YELLOWKNIFE, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

Page 2512NORTHWEST TERRITORIES HANSARD February 23, 2009

Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly

3rd SessionDay 1616th Assembly

HANSARD

Monday, February 23, 2009

Pages 2461 - 2512

The Honourable Paul Delorey, Speaker

Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories

Members of the Legislative Assembly

Speaker

Hon. Paul Delorey

(Hay River North)

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mr. Glen Abernethy

(Great Slave)

Mr. Tom Beaulieu

(Tu Nedhe)

Ms. Wendy Bisaro

(Frame Lake)

Mr. Bob Bromley

(Weledeh)

Mrs. Jane Groenewegen

(Hay River South)

Mr. Robert Hawkins

(Yellowknife Centre)

Mr. Jackie Jacobson

(Nunakput)

Mr. David Krutko

(Mackenzie Delta)

Hon. Jackson Lafferty

(Monfwi)

Minister of Justice

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment

Hon. Sandy Lee

(Range Lake)

Minister of Health and Social Services

Minister responsible for the

Status of Women

Minister responsible for

Persons with Disabilities

Minister responsible for Seniors

Hon. Bob McLeod

(Yellowknife South)

Minister of Human Resources

Minister of Industry, Tourism

and Investment

Minister responsible for the

Public Utilities Board

Minister responsible for

Energy Initiatives

Hon. Michael McLeod

(Deh Cho)

Minister of Transportation

Minister of Public Works and Services

Minister responsible for the

NWT Housing Corporation

Hon. Robert C. McLeod

(Inuvik Twin Lakes)

Minister of Municipal and

Community Affairs

Minister responsible for the Workers'

Safety and Compensation

Commission

Minister responsible for Youth

Mr. Kevin Menicoche

(Nahendeh)

Hon. Michael Miltenberger

(Thebacha)

Deputy Premier

Government House Leader

Minister of Finance

Minister responsible for the Financial

Management Board Secretariat

Minister of Environment and

Natural Resources

Mr. Dave Ramsay

(Kam Lake)

Hon. Floyd Roland

(Inuvik Boot Lake)

Premier

Minister of Executive

Minister of Aboriginal Affairs

and Intergovernmental Relations

Minister responsible for the

NWT Power Corporation

Mr. Norman Yakeleya

(Sahtu)

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Officers

Clerk of the Legislative Assembly

Mr. Tim Mercer

Deputy ClerkActing Principal ClerkPrincipal Clerk,Law Clerks

of CommitteesOperations

Mr. Doug SchauerteMs. Jennifer KnowlanMs. Gail BennettMs. Sheila MacPherson

Ms. Sarah Kay

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Box 1320

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

Tel: (867) 669-2200 Fax: (867) 920-4735 Toll-Free: 1-800-661-0784

http://www.assembly.gov.nt.ca

Published under the authority of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PRAYER2461

MINISTERS' STATEMENTS2461

33-16(3) - Energy and the GNWT Approach to Reducing the Cost of Living (Roland)2461

34-16(3) - Electricity Review (B. McLeod)2462

35-16(3) - Northern Medal and Order of Canada Awards (Lee)2462

36-16(3) - Minister Absent from the House (Roland)2463

MEMBERS' STATEMENTS2463

Recognition of YWCA Contributions (Abernethy)2463

Capital Infrastructure for Municipal Wastewater Treatment (Krutko)2464

Energy Initiatives in the Sahtu (Yakeleya)2464

Changes to Consensus Government (Ramsay)2464

Proposed Changes to Local Authorities Elections Act (Bisaro)2465

Summer Student Opportunities in the GNWT (Menicoche)2465

Commercial Fishing Opportunities in Tu Nedhe Communities (Beaulieu)2466

RECOGNITION OF VISITORS IN THE GALLERY2466

ORAL QUESTIONS2466

MOTIONS2474

12-16(3) - Northwest Territories Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Yakeleya)2474

