just talking about it with people in the North?
Moving forward with our transportation corridors is going to open up a lot of different things in the Northwest Territories, along with lowering the cost of living for a number of communities, for the residents of the Northwest Territories. As for the specific Slave Geological Province, which would open up the road to a significant area of development for the residents of the Northwest Territories and Canada, you can't put the cart before the horse. We are promoting the corridor and moving forward, looking at if we can do it sustainably without a whole bunch of impacts on the residents of the Northwest Territories and the environment. If we can get the road to the Slave Geological Province built, I'm sure we're going to be looking at how we can access power moving forward to that corridor.
I would say priorities of building that road, which I support, go hand in hand with the priorities of building a transmission line, and it's debatable which one would come first. It does appear that one is much farther off. Has the department ever considered providing financial incentives for companies or think tanks to provide alternative energy to the mines, specifically, creating a prize for those projects?
As we move forward with our energy strategy, this is something that maybe the Member wants to bring forward in our community consultation. As the Members of this House all know, the mines are all under a lot of pressure on how to do business in a profitable manner and they continue to look for innovative ways of how to produce power in a cost-effective manner that makes them a profitable business in the Northwest Territories. If the Member would like to bring that initiative forward in one of our community consultations on energy strategy moving forward, I'd be pleased to have that as input.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm very proud to be a member of this community, but I'm also proud to be a Member of this House and I'm going to bring forward that idea now. So can the Minister commit to developing an incentive for companies to provide alternative energy solutions to industrial activities in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will take it under advisement.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. It seems to be environment and climate change day in the House, and I love it.
---Laughter
My question is for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. The recently released Bathurst Range Plan discussion paper recommends winter-only access in calving and post-calving and summer ranges of the Bathurst caribou herd. Does the Minister accept this recommended next step and that there are trade-offs to be made between caribou protection and mineral development? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we recognize what they're trying to say and there is a correlation between that and some potential development down the road, and we will continue to work on how we can mitigate and find a balance between the two. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thanks to the Minister for his response. We know that the proposed Grays Bay port and road project, which is on the Nunavut side of the boundary, includes an all-weather road that passes through the calving and post-calving grounds of the Bathurst caribou herd. Is it still the position of our government to oppose development in the calving grounds of caribou herds and will he commit to communicate that position to the Government of Nunavut?
Mr. Speaker, our commitment is to work with the Government of Nunavut on the questions of shared caribou concern. I have already had a preliminary discussion with my counterpart in Nunavut and we will continue to relay our concerns to the Government of Nunavut and work with them in trying to find a balanced approach.
I thank the Minister for that response and look forward to seeing some of the correspondence that he might have with the Government of Nunavut. Can the Minister explain why our government continues to pursue funding for an all-weather road into the Slave Geological Province before the Bathurst Caribou Range Plan is completed and implemented? It's sort of like putting the cart before the horse.
I take the Member's point. As far as the road, I mean, it's still, very, very early in the discussion stage. We may not see a road for a number of years. If we see a road at all, again, that's contingent on the federal government and the funding that they might have and then as well as funding from the Northwest Territories government once we get through our budget process and we have the resources to commit to these types of projects.
So I can assure the Member that we will continue to do our part to ensure that there is a balance, but we do like to see economic development but not at all costs, and I can assure the Member we will continue to have that position.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I am glad to get that commitment from the Minister. Sorry, I mixed up my analogies a little bit earlier. I should have talked about trucks before the caribou. Clearly, the routing for the Slave Geological Province road was chosen by our government without any regard for caribou, as stated by the Minister of Transportation at least a couple of times in the House. How will Cabinet decide whether such a road can be safely built without causing irreparable harm to the Bathurst caribou herd, or has that decision already been made? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my understanding is that no decision has been made on the route yet. I think it was just a preliminary discussion. I can assure the Member that it is not development at all costs. We will have a position, and we will continue to put our position forward, ENR, to the appropriate decisionmakers. Cabinet actually does not decide on the route. We would work with the decisionmakers and make our concerns known on the calving grounds as well as any other effects it might have on the environment.
Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Guess what, my question is on climate change and directed to the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation. What preparatory notice has the Power Corporation staff done to notify the customers that are on the potential carbon tax on the 26community offgrid system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't think any notice, formal notice, has been given. Thank you.
Well, that means, if there are no notices given, will there be notices given on the dialogue that has been taken by this government in regional consultations, so the information is going out there rather than hearing it thirdparty?
Yes, as Members of the House will know, we are working on an energy strategy, and there has been consultation with communities and Members opposite. Those consultations will continue as policy is developed.
Once policies are being worked on and they are currently working on the strategy, as well, my next question is: will there be some form of notice given out to the customers in those respective communities in the offgrid system?
As mentioned, of course we are developing the energy strategy. I am not sure what type of notice the Member opposite is thinking about. I hope the first notice they have of any change of strategy or plan will not be a higher bill. We are working on an energy strategy. Of course, the Power Corporation is involved in that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My last question is: when is this notice going to be sent out on the impacts on the dieselburning generators creating electricity in the offgrid communities, and is this notice going to take into the account the potential effectiveness for this tax to take place in 2018? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Public Works and Services and ENR are working closely to analyze the results from regional workshops in developing statements, targets, and actions to address energy and climate change concerns, so talking about a notice is well down the road in the sense that we have given a notice because it is wellknown that we are going out for consultation on our energy strategy moving forward.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have two questions, in followup to my Member's statement, for the Honourable Premier. I would like to ask the Premier: will the Premier be working with organizers to participate and to make a funding contribution to the proposed charette? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. The Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It would be helpful if the Member would provide who these organizers are and how much money they are looking for. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
In my statement, as I stated earlier, the Gwich'in Tribal Council, along with a number of other Aboriginal governments and community governments in the City of Yellowknife and surrounding, from what I understand, they are looking for in the neighbourhood of $135,000. I am sure the Premier will see another proposal here shortly. From what I understand, there was one submitted earlier, but I am sure another could be resubmitted.
Also, my next question is: to make sure we are not reinventing the wheel, the charette's participants will need to know clearly where this government stands on its energy and climate change planning. How will the Premier in his role as the chair of the Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Energy and Climate Change make sure the charette's organizers have transparent and uptodate information on the GNWT policies and planning actions, for instance, providing a summary document and sending staff representation?
I am very much looking forward to the proposal. I am not exactly clear whether this is a private sector initiative or it is something for government. At any rate, we have a team of people from the Departments of ENR and Public Works working on public engagement and the development of strategies that align with our longterm objectives. These teams include senior officials of the Government of the Northwest Territories.
The Government of the Northwest Territories has a responsibility to lead the development of an energy strategy and a climate change framework, and that is what we intend to do. We are, of course, open to participating in stakeholderdriven engagement sessions. We may consider providing a summary document, depending on where we are at in the process of developing an energy strategy and a climate strategy because, from what I understand, what is being proposed is in June and, if we are only halfway through the process and there is nothing finalized, we don't want to mislead anybody. In principle, we are very open to working with all stakeholders.
It sounds promising. I would like to ask the Premier: what project priorities can we expect to see the Ministerial Coordinating Committee take action on in the coming year?
The priorities that we pursue have not been determined, but they will be informed by our energy strategy and our climate change framework that we are developing. Certainly, we are pursuing funding from federal sources for various projects, including Taltson hydro initiatives, Inuvik wind projects, and projects to reduce the use of diesel fuel in Northwest Territories communities.
