Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, there are. I'll give you an example. We did a study. Right now we have in diesel about 20 megawatts of capacity in Iqaluit. That costs about $40 million. There is a possibility for 20 megawatts of hydro. We just reviewed the costs earlier this year; it's $350 million. Those are the challenges we face.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That's actually for two different locations close to Iqaluit. That's the maximum from those two particular locations. You could build in other potential areas, but that would mean additional investment. That's the maximum for the $350 million, the 20 megawatts.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  In Iqaluit, we're remote from other communities. From Baffin Island, where we are, you can't get to a lot of the other areas. That's similar to a lot of other communities in Nunavut. There is a potential transmission line from Manitoba to Nunavut, which would supply five communities going up the west side of Hudson Bay.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think it's a possibility. I'm hesitating a little bit because we just did a desktop study. Three communities out of the 25 were identified for additional study to see if they were viable. Even if those three were realized, there are still the other 22 communities.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think that we're looking at all the possibilities. I think there are technical constraints and there are also other considerations. The nuclear option has considerations other than technical. For us, we're looking at intermittent power sources, solar and wind versus on-demand, and the deep geothermal.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Actually, we're in the middle of having some discussions about doing some feasibility studies, particularly in Iqaluit, because of the size of the community and the resulting.... Well, you've been to Iqaluit. You've probably seen the town.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you. I'd like to add a bit more. Qulliq Energy Corporation, QEC, is part of the steering committee that's developing the SMR road map here in Canada. Whenever we talk about nuclear energy in Nunavut, I always throw in that we're exploring the feasibility, the business case, and that before we go any further, we will consult the communities to make sure it's acceptable to communities.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. Qulliq Energy Corporation is the territorial power corporation for Nunavut. I would like to begin by thanking you and the members of the standing committee for inviting me as the representative from Qulliq Energy Corporation to appear before you today. Opportunities such as this provide us with a chance to identify some areas of improvement and provide recommendations to the federal government.