Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to speak about northern development and the regulatory process. Mr. Speaker, the Premier, the Minister of Finance and others from this government have been spreading the word that consensus is building among Northerners that we want to see a pipeline down the Mackenzie Valley.

Mr. Speaker, it is important to do this, but I think it is also important to remember the decision will not be made on the basis of political leaders' statements. The final decision will be a business decision on which route is the most efficient.

Our government needs to be sure that we continue to build a strong consensus of Northerners and that the regulatory process will work efficiently or, by default, the route outside the Northwest Territories may become more attractive to industry. We have heard that there will be a meeting shortly of regulatory boards in the North to discuss a cooperative approach and this is a welcome idea. The Government of the Northwest Territories has a role to play here and should work with those agencies to ensure that we facilitate a cooperative approach.

There is a potential problem that we must be aware of and it has to do with the funding for the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board. Mr. Speaker, since 1992, the funding for the board has been fixed at about $540,000. This level of funding is aimed at environmental hearings, not at the cost of running the office or other infrastructure needs.

Mr. Speaker, given the current continually increasing developments in oil and gas and other mining developments in the Territories, the board probably needs more like $1 million to $1.2 million to continue their program at the current levels. Given the increase in prospects for development, more funding is required to effectively deliver the mandate of the board.

In the last fiscal year, Mr. Speaker, the board proposed funding of $1.7 million to the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, but they only received $1.1 million. That is obviously a substantial improvement from the $540,000 they had received before but more funding is needed to meet increasing demand. Mr. Speaker, if additional work is required this year, such as consideration of a Mackenzie Valley pipeline, the current funding will not be sufficient. This could lead to delays, Mr. Speaker.

Our government needs to go after the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs to ensure that adequate funding is available or our chances of becoming a "have" Territory could be seriously endangered.

-- Applause.