Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm sure that as we approach winter and people are getting their fuel tanks filled and seeing the lights on in their house more often, the furnaces come on, that there isn't any issue more important in their minds than the cost of energy. Mr. Speaker, I agree. We did, as Cabinet, talk about the cost of energy and the need for conservation and the importance of us, as a Legislative Assembly, to pay attention to this issue. Mr. Speaker, I agree that there is no more important cost.
As well, Mr. Speaker, as I travel around the communities -- and I travel to most of them every year at least once a year -- I keep hearing, particularly in the small communities, about the cost of living. It's more than just energy. It is to do with the cost of food, the cost of vegetables, of fruit, of milk, of juice, of living in the communities. That is an issue that is very important to us.
Mr. Speaker, I don't have any quarrel at all with energy as being a main issue, as cost of living being a major issue. I hear that from the communities, and I believe in my first statement in this Legislative Assembly, I referred to the cost of living as being something that we had to deal with. I've long been a proponent of finding cheaper, cleaner energy as well, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the second most important thing that we heard about today, in fact, from Members, is our accountability to the public and our need to be transparent and open with the public. Mr. Speaker, the only problem I have with this motion is the suggestion that we should do more of this kind of business with the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight, even in a public meeting. I have a problem with that because the only public who are going to have an opportunity to hear us review this kind of issue are going to be the people who live in the community where AOC are meeting.
Mr. Speaker, if it's in Yellowknife, then, yes, the energy cost is a big issue in Yellowknife. But I tell you, it's a really big issue in some of the small communities and they're not going to drive into town, into Yellowknife, use up fuel to get here, stay overnight in a hotel, to come and sit in a public meeting. Mr. Speaker, this is not enough. We have to be accountable to the public, we have to be open to the public, and, Mr. Speaker, I don't think this motion goes far enough in dealing with energy or dealing with cost of living and just suggesting we have a public meeting with the Accountability and Oversight committee. Mr. Speaker, we're prepared and we want to have an open, public debate, and I suggest that it should be in Committee of the Whole. It should be where there is television coverage; where people can see what is happening, and hear the arguments, and the points, and the suggestions, that are put forward.
So, Mr. Speaker, I have trouble with this motion in suggesting that AOC is the way that we should start doing more of our business. That's fine for us when we want to look at issues as political leaders, but when it comes to public opportunities to be there and hear what we're doing, then if we want to be fair to everybody across the Territories -- and I want to be fair to everybody across the Territories -- then I think we should be doing it in Committee of the Whole as a first example.
Mr. Speaker, we certainly don't want to seem hypocritical and be talking about being public and so on, and then suggesting we do more work in committee rooms. I, Mr. Speaker, have trouble with this only in that it is suggesting that we do this in committee. Let's do it here where the public can see and hear what we're doing, Mr. Speaker.
As far as energy and cost of living, I agree. Those are the two biggest issues. But public accountability, openness, transparency of our government, are also big issues and I urge the people who put this motion together to consider changing it so that we deal with this issue in public in Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Before I conclude my statement, I would like to ask that we do a recorded vote on this motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.