Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Premier, the honourable Mr. McLeod, some questions on the cost of living.
What is this government’s plan as we move forward to lower the cost of living in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This government is doing a tremendous amount to reduce the cost of living. We subsidize the cost of living to the tune of about $200 million a year. We are organizing an Energy Charrette to give more personal responsibility to the people so that they can become more independent through energy generation, and we are also investing in infrastructure as we find that’s the best way to reduce the cost of living. Thank you.
As I mentioned in my statement, we pay the highest costs for fuel, diesel and gasoline in our region.
I’d like to ask the Premier, is that because we’re trucking this into our territory? Would it be cheaper if we were to barge this into our territory? Thank you.
Of course, it would be cheapest to barge or buy it on the offshore and bring it in by tanker and deliver it by barge to the communities. Obviously, if you truck, the more times you handle the molecules, the more expensive it is. We also, in a large part of the communities, can only bring it in once a year. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Menicoche.
