Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think the Premier may be shaking the magic wand, praying that this will be the thing that gives us all the tools we are going to need to deal with energy and what not, but my understanding of the draft report to date, it is nothing more than a verbal wastage of wording. I think that if he is thinking that this report is going to salvage what is happening here today, I believe he is wrong.

I would like to ask the Premier, exactly how crucial a report would this interim report be to salvage our energy initiatives or requirements in the Northwest Territories? How intense a report are we looking at, since he has mentioned that it is only an interim report?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The intent of the paper is to facilitate discussion and give some overall context to the direction that Cabinet and this Legislature hopefully will take in regard to energy conservation, the transmission, all the different aspects of energy, both supply and market, and give some overall contexts to the discussions and the decisions we need to have in the next few months.

I think some people will benefit from the broadening of the scope with which they view individual issues. Some people may not benefit from it, but it is our hope that through the development of this paper, that all Members of the Legislature, the Cabinet and the public will see energy in an overall, global context, international context, national, in all its various forms with all the relevant issues clarified so that we can make decisions on an individual basis about how we should view energy, how we use it and how it should be provided to us. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, regarding the costs associated with all of these reports, we mentioned the Robertson report. We have had different energy initiatives. We have non-renewable resource strategies. We have strategies coming out of our ears, but yet, Mr. Speaker, a lot of times we find these strategies sitting on the shelf collecting dust. A good example is the Robertson report.

I would like to ask the Minister, do we have a count of all of the expenditures to date of all strategies that have been put in place by this government, and exactly what is the cost to the public?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not certain that we have a cost identified in detail attached to each strategy that we have prepared in the last few years, but if they are available, we will certainly share it with the Member. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Premier, knowing that the group that probably would have benefited most from the one-rate zone in regard to all of the strategies and initiatives we put in place, but I think a lot of times this government loses sight of small communities, and those communities who are on diesel dependency. In his comments, he kept referring to hydro and those types of initiatives, but in most cases, a lot of communities we represent do not have hydro.

I would like to ask the Minister, exactly what comfort is he going to give to those communities who are diesel dependent in regard to having the high cost of power, the high cost of energy? What is he as a government going to do to bring down those costs in our small communities so that we have a fair distribution of power in communities in the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe all of the communities want to be engaged in a discussion about how power should be supplied to them and the policies under which this government will facilitate that. Communities also want to talk about conservation, the impact on the environment, strategies like the Kyoto Protocol, the agreement and the impact that will have, as well as the benefits. Communities want to learn more about conservation, so that the high cost of power in the communities can be minimized through conservation measures, and the kinds of policies that we shall adopt that will minimize the environmental impact of the initiative we will undertake. Hydro is one that is being considered in some areas in the Northwest Territories, and people need a broad base of information and framework under which to engage in the discussion.

We know that at the end of the day, everyone in the small communities is saying to us "We want a way in which to reduce the cost of our power bills on a monthly basis. We want to pay less for our businesses, for our hamlets, for our band councils. That is what we want." If people are convinced that a one-rate zone system is the answer, of course they will flock to that.

Our business is to provide as many options as we can to the public and to make sure the information is there, so people can make wise choices, including ourselves. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a statement by the Gwich'in chiefs in regard to prioritizing our goals and objectives instructing the Government of the Northwest Territories to take on more initiatives to developing our economy and working with aboriginal groups in developing the pipeline.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, October 21, 2002 I will move that Bill 27, An Act to Amend the Elections Act, No. 2, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.