Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister stated, there are quite a high number of inmates within the southern facility who come from the Inuvik region. I would like to know from the Minister, is there any way possible of notifying all the inmates from the region that Turning Point is operating and have some programs available to them? Is there a way of

getting that information out? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to direct my question to the Minister responsible for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. It is in relation to some of the critical issues that he touched on in his statement a number of days ago in regard to global climate changes and the fact that we are such heavy users of petroleum products and as a result, we are contributing heavily to emissions. There is a hole in the ozone layer and over the Arctic that has an impact on us and the provision of energy in the north is one of our single biggest costs. Could the Minister indicate how the proposed strategy he references in his global climate change's statement is going to address these situations and not just speak strictly to emission standards? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Canada went to Kyoto and made some commitments that now, the federal Ministers in partnership with the provincial governments, the provincial Ministers, have to strategize on how to meet those targets. The targets that were set in Kyoto are felt to have economic consequences, cost implications that have not yet been clarified and addressed. There is agreement with the different governments to work on costing out the implications for each jurisdiction in Canada on meeting the targets that were set in Kyoto. We have agreed on a process for working on that. There will be a number of different ways of meeting the emission targets. I am not certain if I can provide detail on it, but I know that there have been a number of initiatives here in the north, like the creation of the Arctic Energy Alliance. We have seen specific initiatives internationally such as money being spent in Mexico City, a city of 20 million people that is heavily polluted changing their aging diesel burning bus, public transit systems to propane. The same is being done in cities such as Athens and other cities across the world that are currently suffering from severe pollution and staggering greenhouse gas emissions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my supplementary question is in relation to more specifics and the fact that emissions are only one key component for the need of a broader energy strategy as we have talked about before in this House, and the Minister has responded to the questions on. Would the Minister indicate the timeframe for this strategic framework he is talking about in dealing with emission standards and how that would tie in, hopefully, with the broader energy strategy for the Western Territory and maybe a framework for the eastern territory as well? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the target that Canada set and agreed to in Kyoto is a 6 percent reduction from the 1990 levels by the year 2013. In the Northwest Territories, we cannot realistically talk about any significant reduction to greenhouse gas emissions. For instance, by the time BHP mine goes into full production, our greenhouse gas emissions will jump by a quarter to half of the current levels because we have so few large industrial production sites. We do not have 1000 factories in the Northwest Territories, as you would find in certain parts of Ontario. For Ontario, the scale at which they can look at greenhouse gas emissions is very different from us. Having said that, we are looking at ways by looking at, for instance, energy conservation measures where this government can actually save money by asking people to come forward with projects that they have identified, projects which could help reduce the cost of operations for government services. It would save money for the government, and it could reduce the greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the volume of diesel, for instance, that is required under the current operations. The Environment Ministers across Canada will continue to meet. There will be a meeting, hopefully, in the Northwest Territories this fall, as I am the Chair for the Canadian Council of Environment Ministers. There will continue to be discussions in ways in which we can work together and how to reach those targets, and looking at economic measures that we can take on as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to suggest to the Minister that it may be somewhat premature to say before there is a strategy in place that we cannot lower our emissions before we look at alternative energy options. The conservation measures that the Minister, himself, just referenced, community energy planning and a whole host of other areas. I believe the Northwest Territories could play a cutting edge role in terms of those kinds of activities. Could the Minister indicate what the timeframe is for the completion of the strategic framework that he has made reference to? He wants to start the process, but I am interested in knowing what the time lines are in terms of completion once consultation has been done with the communities and all the other groups he mentioned in his statement. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Ministers have agreed to a process to address the need to develop a National Implementation Strategy on climate change as of the target date. As to when we are going to finish that, I cannot tell the Member at this time. I do know that we are also looking at establishing some way of giving credit for early action by companies in the private sector on most reduced greenhouse gas emissions. We are looking at ways to strengthen and support voluntary action. We want, as well, to engage in a national public education program on climate change. Most school children today are aware of the looming problem we have on global climate change. They are, I think, in need of a national program that would help focus and streamline the discussion and help focus on public attention on this very significant issue. I should tell the Member that the Northwest Territories emissions are only about one half of one percent of the national total. Our emissions are expected to continue to increase much faster than the national average. A forecast prepared by our department indicates that emissions could be 30 percent higher than of the 1990 levels by 2003 if more oil and gas developments proceed. We know that reducing emissions to 6 percent below 1990 rates will have significant impact on the north's economic growth. For instance, if we said that there should be no significant increase in the greenhouse gas emission levels in the north as of today, we will not be able to allow any mines to go into production at this time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The quote the Minister just read out is, indeed, a good one as I have, in fact, made use of it today as well. It speaks to the issue that while we are small in number on a per capita basis, people of the north are by far the largest emitters of carbon gases and greenhouse gases. The issues the Minister raises about how we do this to ensure we have still economic development and we do not damage our economy are critical and speak to the need for a broader energy strategy. The Minister, a couple of months ago, committed to, in fact, perusing that objective of a Made in the North Energy Strategy which is going to be critical for us as we move into the 21st century. Can the Minister, I suppose, recommit or indicate that he is still going to pursue that very critical objective, one component of which would be emission of greenhouse gases? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker. I can make that commitment again. Thank you.