Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to briefly speak to the issue raised by the Minister of RWED a couple of days ago in the House when he made a Minister's statement on global climate change. I do not think this particular Minister's statement and issue has received the attention it deserves in the Northwest Territories. This is a situation that has worldwide implications. I have raised it in the House before, as well, in terms of the need to control our carbon gas emissions and the need for energy planning and energy strategies at a time when costs are rising and greenhouse gases are having a significant detrimental effect on our environment. I think that is fairly obvious when you look at the news reports on the growing hole in the ozone layer over the Arctic which puts all of us at risk and increases the chances of cancer and any number of other negative implications.
Mr. Speaker, because of our cold climate, the NWT is one of the heaviest users of petroleum products on a per capita basis. As a result, we are also one of the biggest emitters of carbon gases which contribute to the whole problem of greenhouse gases and things like the ozone layer. As the Minister indicated, Mr. Speaker, I would just like to quote from his statement, "A recent forecast conducted by my department indicates that in the Northwest Territories alone, if action is not taken, emissions could be 30 percent higher in 15 years' time. That figure could be even higher with the development of our oil and gas reserves." This has tremendous implications for any planning that we do, the kind of energy strategies we need in our territory, in the east and west, we have an incredible dependence on petroleum products. It is going to be critical for this Legislature and the new Legislature of Nunavut to come to grips with this. In the west, I am going to be pushing very hard for a territory-wide energy strategy that is going to address not only consumption, but what do we do to control these emissions? There is going to be worldwide pressure on Canada by virtue of the fact that we are a northern country and we use so many petroleum products, especially compared to the rest of the known world. We all have a responsibility, as northerners, to deal with this issue for our own sakes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
--Applause