Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, water is what sustains us and gives us life. Every one of our communities is situated on a body of water. People are drawn to water and there is a deep spiritual and mystical significance to water for most people, especially the aboriginal people. We know, across the world, that the water we take for granted is under tremendous stress. Mr. Speaker, the world itself comprises 70 percent water; however, 97 percent of that is salt water, 2 percent is tied up in the ice caps in the North and South Poles; that leaves 1 percent, and of that 1 percent that's left is fresh potable water around the world, and half is very badly polluted already, which leaves us half a percent that we talk about when we talk about fresh water.
Mr. Speaker, this is not just a feel good motion; this is a very fundamental statement of one of our core values. There is a debate going around the world about whether water is just a need or a fundamental right. We are asserting in this motion that it is a fundamental right for all people. If it is just a need it becomes a commodity, it becomes subject to export, privatization, it becomes subject to all these trade agreements we have and that, Mr. Speaker, is not what I think we want in the Northwest Territories. We want to state very clearly, on record, in this House where laws are made and public policy is decided, that one of our values is that water is a fundamental right. On the basis of that motion, as we did with the other motion, we are setting the stage for some very significant public policy discussion on where do we go with our natural resources in the coming years and how do we deal with the factors that are affecting us like climate change.
Mr. Speaker, it has been said the federal government has jurisdiction but I would submit that we have, as legislators, a political and moral obligation to act on this. We know we cannot count entirely on the federal government. They have legislation but they choose not to act on it in many, many cases. You can go across the country to areas where the federal government has jurisdiction and have not acted in the best interests of the people. Let me give you one example: Let's talk about the health indicators for aboriginal people across this country for which the federal government has direct fiduciary responsibility, as they go to the provinces and territories and tell us to straighten out our wait times, the health indicators for aboriginal people, especially on reserves, are the worst in the country. So let me state again, we have a moral and political obligation to act on this.
I'd like to thank my colleagues for their support on this motion and I understand that this is going to be a free vote in the House and, if it is, I would encourage all the Members to find it in themselves to support this very fundamental motion that is a statement of one of our core basic principles as northerners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause