Mr. Speaker, I’m all for, as I said earlier, leaving no stone unturned, but there is one stone you could turn over. Under it you would find the Robertson Report. We asked exactly these same questions seven years ago. We engaged the services of a gentleman named Jim Robertson, who is highly respected in the private sector and had been Chair and president of the Power Corporation when it was repatriated from the federal government to our territorial government.
I think what precipitated that review at that time may have been a struggle for the franchise. Maybe the NTPC wanted to take over the Hay River franchise of Northland Utilities, and I don’t think the good folks at Hay River were too keen on that idea. I shouldn’t say everybody; maybe some folks weren’t too keen on that idea. Anyway, the Robertson review was done. It answered a lot of these questions we’re still talking about today. How about getting it out and dusting it off? What was in there of substance? Did we act on any of the recommendations?
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for the Power Corporation, Mr. Roland.
Mr. Speaker, those types of reports have been dusted off and brought into this process. We don’t want to redo things and re-create things for further review; it’s taking the work that has been done. There were some substantial recommendations. Some of them have been acted on, but there are definitely more things that could be looked at as we progress here in the Northwest Territories, talking about next steps we would like to take. Reports like that are part of the review process.
I hope it will be a big part of it, Mr. Speaker, because to undertake a review of the scope and the comprehensive nature that is being talked about here today would be costly and time consuming. I think there were some very good recommendations in the Robertson Report that have not been acted on to date. I just hate to see redundancy and spending money if we don’t have to. Of course, there is always a bit of a political hesitancy on some of these things to make major moves.
I’d like to ask the Premier today if in fact, given the seriousness of the situation with the power rates out there in the Northwest Territories and the people who are struggling, you would make this a matter of absolute priority of this government to not.... Don’t leave anything off the list of things that we might be prepared to do or consider doing. Privatization of the Power Corporation — that’s almost a sacred thing, the Power Corporation. Nobody likes to talk about privatization. Will the Premier commit that we will look at any and all solutions, remedies, actions that could possibly alleviate the cost of power and the energy consumption in the Northwest Territories?
Mr. Speaker, as the Member stated, this area and the impact it has on the lives on individuals — commercial as well, when we talk about the small grocery stores in our smaller communities…. The cost of that energy generation is borne by the residents in that community. So, yes, it is a high priority. That is one of the reasons I have kept the Power Corporation as one of my areas of responsibility, to put the energy into it and push this along for a complete review. I will confirm for the Member that no stone will be left unturned when it comes to power generation and distribution in the Northwest Territories.
I do find myself in a strangely awkward position when it comes to talking about the NWT Power Corporation. The headquarters and many of the good folks who work at the Power Corporation are constituents of mine and of yours and we believe are trying to do the best they can under the circumstances, but the challenges are great, and as I said, I believe we need to look at every possibility.
To the suggestion that the Public Utilities Board may not be relevant in our jurisdiction: I wonder if I can get the Premier to comment on that. I believe that they do play a useful role. They are arm’s length from the government, and there has been a lot of talk today about the role of the PUB. I would like to get the Premier’s comments on that.
As we have in other cases looked at other jurisdictions, what they have done in the past…. Some jurisdictions have gone to deregulation, which got rid of their equivalent to the Public Utilities Board.
In our case, being a small jurisdiction, that would bring that decision-making to this table. I think Members will be under huge pressure — from the diversity of the territory and our constituents — in trying to deal with the Power Corporation rates in communities and management of that corporation. All we have to do is look at some of our other delivery mechanisms within the Government of Northwest Territories, and we are challenged in those areas.
I would say that we must be careful if there’s any consideration of, for example, removing any regulatory role in the Northwest Territories, especially when we’re going to look at the North and the future potential growth in the North when it comes to resource development in the Northwest Territories. I would be cautious in that area and say there is still a role for the Public Utilities Board in the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When the situation gets very grave in terms of rates in the communities, we have heard communities of larger sizes say, “We could go to another power supplier,” or “We could do better standalone. Let’s just get away from the Power Corporation.” To the issue of whether or not the Power Corporation holds the monopoly for the provision of power in the NWT community, we know that Northland Utilities has a group of communities that they service in distribution and in power generation. When it comes to larger communities like Fort Simpson, for example, and they say, “You know what? We can go to a service provider outside of NTPC,” what is in place right now to stop them from doing that? What have we done as a government to protect the NTPC as an asset of this government?
Right now legislation provides for franchise agreements. As well, commercial bodies out there can decide to develop their own power structures, which would take away the potential business, which would leave the rest of the residents of the Northwest Territories covering for the structure as it is.
It is an area of concern. The Power Corporation itself identified that even as far as a couple of years ago, looking at the commercial impacts of providing power to companies in the North, which then has the spinoff impact to the residents in the North. That is something that we are having to work with, and that is why we’re putting as much energy as we are into the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee and this line of work that needs to be done. I’m prepared to sit down with the Members and go through this in a thorough way.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
