Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak as an MLA for Nahendeh. Prior to this Session, I had the opportunity to hold a constituency meeting in Fort Simpson. A number of topics were raised. When the subject of oil and gas development in the Nahendeh area came up, there was a lot of debate, concern and support. I would like to speak about that today, Mr. Speaker.
In Fort Simpson, the village council, as well as the Metis local, the band council, and the chamber of commerce have formed an oil and gas committee. They got together because of the collective support for it to see what could be done in Fort Simpson.
They have made it known that they are very much in support of the proposed aboriginal gas pipeline down the valley. They would like to be considered a major player in that whole oil and gas development that has captured all of our attention here in the last few years.
They have asked me as their MLA to represent them more aggressively in this matter, and as such I would like to let the Legislative Assembly know that they would like to be considered as more of a player in this whole area. Fort Simpson is located right along the proposed route, alongside the existing Enbridge oil pipeline. The potential of gas in that whole area is very high.
However, there are land claims. The Deh Cho process has not been settled yet, so we have to make sure that the Dene and the Metis in the Deh Cho are considered and involved in any decision that takes place in that whole area.
So whatever gas development happens in our area, we must maximize the benefits so that the people in the communities and the regions in the North have the jobs, training and business opportunities. Thank you.