Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to move the low carbon fuel standard motion.
WHEREAS the production and burning of fossil fuels used to power our vehicles, generate electricity and heat our buildings contributes to increased carbon dioxide emissions that are responsible for global climate change;
AND WHEREAS the health of the Northwest Territories ecosystems, including its lakes, rivers, forests, tundra, birds and animals, face increasing threats from climate change and our continued dependence on fossil fuels;
AND WHEREAS the production of fossil fuels derived from the Alberta tar sands emits approximately three times the carbon dioxide pollution per barrel as does conventional oil production and poses significant environmental and
health threats to all downstream communities in the Mackenzie Basin;
AND WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories purchases over eighteen million litres of fuel on behalf of NWT communities, as well as millions of litres of fuel for its own use on an annual basis, making the government one of the largest purchasers of fuel products in the Territory;
AND WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories has established green procurement guidelines that encourage the purchase of goods and services that are environmentally responsible or less environmentally harmful than those currently used;
AND WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories, through the Greenhouse Gas Strategy and Northwest Territories Energy Strategy, has committed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and the NWT’s dependence on imported fossil fuels by investing in more clean, renewable energy sources;
AND WHEREAS the continued reliance on higher-carbon or “dirty” oil slows the Northwest Territories’ progress toward clean, renewable energy sources and in meeting our reductions to greenhouse gas emissions;
AND WHEREAS the Dene Nation has recognized the grave environmental and public health threat the Alberta tar sands poses to the Athabasca River and Mackenzie River Basin and has passed a motion calling on all governments in the Northwest Territories and governments across North America to implement a low carbon fuel standard;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that this Legislative Assembly strongly recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories undertake the necessary research and cost-benefit analysis and consider implementing a low carbon fuel standard that decreases the Government of the Northwest Territories’ reliance on, or eliminates, the use of unconventional higher-carbon oil by the end of the term of this Assembly;
AND FURTHER that this Legislative Assembly supports the establishment of guidelines for the use of lifecycle analyses that evaluate the greenhouse gas emissions from the production, including the extraction, refining and transportation, of any fuels that are imported into the Northwest Territories by the Government of the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.