Thank you, Madam Chairperson. I would like to spend just a few minutes discussing the issue of the Mackenzie Valley pipeline and, generally speaking, I think it is quite clear that the GNWT is in support of the pipeline project.
Of course, it is conditional on the people and this government getting our fair share of the resources. What is not clear though is what exactly the role of the GNWT is in this whole complicated picture. It certainly is a very multi-pronged project. There are various aboriginal and regional governments in support of the project who are really advocating and pushing hard for the project, as well as their share of it. Then we also have aboriginal governments who are not as much in support, and that part of the argument is in the mix as well.
What I am interested in knowing about is what sort of plan the government has and how it sees itself playing and I'm not sure if it would be entirely the responsibility of RWED, but there certainly is a vacuum out there I believe on the dialogue and discussion that needs to be had in getting ready for this. I do understand that there is a review process going on and that process is supposed to create the opportunity for the people and various organizations to come and speak on that issue, but it seems to me that we're in a situation where that process is getting lost on the people. Once again when you look at the eagle eye view or the bird's eye view of the big picture, the people up and down the valley really don't care who is facilitating this, whether it's the federal government, territorial government or whether it's the review process people. To them we are all just big structures out there who are not being responsive to some of the very real and intimate questions that they were asking. For example on The Current, I really enjoyed listening to that because it really was very direct forms of communication for the people to say what's on their mind, and it's really too bad that we can't have a 24-hour phone-in program where people all over the North could call in and really tell us what they think and talk directly to all the people that are in the position of decision-making power to consider and to know as we go forward through this project.
I know that the Status of Women Council spent quite a bit of money talking about the socioeconomic impact of this project. I know that they submitted their report to the Minister responsible for women, but what sort of resources and structures are in place for RWED or ITI or ENR, I don't know who is doing what, but not only readiness physically and not only a socioeconomic deal, but in terms of how we address the socioeconomic impact of the development, as well as getting our people ready for the development. Thank you.