Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not used to being upstaged, but here I go.
---Laughter
This year’s budget includes a total of $5.15 million for energy initiatives. According to this Cabinet, 7 percent of this budget will go to energy planning. The Government of the Northwest Territories has a consistent track record of spending millions on energy studies, surveys, strategies and public consultation; yet, for all the energy that has gone into energy planning, we only pay more for heat and power every year. For all the planning, two of our communities are in dire need of reliable energy sources. The town of Norman Wells was one hour away from evacuation recently when it lost its natural gas connection during one of the coldest weeks in January.
The 14th Assembly’s Energy Secretariat spent its $2 million budget on public consultation and related discussion papers about energy in the Northwest Territories. The 15th Assembly spent upwards of $4 million on energy planning. The 16th Assembly spent close to $4.5 million on energy planning and policy exercises alone. For that amount we could have purchased at least 3,500 wood stoves, 1,000 wood pellet stoves or small pellet boilers, 5,000 diesel-fired hot water heaters, 2,500 Energy Star doors that people could put on their houses to keep the warm air they pay for in and the cold air out. It might have given taxpayers real, tangible results and obvious cost savings.
For example, if we replaced electric hot water heaters for diesel-fired hot water heaters in some of our small communities that are the most reliant on diesel and where the cost of electricity and government subsidies are the highest, we could hope to see a return on our money within the life of this Assembly. We could make some headway if we continue to offer successful programs, and focus on realistic energy goals, instead of burning our resources to subsidize the ever increasing fuel costs and letting opportunities to really make a difference pass us by.
We have talked, we have plotted, we have planned. It’s time to get real energy savings to residents and businesses to make the Northwest Territories a more affordable place to live and work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
