Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak briefly in support of this motion, Mr. Speaker. This item was a high priority item in the last Assembly. The legislation was passed, but it has been many years in the making to get the regulations in place and this program up and running. I am actually quite excited that we are going to see this program get started on November 1st, Mr. Speaker.
I just want to make it clear that I am in favour of the recycling program, and I know that many of the Yellowknife residents, especially those who go away to school and have any length of time living in the South, the first thing they notice when they move back is the fact that we do not have a recycling program in the North.
Mr. Speaker, I do understand that they are having some problems with this program, not only the length it took to get the regulatory process regulations written up, but I know that some members in my constituency are concerned about the fact that the fees charged will be different for types of bottles or cans. By the time we got to know the details of that, I realized it was too late to change it. I was able to inquire about other processes involved in getting the cleanup, and hygiene issues, and such. I was able to get satisfactory answers out of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The reason I am supporting this motion is the fact that I believe this is a way to get the program up and running on November 1st, but exempting those communities...Twenty percent of the communities are not going to have a depot. I want to make it clear, Mr. Speaker, that I do support the program to go ahead on November 1st in communities where they have these depots, like Yellowknife and many other places. Eighty percent of the population live in the Territories where there will be depot service available, but I have to insist that communities where there are no depots, it is just not fair for the government to be collecting fees if they have nowhere to take the bottles and cans to, and get the money back.
Mr. Speaker, I believe there is a role for the government to play. The government has to step in and spend some money to make sure that there are depots available. I am going to leave it up to the Minister to consider all options available. I understand that there is a possibility of using the ENR office, and where there are no ENR officers in some communities, maybe they could use other government employees to make sure that the program gets off the ground.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to state, before I finish speaking, that I am speaking to this motion and I am hoping that, once this gets going, years down the road, we will look back at this program as being something that was good that we did.
I would really encourage the schools all over the Territories to get involved and set up a program where they could earn some money and do a really good thing of cleaning up our environment. Mr. Speaker, I remember hearing in communities one time that, if it is too...I think, even in Yellowknife where people go out to the bush a lot, when they are going fishing, or hunting, or whatever, we do bring a lot of stuff out there. I am hoping that we will have a program that gives sufficient incentive for people to
pick up those empty bottles and cans from out-of-reach places, and this program will encourage all of us to be more environmentally conscious and environmentally friendly. I think those are the comments that I want to make. For that reason, I am speaking in favour of the motion, and speaking in favour of the program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.