Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have recently concluded an agreement with the local contractor in Inuvik to extend the contract that we had there. That -- and it's been extended only for the rest of this calendar year. I can say, Mr. Speaker, that the pricing system is fairly simple in a way. There's the landed costs of alcohol arriving in the Northwest Territories, there's an NTLCC markup which has not changed. We have an administrative fee NTLCC has not changed. And then there's whatever rate is applied through the commission from our various sales agents. So, again, Mr. Speaker, I...

No, thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Implementation Update and Close Out on the Report on the Review of GNWT Procurement Policies and Practices October and Northwest Territories Power Corporation; and, Northwest Territories Hydro Corporation Annual Report 2023-24. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the territory is in a situation right now where every resident is, I would say, feeling the pinch of increased prices and some much more than others, particularly in smaller communities and in more remote communities, communities that were already paying -- well, the entire Northwest Territories is paying the highest electricity rates anywhere in Canada, which is a message that I have carried to anyone south of the border that will listen. And small communities are paying the highest rates anywhere of those. The Sahtu is paying, as I understand it, the highest rates of anywhere in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we need to increase the transmission connections across the Northwest Territories. We need to not have 20 some individual micro grids, not have two disconnected hydro systems north and south of the lake. So, Mr. Speaker, it is certainly our hope that, again, in this capital budget, we are hoping to get to a place where we can connect the communities of Kakisa and Fort Providence into the southern hydro grid, hoping to advance work with the Tlicho government to see the Whati hydro project connected into the northern grid, and also hoping to see within this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, happy to take that as a suggestion to establish targets. I mean, really, the target is for no project to go significantly over budget, and there's an obligation on all of our project management teams across departments to work to that goal. But, Mr. Speaker, again, always looking for opportunities to continue to do better. There's been a lot of change in the procurement space and the project planning space in the last few years, and again, very happy to take it away and see what more we can do in that regard. Thank you.

Yes, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, committed to continuous improvement. And, Mr. Speaker, I want to give a few examples quickly. I know it's question period and the clock is running down, but, Mr. Speaker, Inuvik wind has come up a few times. That is a problem -- project that's had a number of different problems arise over the course of it. I can say that the Northwest Territories Power Corporation intends to do a review of that, intends to do a lessons learned, to ensure that even if we can explain each individual challenge, each and every one of them we should be looking at to try to ensure...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have to acknowledge I have become a bit of a generalist in this job, not an expert. So I'm not going to purport to be an expert in flattening hierarchies. I certainly will commit to take that back to the Department of Finance. We -- you know, things have come up here over this last session,b looking at Indigenous hiring, looking at empowering public servants, and looking at morale. And so I've already asked that the department and I sit down and take all those under consideration as soon as session's over. I'm going to add flattening hierarchy to that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would be more than happy to encourage every public servant to take the opportunity to use, whether it's the red tape reduction working group firstly, which redtape@gov.nt.ca -- always happy to get that in when I can. But to submit if there's a specific process that is burdensome. Obviously it's the frontline workers who know that best. If they're running into a process, running into a program, running into something internally or even outward facing that is red tape-esq, then raising it specifically to the attention of this group is really quite important...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would have to look back over time and see the degree to which that has been considered but also whether or not that impacts any of the work that's happening. As I've said, for right now the work that is coming through in terms of some of the repair of potholes and ruts that have arisen over the course of the summer, that is getting dealt with as much as possible before too much snowfall. And with the snowfall, they are doing what they can to, you know, still monitor and do some ice blading, some snow plowing, to try to mitigate where there were some tough spots. So...