Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions today for the Minister of Infrastructure. So the Arctic Energy Alliance has experienced major funding reductions in recent years and struggle to meet the huge demand from NWT residents, businesses, and community governments for its programs and services. And as of October of 2024, they had actually run out of money for their energy rebate programs and were no longer accepting applications. So given the reductions in federal money for energy efficiency rebate programs, has the GNWT considered stepping in with territorial money to support those programs, especially where this could directly save the GNWT money in subsidy payments? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we were quite disappointed to see the federal cuts to the low carbon economy funding that had a significant impact on the Department of Infrastructure and on our energy programs and particularly with respect to the funding that's provided to Arctic Energy Alliance. So it was a significant impact on our budget. We have not -- we don't have other or additional independent funds necessarily to come up with in areas where we could realign. Obviously the department's budgets are under review right now, and certainly I would look forward to answering some questions in that regard. But there was not a new source of funding identified, so we don't -- other than what is being presented in mains estimates that are before the committee, we don't have any new sources of funding from which to draw. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So there's also been a huge demand to Arctic Energy Alliance for home energy evaluations to find efficiencies that could save homeowners money, but there's been a huge backlog, especially since COVID, due to a shortage of certified energy advisers. So what role could the GNWT play in helping to train or bring in more energy advisers to help address this backlog? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, Mr. Speaker, without being able to source some additional funding, it's difficult to come up at this point in time with a simple answer or simple solution. We certainly do look forward to continuing to work closely with Arctic Energy Alliance. They're a critical partner in terms of delivering programs in this space.
Mr. Speaker, I'd already actually spoken to the Member with respect to setting up my own meeting to make sure that we can do what we can to work directly with Arctic Energy Alliance, identify where the shortcomings are, identify if there's particular communities that have specific needs, and then perhaps, you know, firstly and certainly advocate more effectively when we are advocating together, and if there's an opportunity to work, even within schools or within our own training programs for our staff, certainly be open to do that. But if it's an independent budget line item, again, Mr. Speaker, what's in our budget proposal right now is on the floor, and it is -- it's unfortunately a bit what it is without -- with the significant drop in federal funding. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I mean, one area that the GNWT did manage to find funds in the last year was for Arctic Energy Alliance to work with homeowners in Norman Wells to look for energy efficiency opportunities. So I wonder if the Minister could explain what successes or lessons learned have come from that initiative which we were able to find funding for this past year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do have a bit of information with respect to some of the work that was underway in Norman Wells. I don't know that we have a full evaluation done or an analysis done, which would certainly be helpful in order to determine what that might look like for others. But there was a program that was undertaken with Arctic Energy Alliance staff for a winterization walkthrough. It really is an opportunity to help, particularly folks from low or medium-income households, understand some simple solutions. So examples in that regard would just be even insulating window plastic which can have a fairly significant impact on heating costs. Weather stripping around doors, similarly, was something that came out of this which, again, they're simple solutions, Mr. Speaker, but sometimes those simple solutions don't cost very much; people just need to be educated. So, again, happy to follow back up, see if there's other specific items that came after that initiative in Norman Wells, and we'll make sure to get that out so that others can benefit from that. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
