Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to talk briefly once again about the environment and climate change; climate change which we know is affecting us as we look around us, as I've pointed out in this House before. As we stand here, we know that persistent organic pollutants are sifting out of the air into the land and water and concentrating in the fish and wildlife, and can be found in mothers' milk. We know that our water is being affected. What drives climate change has been determined to be the rising temperature caused by the amount of greenhouse gases put out by mankind, and in the Northwest Territories we are on a per capita basis some of the highest discharges of greenhouse gases in the country.

Mr. Speaker, we are, in fact, contributing to the very problem that we know is having a terrible affect on the land and the water and the animals. What are we to do about this? Mr. Speaker, we are doing some things. If we do the Taltson expansion we will be cutting the greenhouse gases by the diamond mines significantly once we get the power to the mines. If we do the community energy strategies and work with the communities we will be able to help them reduce their reliance on petroleum products.

But the one area that we have to look at more closely that we know is coming, is a major project that is going to double our greenhouse gas emissions, and that is the pipeline. As we look at making sure that we have a socio-economic agreement, and that we have all these other good things in place, we also have to look at what does it mean in terms of the greenhouse gas emissions and what can we do, as a territory, to help mitigate that doubling of greenhouse gas emissions which are going to contribute

to the climate change and temperature increase, and, in turn, contribute to the problems that we are experiencing with the caribou, the water, the fish, and all the other creatures that are on this land. That ties then to ourselves as people, the health of the people.

Mr. Speaker, this is a very fundamental issue that has yet to be fully addressed. I know there are plenty of suggestions out there on how to do this. Imperial Oil had $10.5 billion third-quarter profits this year, $10.7 billion third-quarter profits last year. They are making vast amounts of money. We have to make sure in the Northwest Territories that we protect the interest of the environment as we do business with these folks; and it is strictly business, Mr. Speaker, with Imperial Oil. They are here to make money and lots of it. Mr. Speaker, I request unanimous consent to conclude my statement.