Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we heard in today’s budget address, energy is now the new activity in the Public Works and Services portfolio. This new role appears to contain, as we are told, the new fuel services division, formerly called the petroleum products division. It will now look after energy conservation. We’ve heard about efficiency programs, alternative energy solutions and things about energy policy and planning. All these energy initiatives were previously fragmented throughout the GNWT, and because of these new found powers, my questions will be for the Minister of Public Works and Services.
I can understand the rationalization of trying to accumulate all the fragmentation of our energy programs, but to the question, if the Minister can answer here, what is the rationalization of putting energy now into Public Works and Services?
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Minister of Public Works, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In June 2013, a recommendation came from the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning from the Regular Members. It recommended that Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources be created into a separate department. Cabinet looked at that in May of 2014 and looked at that recommendation and made the decision that we would consolidate one of those functions, well, two of them actually, the energy and the petroleum into Public Works, so that was the reason for us making that move over to creating that division under Public Works and Services.
We’ll probably dissect that question more as we get into the budget, but how does the Minister plan to coordinate with departments such as Industry, Tourism and Investment, Environment and Natural Resources and the NWT Power Corporation, especially on energy policy and all these initiatives?
Actually, we feel that with these three divisions consolidated under one area of Public Works, it would be easier to develop comprehensive energy policies and strategies. We find that we’ll also be able to synchronize our planning for all of the energy functions. We also will be bringing people from ITI, three positions from ITI that were in energy policy and planning, along with the Northwest Territories Energy Corporation and positions that were there, along with one position from Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you to the Minister. As I said earlier, PWS oversees its new Fuel Services Program, previously known as the petroleum products division. This Fuel Services Program deals with NWT communities not accessible by the private sector.
Can the Minister indicate how he intends to track the cost of fuel in these communities?
The petroleum products division will become the fuel services division, so all of the functions at this point where we’re buying fuel from the rack and then delivering and then having distribution at the community level, those costs and then the functions and the positions that are directly associated with those functions of delivering fuel to the communities will be the cost of fuel, and that’s how we will continue to determine the cost of fuel in these communities that we provide fuel services to.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister indicate if he intends to make the cost of fuel in communities more easily accessible, more transparent to the public to view?
Yes. We try to, within the rules and the regulations that govern the revolving fund, we have some flexibility, so as now, when the opportunity comes where we anticipate the fuel costs continuing to go down for a little bit more, we’re lowering the cost of fuel for all of the communities where we provide a service, and the cost is going to be lowered from anywhere from seven cents to nine cents a litre at this time and anticipating some more costs of fuel being lowered when the delivery actually occurs.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
