Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I asked the Premier some questions on the Arctic Research Institute. I’d like to follow that up today with my Member’s statement.
We all know climate change is happening. This is something that’s been out there for a while. We see it first-hand in the Beaufort-Delta with the banks starting to cave in with permafrost giving out and that. We see it in the ocean. The signs are all out there, and I think Mr. Bromley points out quite well that there are a lot of concerns. My colleague Mr. Jacobson spoke to the exploration that’s going to be going on in the Beaufort-Delta, which is a good thing for business in the Beaufort-Delta, but they still will continue to monitor the environment.
That brings me to the point I want to make. The federal government is looking to put up an Aurora institute as the place to conduct research and have it as the headquarters. I think I’ve tried to make my case why the facility should be in the Beaufort-Delta and, in particular, in Inuvik. The Arctic is an open textbook as to climate change and how it’s affecting the animals. If you want to study the ocean, we have it there. If you want to study the delta, the delta’s there. If you want to study whales, they’re there. If you want to study buffalo, they’ll soon be there because of the way things are changing.
I will have questions today to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, because I think the location of the Aurora Research Institute should be in Inuvik, and I think the Department of Education, Culture and Employment will be a big player in helping decide where it’s going to go. I will pose my questions to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment at the appropriate time.