Thank you, Speaker-elect, Premier-elect, and the 18th Legislative Assembly colleagues here. Just bear with me. I've got a bit of a cold here. Not to mention any names where it came from, but watch out.
---Laughter
Anyway, to carry on. Our NWT democracy has spoken on November 23rd that brought us here together today. Voters granted us, 19 of us, the respectful honour to define a clear mandate for a pan-territorial vision built on the solid foundation of transparency and accountability. Although we face many headwinds, I have every confidence that we will all work together and capitalize on the individual strengths of our diverse team sitting around here today. We will be able to overcome any challenges confronting our territory.
I am not a defender of the status quo. If change is needed, and it certainly is, as a Minister, I will take that directive to heart. Every team needs a strong leader and leaders who aren't afraid of hard work, and I am respectfully seeking your support today for a ministerial appointment within Cabinet.
My own varied background has prepared me well for this senior role within the Assembly. This includes:
- 35 years spent working in the private and public sector;
- experience as a Sahtu land claims negotiator;
- understanding the challenges faced by our communities through time spent as an elected counsellor in Fort Good Hope;
- a strong desire to build a brighter future for all residents that grows out of 33 years-plus I've spent with my caring wife, Beverly, three wonderful children and seven grandchildren.
Nationally, we all know that we have a newly-minted federal Liberal government led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is clearly focused on stimulating the economy with infrastructure development while protecting the environment and creating jobs. Fortunately, for the first time in more than a decade, our Member of Parliament is part of that government and will have a strong voice for us in Ottawa, providing we speak together with clarity from this institution.
When I look at the obstacles before us, like the recent closure of the Snap Lake diamond mine, for example, I remain confident in our ability to succeed. The 17th Legislative Assembly has set a table for us in many ways. They have opened new doors for us into international markets like China, which has huge implications in terms of tourism, growth and resource development potential.
Our predecessors have also completed the devolution deal with Ottawa. We must now follow through on the implementation and remaining issues for completion. Having been intimately involved in the Sahtu Land Claim negotiations, I understand the benefits of clarity. At the same time, I see the need for renewed efforts to encourage the completion of land claim agreements throughout our territory. To help deliver this commitment, Cabinet must help plot a new course for territorial negotiators, one that includes amended policy and revised mandates so that the system has enough flexibility to reach deals with unsettled claimant groups. We need to build respectful government-to-government relationships with all Aboriginal groups throughout the territory. We can't continue to allow paper to divide us.
I welcome mid-term reviews and the policy being developed to address that. This surely is a principle for prudent and effective management. I would support finding new ways to connect with the public. Decentralizing Caucus and committee meetings and getting them out of Yellowknife and into the regions would be a good starting point.
Our government inherits the construction of the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway. Additionally, the Department of Transportation is the proponent in the ongoing Mackenzie Valley Highway extension project from Fort Wrigley to Norman Wells. It is currently the focus of review board environmental assessment with public hearings expected within the first half of this Assembly. Combining these two highways will cost Canadians in excess of $1 billion. If we are to see them through to completion, it is critical that Cabinet include leaders with intimate knowledge of these projects as well as others being discussed with increasing regularity, such as the Tlicho region's Whati all-weather road. It would be imperative that we engage with the federal government to access appropriate funds for these critical investments in our territorial transportation network.
We also need powerful voices in Cabinet who understand the importance of building strong, healthy communities. In addition to our targeted infrastructure investments to reduce the cost of living and improve the quality of life for residents, we can't lose sight of other important community capital needs ranging from the new school in Colville Lake to upgrades on Highway No. 7 through the Wood Buffalo National Park, and from an updated health centre in Fort Simpson to dealing with the ongoing housing issues facing our Northwest Territories area.
It has always been my experience that local people understand the best untapped opportunities around them. We need to find new, creative ways to invest our people by seeking leadership roles, especially our youth in looking for further education to start their own home-based community businesses or other initiatives they may choose. We must find ways to help them pursue their dreams. I hope to be a champion within Cabinet for any good ideas.
Our environment. Our environmental regulatory regime is also at an important stage in its evolution as we will be the first MLA group to collectively hold the reins of our world-class co-management system for the entirety of our term in office. In the Sahtu, for example, I've seen how a process based on regional control and engagement leads to respectful, sound decisions for the benefit of all residents without sacrificing our natural environment.
Around the NWT our integrated system has grown from settled land claims. Although it is working well enough today, it still needs much attention. There are legislative blind spots that must be fleshed out. Other updates are likely coming soon to the federal Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, and we have new regulatory tools like the NWT project certificates slated to take effect in the coming months. It's now our fundamental responsibility, in most cases, to oversee the implementation of these changes. We need to take the same co-management approach when engaging with Aboriginal groups on wildlife issues that we can better understand the challenges impacting the caribou herds, in particular the most reversed Bluenose-East and Bluenose-West herds and the Bathurst collapses, which are an important resource to so many people in so many communities. We need to answer these challenges together using both traditional and scientific knowledge, so that the cornerstone of the North, our caribou, are available for generations to come.
We also need to take clear steps to help free our communities from the independence on diesel power. With a suite of cleaner energy options now proven to the North, as leaders we can encourage broader options of those climate change fighting technologies such as wind, water, solar, LNG, geothermal, biomass. All hold potential in different corners of our territory. We need to invest in the technology that advances this important initiative. The federal government is making $100 million available each year for clean energy infrastructure. We need a Cabinet dedicated to ensuring the NWT gets its fair share of funding.