Mr. Speaker, I think the most

important thing to promote the development of oil and gas would be for our government to quickly negotiate resource revenue-sharing and devolution agreements so that we can control the pace of development here in the Northwest Territories. Certainly as a government we spend time and effort to make sure that Canadians and others are aware of the importance of natural gas in dealing with reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Also, without the discovery of these additional resources, we won’t be able to find ways to reduce the cost of living.

It’s important to recognize that we need resources and expertise to do so, and in order to get additional investment and to promote devolution, we need to get the support of people in southern Canada. Our government has been a leader in promoting the Beaufort Sea and oil and gas in the Northwest Territories.