Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, Members have chosen to focus their Members' statements on the cost of living in the North. It has always cost more to live in the North, but those costs have risen dramatically with the record price of crude oil. This has affected the cost of fuel for our vehicles, fuel to heat our homes, fuel for the generation of electricity, fuel for air transportation, fuel for the vehicles by which we receive most of our goods in the North, most essentially our food. We can't change the environment in the North, but we can change how we operate within that environment. If ever there was a place where attention should be paid to innovation and cutting-edge technology in construction, mechanical systems, methods of power generation and energy conservation, you would think that it would be here in the North.

Such a high percentage of what we earn goes to pay for our basic needs: shelter, food and transportation. But I think we have been remiss in being cognizant of our harsh environment in how we live and move about in the North. We continue to build buildings with relatively little investment on the front end to avoid the high ongoing costs of operation. This is where I think the government needs to take a leading role. We need to lead by example, in ensuring that every cost-effective measure is taken to build homes and capital infrastructure that will use energy in the most efficient way.

Recently, the director of the South Slave district housing office in Hay River told me about a prototype subdivision in Okotoks, Alberta, that was set up as an example of a model of energy efficiency. Let's go down there and take a look. Let's make our next group of public housing units a state-of-the-art demonstration of real affordable housing.