Mr. Speaker, I would like to direct my questions to the Premier today with respect to the ATCO proposal that… just to put it in a little bit of context, Mr. Speaker, we asked this government to look at supplementary health benefits so that the working poor can be looked after. We get a response that takes drastic measures on a whole lot of other people. We agree in the strategic planning that we want an efficient and an effective government and we get a proposal back from this government to wipe out virtually every board in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, we stand up on a theme day and say the cost of power is too high in the Northwest Territories and a few members suggested the private sector seems to be doing a more effective job in delivering that. We get basically a proposal back from this government looking for a lot of manpower into considering just selling the Power Corporation. The rate is too high. Let’s just sell the Power Corporation. I know it is only in the investigative process right now, but, Mr. Speaker, it is causing so much angst and so much uncertainty in our community of Hay River. It just seems like this government is just responding to anything that kind of goes flying by. I’m not against constitutional discussions either but we can’t just every time something pops into our head...We need some direction.
Back to the issue of the ATCO proposal, Mr. Speaker, what actually precipitated this government’s decision to devote resources to analyzing and considering the ATCO proposal? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro, The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation.
Mr. Speaker, the fact that the issue over the cost of living has been raised right from the start of this government, that we need to do something. We need to try to find ways to stabilize the cost of living in the Northwest Territories and lower it if at all possible, the theme day here, the Association of Communities making recommendations to this Assembly and to the Minister responsible to have a look at this. This is not just a fly-by-night look at something. This issue is a real one that we have to look at. It so happens that this initiative has come forward and we want to take a serious look at what is actually being put on the table or could be brought to the table. No decisions have been made as to what will happen there. I’ve committed that I would come back after I get a response to the preliminary work, sit down with Members and discuss what it’s looking like and go from there. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, to devote resources to the extent that we have committed to examine the unsolicited proposal from ATCO is a decision in and of itself, because it’s not the only option. Another option would have been to take a look at the Power Corporation and do some kind of an analysis of their operations to see, first of all, if there was any way we could do anything differently, smarter, effectively, efficiently, that could have translated into lower power rates for people of the Northwest Territories. Why wasn’t that option considered? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the fact is we are. The other motion is to have a look at the review of the Power Corporation, that is ongoing. Another piece of that is the discussion paper that has gone out to the public around energy generation regulation rates. The structure has gone out for public discussion as well. There are a number of pieces we are looking at. They are not totally isolated from one another. We felt at this point, with an offer on the table, that we should at least have a look at that offer to see what it might mean for the people of the Northwest Territories and ourselves as a government. When you tie those pieces together, we will be looking at efficiency, we will look at things like, for example, a conservation rate, should that be looked at across the Northwest Territories as a way of doing it. Minister Miltenberger, in the past, has talked about dealing with the capital of the Power Corporation much like we deal with it as a GNWT. Those things will all be looked at in that process. The proposal, the initial piece, we’ll have a look at it and we’ll do a comparison as well to other providers in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, it still seems like a scattered approach to me and in the process we are doing damage in the fact that we are creating uncertainty again amongst a group of people who are starting to talk about, if this is the government’s first response to MLAs saying that we need cheaper power rates in the Northwest Territories, it’s an overreaction. We should first of all look at whether or not Power Corp operates too arms-length from the government and if there are opportunities to bring it in. Just the fact that somebody can walk up and throw a proposal on our desk and we will then devote resources to investigating that without laying other options out for all of us to consider to me has caused a problem for us now. What does the Premier say to that? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, as I did a statement in this House just the other day about some of the decisions we have to make as Members of the Legislative Assembly, some of those will require some debate and making some tough decisions in the overall interest of the whole of the Northwest Territories. That’s the type of information we’re trying to get so we can sit down and look at that. Unfortunately, when we do go out through a process and make the public aware that we are doing a review or investigating an initiative or, as the Members have pointed out, a couple of the other ones that have gone out publicly, that does cause concern in the Northwest Territories. I believe that if we’re going to do our job we have to look at the options available to us and at least investigate them to see if we’re on the right track. If it does mean cost savings to people in the North and a stabilization of our rates then that is something we should follow up on.
Now, will it mean that? Not sure. What resources do they bring to the table? Not sure. We want to see what they’re prepared to put on the table in the sense of helping us stabilize rates and the cost of living and what it means for employment and securing the energy sector in the Northwest Territories and further development of our energy sector as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Mr. Speaker, I just think we can’t afford to chase down every trail without first looking at the fact that we own the Power Corporation and perhaps there are things that could be done, not just with the Power Corporation, but through other energy conservation. It’s a complex problem.
Mr. Speaker, we keep calling the ATCO proposal the unsolicited proposal. I just want to get to the bottom of was there a meeting between any representative of this government and ATCO that transpired prior to the unsolicited proposal being presented? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the fact that when we sat down as Members of the Assembly looking at some of our initiatives and the impacts of those directions we want to go in and trying to secure areas, cost of living was a big one. That’s why we put an initiative committee behind that to try to deal with that. When it comes down to was there a meeting? I had been down to Calgary meeting with a number of groups and sat down with representatives of ATCO in their initial interest and felt that at that point we were not prepared to look at initiatives or anything but I’d be prepared to sit down with Members to see what may come forward. After we had the work in this House and the Association of Communities do motions at their assemblies to do something about the Power Corporation and look at that initiative, then the proposal showed up and we’re starting that review. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
