Robert Hawkins

When is it better than now, in this particular case, for us to start reviewing and maybe eliminate the process we have in place? We could eliminate and refine our distribution process by getting rid of this by allowing NWT Power Corporation to manage the power distribution to our communities by getting rid of the third-party process through the franchise agreement.

What could kick that process off, and I want to hear the Premier asking what path and journey can we take to finally have a true discussion about lowering our power rates because we could lower them 10 cents a kilowatt, in that range...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to this opportunity to get some clarity on some of our power rates here. The cost of living burden continues to weigh down on the everyday family, as we all know and we certainly hear about this. The question really continues to come to me is this McLeod government continuing to do the best that they can, and the question that arises is they’re concerned they’re not. Everybody knows the three components to the power issue, which is generation, distribution and certainly the customer access.

So I guess the question really comes down to, while we continue to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the Northwest Territories government was to eliminate any outside distributors and, at the time, the reason I ask this question is because I’ve been talking to the department about this one. So, what analysis has been done if we eliminate the outside distributors, therefore we don’t necessarily need a PUB and we roll the NWT Power Corporation into a department? Now, normally you describe this as a hypothetical, but this is work I know the department has been reviewing and evaluating. Where would this take us and what’s the predicted or estimated cost of lowering the...

Well, Mr. Speaker, I’m not sure Mrs. Groenewegen has a point of order. First of all, the company isn’t particularly named. Second of all, the profits that they’re able to make are listed through the PUB process, so that is public information, and when they’re earning millions and millions of dollars one can describe it with whatever adjectives they reasonably feel.

That said, Mrs. Groenewegen should also come clear with her connection, if there is any that we need to get on the record, a reason why she is defending the company. I don’t understand what may or may not be, but a few minutes ago I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the NWT Power Corp Minister about the rates and the profits noted through the PUB process for each distribution area.

Is the Minister able to speak to those types of profits that are made by our franchise agreements that are struck so they can make power distribution through our communities? I’ll leave it up to him to provide what level of detail he’s able to start with and we’ll kick it off from there. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to call a point of order on the Member for Hay River South for accusing my last comments as all lies. I can refer to several sections, such as I felt that it’s imputing ill motive and in some ways some might even describe that as insulting, bad language. So we could spend time going through all of these, but they were a statement. Thank you.

I look to the gallery and my Yukon colleagues when I say this, Yellowknife is number one, and I say this as we have the highest power rate bill, be it Whitehorse, Iqaluit and Northwest Territories. Yellowknife, we have the highest power rate. So, we’re number one. The problem is, I don’t want to be number one anymore, nor does anyone in this city.

So the question now becomes why do we have southern distributors here in the Northwest Territories when we have an option to start squeezing this problem towards a positive solution. We have a southern distributor working here in the Northwest...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to be very clear on the record. I think that there are cases and reasons why we do direct appointments, and I am certainly not against all of them by any means. I want to make sure that’s absolutely clear. I’m only about public transparency, and that’s really what it comes down to. Frankly, my question, lastly, for the Minister of Human Resources would be: Minus the recent devolution transfer of appointments – because some of them, if not all of them, had to be considered direct appointments – what type of direct appointments are we talking about that have fallen...

If it’s provided to committee, of course, as we all know through the various channels, levels and scrutiny we receive, of course, every piece of that information is confidential. What public reporting can be done on this particular subject?

Thank you. I appreciate that answer. I’m not sure I want to screw it up by asking another one and getting him to retract it. But does the Minister see a possibility of working on the solution within the next few weeks so we can build it into the upcoming budget?

Recently the Department of Education has taken back about $400,000 from this school board. I know the Department of Education – we don’t need the exact dollar – turns back money every single year to the Department of Finance, and I know they’re always happy to get that money back.

So what I’m trying to get at is: Does the Minister see...