Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are addressed to the Minister responsible for the Power Corp. I spoke in my Member’s statement about the fact that we continually hear that the Taltson Expansion Project, Deze Energy Corporation, is a business, and that the enterprise and the expansion is itself a business, but the GNWT, as I mentioned, has put quite a few millions into this particular project. I’d like to ask the Premier whether or not the GNWT will be paid back for the millions that we have invested in this project. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the project is indeed based on the business model of a partnership. The partnership of Deze Corporation is made up of our NWT Energy Corporation No. 3, the Akaitcho Energy Corporation and the Metis Energy Company that make up the one-third partners on this project. We have, as the GNWT, over a number of years invested, through the Power Corporation, in the neighbourhood of $13 million, I believe it is, up to this year in getting ready for the environmental phase that we’re in the closing of and that business modelling that was prepared and getting the expertise to help us with that business model.
If the project is to proceed, the dividends that would be received from that project after the initial investment was paid back, we would start to see that return to the Government of the Northwest Territories long term, yes.
Thanks to the Minister for that explanation. It doesn’t really help me much. It’s going to be an awfully long time before we get any money back, but I guess I have to assume that eventually we will get back our $13 million.
I mentioned in my statement that one of the bullets on a presentation that we received some time last year was that there needs to be the GNWT to backstop this project for construction. I’d like to ask the Minister to explain what that means. Are we providing a financial guarantee to the Taltson Expansion Project? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the business case that was put forward, the modelling, the request for support from federal funds, as well as this total project being based on the power purchase agreements that are to be signed with the mines. Without those power purchase agreements, there is no project. The issue of the construction phase is until the construction is done and the delivery of power happens, the revenue source isn’t there yet, so that’s the construction phase that they are seeking to have some commitment from the Government of the Northwest Territories or the federal government to deal with that construction piece.
As the GNWT, as the Minister of Finance has stated, we are unable to guarantee that level of debt to the Power Corporation. Hence the discussions of finding partners beyond ourselves to help carry this project through. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I guess if we are and we have already input some $13 million into this project, we are going to get paid back through dividends, if I understood the Minister correctly, but I would think that if we are one-third partners and there is a dividend of, say, $30, we are only going to get one-third of that $30 dividend. We are only going to get $10. My understanding is that the other partners in the Deze Corporation have put in minimal money compared to our $13 million. In getting paid back through dividends, are we going to get an equal share of any dividend or are we going to get a larger share because we will have put in far more money at the outset than any of the other two partners? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the partnership agreement that is to be signed will spell out all of that detail. We are in the final… There are a couple of months that the Cabinet has requested to review that initial document that has been put together by the partners. We have yet to sign an agreement that would see this go forward, but we have supported the groups coming onside. We fully realize that the investment we have to make up front is from the Government of the Northwest Territories or the Power Corporation to help move it along, because the partners themselves at this present time without a power purchase agreement are unable to find those resources.
As earlier, a number of Members were speaking in Members’ statements about capacity in the North and seeing a broader partnership and a revenues build coming to the aboriginal governments and organizations, this is a way of doing that, is to provide them the support up front and have them build on a capacity as this project is built. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Minister. I understand that things are being negotiated and so on, but I guess I am concerned, as I mentioned in my statement, that we are entering into this project. We are, at this point, backstopping the project without any sort of financial safeguards. I think the Premier mentioned yesterday, in response to a question from Mr. Abernethy, that some part of this project is coming up to this government for approval in the near future. Could I get an explanation of what he meant by that? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, as this project is moving along, the work on the partnership agreement as well as the power purchase agreements have been going parallel with the environmental review process. We are, as a Cabinet, having to look at that partnership agreement and decide if we can sign that or not or if we would tell the remaining partnership that they would have to go seek outside partners to help bring this project along. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