CONSIDERATION IN COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE OF BILLS AND OTHER MATTERS2479

REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE2511

ORDERS OF THE DAY2511

ii

YELLOWKNIFE, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

Monday, February 23, 2009

Members Present

Mr. Abernethy, Mr. Beaulieu, Ms. Bisaro, Mr. Bromley, Hon. Paul Delorey, Mr. Jacobson, Mr. Krutko, Hon. Sandy Lee, Hon. Bob McLeod, Hon. Michael McLeod, Hon. Robert McLeod, Mr. Menicoche, Hon. Michael Miltenberger, Mr. Ramsay, Hon. Floyd Roland, Mr. Yakeleya

February 23, 2009NORTHWEST TERRITORIES HANSARDPage 2511

The House met at 1:35 p.m.

Prayer

---Prayer

SPEAKER (Hon. Paul Delorey): Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber. Before we begin, colleagues, for your information and the information of our guests, interpreters in the House this week will be channel two, South Slavey; channel three, North Slavey. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers statements. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

Ministers StatementsMINISTERS STATEMENT 33-16(3):ENERGY AND THE GNWT APPROACH TO REDUCING THE COST OF LIVING

HON. FLOYD ROLAND: Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak to our governments overall approach to energy, and specifically to the processes that are now underway that will help shape the future of the electricity system in the Northwest Territories.

Building upon the NWT Energy Plan and Greenhouse Gas Strategy, the vision and priorities identified by all Members of the 16th Legislative Assembly, and with further input of all Members, the GNWT released our Energy Priorities Framework last October.This document clearly outlines our priorities, from enhanced efforts in energy conservation and efficiency to fundamentally changing our energy supply and reducing our dependence on imported diesel.

As the Minister of Finance outlined in his budget speech, our government has made an unprecedented financial commitment to bring about real change and reduce the cost of living, especially in our remote communities.

Mr. Speaker, we need to examine all opportunities to reduce energy costs and this includes looking at our electricity sector, how our electricity is generated and delivered, and how our electricity

rates are established.Our key process for this is our review of electricity regulation, rates and subsidy programs, which Minister Bob McLeod will be speaking to today.

In the context of the overall electricity review, there are two related processes I have committed to undertake.The first is a review of the NTPC. Members of this House and the Association of Communities have called on the government to review the structure and the efficiency of the NWT Power Corporation. Concerned about high electricity rates, customers and leaders have asked the government to confirm that the corporation operates as efficiently as it can. As Minister responsible for the Power Corporation, I plan to appoint an expert panel of industry and audit professionals. Before the end of this session, I will provide the names of the members of the panel to all Regular Members and inform the public.

Mr. Speaker, the panel will examine the financial statements, PUB rate applications, and general operations of the NTPC. I will be asking the panel members to meet with the PUB. A comparison of costs, rates, and practices will be done between NTPC and NUL, so that residents can obtain a fair comparison of community rates and the reasons for differences. The panel members will conduct comparative analyses of similar utilities, though, admittedly, there are few simple comparisons to our Power Corporation.

The panel members will then share the understanding they gain from their detailed analysis by conducting a series of meetings with important stakeholders. The goal of this exercise is to build a common understanding of the reasons underlying our current electricity costs, and to discuss opportunities for change. Our Power Corporation is a valuable asset of this government. If it can be improved, we ought to pursue those improvements. If services can be improved, and rates lowered or at least stabilized, we need to pursue those changes.

Mr. Speaker, there is an important link between the NTPC and electricity reviews. The electricity review is intended to discuss the implications of adding or reducing the number of companies operating in the NWTs electricity sector. The NTPC review will provide data on the opportunities and implications of reducing the number of utility players to one, whether it be private or public.

The second is a review of the ATCO proposal for a partnership arrangement in the development and delivery of power in the Northwest Territories, which I announced in January.This review should be considered as due diligence on the part of our government, in response to an unsolicited proposal.I am expecting an initial report in April to help determine whether this proposal should be pursued further.

The ATCO review will help us understand how a merged and privatized utility would operate in NWT, including changes to the way NTPC currently operates. The preliminary review of this proposal will help government understand the issues related to electrica