Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to reinforce the remarks of Mr. Miltenberger. I was pleased to hear remarks by the Minister responsible for the Power Corporation on Tuesday regarding the national recognition the Northwest Territories Power Corporation has received for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is an excellent example of what can be done.
I am particularly interested in how we will be able to expand on this good work. Our own greenhouse gas emissions in the Northwest Territories are about 0.2 percent of Canada's, but on a per-capita basis, we are one of the highest emitters of greenhouse gases in the industrial world.
Today, Mr. Speaker, we have a fine spring day. But a check with the weather office shows that our minimum daily temperatures for this week are about ten degrees above normal.
From 1988 to 1998, Great Slave Lake is breaking up an average of three weeks earlier and freezing later in the year. As well, the late opening of the Mackenzie ice bridge is one of the most evident indicators of what is going on in our environment.
Whatever the cause, we will encounter enormous positive and negative effects in the upcoming decade in our northern environment and way of life. The impact on our economy and how we develop our non-renewable resources in our own interests and for the world is something that we are compelled to pay very close attention to.
Mr. Speaker, on a related issue, the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy is an independent agency of the federal government. They are providing decision makers and opinion leaders with reliable information and objective views on the current state of the environment and the economy.
Today, in Yellowknife, the aboriginal communities and non-renewable resource development issue is having a workshop, which is being co-chaired by Cindy Kenny Gilday, well known for her work in the Northwest Territories, especially with the people of Deline. I am pleased to hear they have chosen to meet in Yellowknife. I wish them well in their deliberations.
Mr. Speaker, I believe we have to develop a co-ordinated energy and environmental strategy in conjunction with stakeholders, which recognizes our obligation to the reduction of greenhouse gases. These are complex issues and I intend to seek more information on how our government will be demonstrating leadership. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.