Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure. The NWT Association of Communities has called on the GNWT to take a greater role in securing wood pellet supply chains, perhaps in similar ways that we currently secure petroleum products through procurement, transport, storage, and other things for many communities. So is the GNWT considering how it might secure wood pellet supply chains? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question. There is work happening in this space and one of the ways that we support the supply chains is by actually being one of the larger consumers of biomass products and wood pellet products. For instance, about 32 percent of all GNWT heating load is right now met with biomass which does make us a fairly big player in terms of supporting the local resources that there may be in order to have a supply of wood pellets happening on a regular basis, and this may well be an opportunity for those in the Sahtu, where the almost $2 million program we had in place to support freight costs, could actually be employed by those in the region who are bringing up or trying to bring up wood pellet supply. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So is the GNWT working, perhaps with Arctic Energy Alliance, to help get more subsidized wood stoves and pellet stoves into Norman Wells as soon as possible, given the crisis, to relieve some of the dependence on heating oil in that community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our Department of Infrastructure does work quite closely with the Arctic Energy Alliance. On this particular area, though, right now in terms of subsidies for wood pellets and, indeed, subsidies for quite a number of energy efficiency programs, this is right now unfunded. This was one of the areas where the federal low carbon economy leadership fund was reduced rather significantly and took a significant hit on our budget in this space. So we are actively asking the federal government what they're going to be doing to bring that back and recapitalize it. We'll get that money out the door through Arctic Energy Alliance the minute we do. But beyond that, Mr. Speaker, I'm going to follow up and ensure that officials at the Department of Infrastructure are touching base with SSI. We do right now work with other Indigenous governments to do exactly this, to get wood pellets -- wood pellet stoves brought into communities working through local governments. So I will follow up on that today and see if we can't initiate some action like that with the Sahtu region. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I certainly appreciate that we've been looking to the feds up until now for these kinds of programs, but we're also seeing that the costs are falling on the GNWT of the consequence of having this dependence on heating oil. So with that in mind, is the GNWT looking at opportunities to increase energy efficiency and conservation in any buildings or homes in Norman Wells that are currently relying on heating oil again to relieve some of this dependence and the high costs that that community's experiencing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the good news here is that all of the largest GNWT assets in Norman Wells actually are already equipped with biomass heating systems. This is five systems over a thousand kilowatt hours are all operated through a pellets system. And the benefit of that, again, is that it creates the local supply demand -- or rather it creates local demand which then encourages a supply chain and a bit of an economy of scale in that regard. So with respect to whether or not there can be changes also brought in to smaller units, smaller assets, I'll certainly go back and see if there -- what hasn't been converted and whether we can work, again, with the community government and beyond so that they have some energy resiliency and alternatives. Thank you.
Thank you. Final supplementary, Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so finally, with regard to energy security, will the GNWT be taking a greater role for next year's fuel supply to ensure that fuel is transported to Norman Wells over the winter road rather than taking a chance on next summer's barge? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Infrastructure took a fairly significant role last year. You'll recall that just a little later, less than a year ago, we were already in a situation where because of last year's challenged barge season there was some resupply of fuel that had to happen by air into the Sahtu. That came with costs. It came obviously with some uncertainty right in and around the Christmas period. We were able to get resupplied, and then started into the winter road season. We widened the winter road, had increased patrols on the winter road, had increased signage, had increased checkpoints to try to support more trucks moving more efficiently bringing up more load. And, again, Mr. Speaker, the GNWT through the fuel services division was able to resupply all of the communities that we are responsible for to a point that they can make it to the winter road season this year. It came as no particular surprise that water was low. It came as no particular surprise that the water could be challenging. And here we find ourselves with the one community that was serviced by the private sector not fully serviced and not fully supplied. So do we remind our partners in the private sector? Certainly do. One good news I will give you, Mr. Speaker, just today we've committed with Imperial Oil to have a task force ready to roll so that we do not find ourselves back in this situation next year and that no one has to find themselves back in this situation next year. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Oral questions. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
