Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier in light of my Member’s statement.
Everybody realizes we have a major problem all around the world in regard to energy costs and problems with food shortages. As a government we realize that one of our biggest expenditures is dealing with generating power, heating our facilities and maintaining public infrastructure.
I’d like to ask the Premier: is this government tracking exactly where these increases are going and what the impact of this government’s going to be, knowing we have an area of about $45 million in forced growth already and we continue to see this trend? If anything, it continues to go up. It will have a major impact, especially in small, high-cost communities.
I’d like to ask the Premier: what is this government doing to consider looking at the problem we’re having, and more importantly, is there anything we can do to remedy the situation?
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The Hon. Premier, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a number of initiatives we can undertake and are planning to undertake in the area of energy — the cost of energy and fuel costs in the Northwest Territories. We have some existing programs in place; for example, the Territorial Power Support Program. The Member is accurate when he talks about the increased costs. We have to keep growing that fund through our forced-growth initiatives. The price of oil going up as it is, as fast as it is, continues to have an impact on us. As we’re all aware, the Power Corporation has just got its last rate application approved. That hits on the pocketbooks of individuals.
So we’re going to have to make some changes in the way we do business. Some of it is long term, but, as well, we’ve established the Energy Coordinating Committee within Cabinet to look at a number of initiatives. One that you heard me talk about earlier is alternative energy sources, further development of our hydro potential. We’d be all blessed if we could have the hydro potential a number of communities in the southern part of our territory enjoy. We need to look at how we can expand that going north. In between that time is when we can get that underway.
We’d have to look at our existing frameworks. For example, right now we try to match the cost of power for the 700 kilowatt hours in Yellowknife for those that are higher priced than Yellowknife — dealing with that scenario. As well, we’re going to have to look at other forums. I believe as we get through the process, as we’re getting into in the budget, biomass options are another thing we have to look at as a government.
I’m talking about the communities who have high dependency on diesel fuel. It’s going to be several years before this government gets around to seeing any of the energy initiatives that can change that. Yet we’re stuck with a scenario where we have diesel generators, we have community rates that are very high, and we have the high cost to operate and maintain public infrastructure.
I’d like to ask the Minister if they are doing anything to look at diesel communities in light of energy prices and in light of the cost of diesel fuel to run our public infrastructures. Communities in the Delta were paying $1.61 per litre for diesel fuel. To fill up your fuel tank in your home and your house is $2,000. It is affecting the residents in the Inuvik region.
I’d like to ask the Minister if he is looking at the diesel communities in the Northwest Territories and planning a scenario to deal with that problem.
We are indeed looking at diesel communities and power production. The rate base right now.... Through the existing structure we deal with communities at a community rate–based structure scenario. I think we need to have that debate as Members of the Assembly.
For example, at the Association of Communities I spoke to the fact that how we treat the Power Corporation as the sole shareholder in the Northwest Territories has to be reviewed in the sense of.... Right now we match everybody, as I said earlier, to the 700 kilowatt hours, but after that you pay a community rate base. Some communities have a very high cost. Here’s an opportunity we need to look at. For example, after 700 kilowatt hours, should there be a unified rate across the Territories, treating it as a territorial piece of infrastructure and not as a community piece of infrastructure? Those scenarios need to be looked at, and that Energy Coordinating Committee will be looking at those types of options.
I also touched on the other element: dealing with being able to look at the cost of food. It is going up. We do have a major cost for transportation — goods and services into communities by air, by road. Again, those costs are passed on to the consumers.
I’d like to ask the Minister how we’re going to look at the food prices as part of this review in light of your energy costs, and also the costs in regard to consumption. I talked to the mayor of Paulatuk, who told me that a case of 12 cans of pop is $60. You look at milk in Tuktoyaktuk; for 2 litres it’s $10. And those costs are going to go up.
So I’d like to know if you are also looking at the food-consumption costs in those communities and if there are ways we can work around that.
Through the Reducing the Cost of Living initiative we’ve discussed as Members of the Assembly — and Ms. Lee will be the lead on that file — we’re looking at a number of factors. Other things we’ve heard of, for example, are directives that are supposed to help the high-cost communities with a Food Mail Program that is there by the federal government. We need to look at that to see how it’s working. I’ve heard from a number of people and businesses who say it’s not working as it was designed to. We need to look at that to see if there’s a real, true impact on communities. It’s supposed to help that transportation fee the Member is talking about.
Some of our other programs we talked about -- the Income Support Program.... The food baskets in those communities at a high cost are adjusted for those communities. That continues to be something we look at as part of the forced growth. For people who aren’t on income support or don’t have the need for it, the direct impact on them is another thing we’re going to have to look at. Some of our initiatives, the big ones, are the cost of energy and transportation. You’ll see we’re proposing some investment in those areas to help try to reduce the cost. For example, some of the Transport Canada regulations on airports reducing the size of planes going into those communities could have a further negative impact. We’re trying to address those as we go forward.
I’d like to ask the Premier: how soon is the committee that he mentioned going to be able to meet with Regular Members and ensure that Regular Members have input into this process, realizing that this is probably one of the biggest issues we’ll deal with during the term of the 16th Assembly? That is, just dealing with the outside pressures to sustain our communities in the Northwest Territories.
One thing I’ve said to all the Ministers who have lead roles on these initiatives is to make contact with standing committees to set up some times to do the presentations and briefings of information we have so we can get some feedback and further work on a number of scenarios. That’s going to be something we’ll need to work out between committees and Cabinet as well.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member from Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
