Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister responsible for the Power Corporation. We heard earlier today that the Minister alluded to the idea or fact that, when Northland Utilities is no longer going to be the distributor of power to the Town of Hay River, quite confidently, the Minister indicated to the House that Hay River rates will go down or be less.
Mr. Speaker, as a Yellowknife resident, the portion of our power bill that is responsible for or comes under NTPC, which is about 75 per cent of our power bill, has seen an increase of nearly 30 per cent over the last four years and is going to see an addition 8 per cent increase in the coming two years. How can the Minister so confidently suggest that rates in Hay River will go down while ours will collectively have gone up by a compounded rate of 40 per cent over six years? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Minister responsible for NWT Power Corp.
Mr. Speaker, once the arbitrator works out the price of the assets to be acquired in Hay River we are confident that that figure will, in fact, lead to a reduction of rates in Hay River. As everyone knows, all rates are, however, subject to PUB scrutiny. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you to the Minister for reminding us that all rates are subject to the PUB, because I've actually heard the Minister say in the past that it's not them that are responsible for the rates getting set; that it is, in fact, the Public Utilities Board. So it leads me to believe once again, while we're suffering in Yellowknife from never-ending increases in rates, how there can be such confidence in suggesting that the Town of Hay River is going to get lower rates when we know it's the Public Utilities Board, according to the Minister, that sets the rates. So how can he, once again, confidently suggest that they're going to get lower rates?
The rates set by the Public Utilities Board, of course, are set after consultation with the public and submissions by the public. We are very confident that, assuming the assets in Hay River can be acquired at a reasonable amount, and that is our belief, that once the PUB looks at that we are very confident that rates in Hay River will fall. Our estimate is they will fall between perhaps 15 and 30 per cent, somewhere in that range.
I'm considering now moving to Hay River, quite frankly. They've got a good golf course there, too.
Mr. Speaker, it seems like the Minister is pre-empting a little bit of the Public Utilities Board's work in making such strong suggestions. You know, I wonder, to some degree, if the Minister believes that the Public Utilities Board, in fact, even has a position in setting rates in the Northwest Territories anymore?
Yes, of course, Mr. Speaker, rates are established by the Public Utilities Board, an organization that is independent of the territorial government. The Member opposite made reference to the rates in Yellowknife. I'd like to point out and remind all Members that rates in Yellowknife were massively subsidized during two dry seasons, so it's not as though the citizens of Yellowknife have had to bear any additional cost as a result of that, and therefore, I am confident that the rates in Hay River will, assuming the arbitrator decides to allow the acquisition of the disputed assets at a reasonable amount, very confident that that will lead to a reduction of rates in that community.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the Minister that a subsidy for the City of Yellowknife to the tune of $50 million is a subsidy for the territory because we know that the rates for the rest of the territory are based on Yellowknife. That said, we can see that the Public Utilities Board is basically a pawn to some degree, Mr. Speaker. The Minister already got rid of, at his discretion, the public representative board of the Power Corporation. He said that was to save $1 million. Why don't we just get rid of the Public Utilities Board, turn the Power Corporation into a fully GNWT-operated entity, and bring its business plan to this House on an annual basis for approval and for funding? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, there's a long tradition across Canada of Public Utilities Boards setting rates. It is an interesting proposal, what the Member opposite has suggested, however.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
