Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to speak today both on environmental stewardship and this government’s plan of action. First, Mr. Speaker, I think we can all take a moment for cautious congratulations. During this Assembly, we have taken a more aggressive approach to confronting our environmental challenges and we have made some good progress.

We have begun to consider and invest seriously in alternative and renewable energies through wind power and investigation of increasing large and small scale hydro use. As I have said, I want the current energy deliberations and reviews to incorporate these opportunities in its work. We are developing a Biomass Strategy. However, we know little about what is happening with the sustainable yield of our forests or how we can manage this. This insight has implications for costly fire control and is essential if biomass is to realize its vast potential for decreasing our reliance on oil.

I look forward to a critical review of the Biomass Strategy. We have made excellent progress in protecting species at risk. We need to address the gap of migratory birds under the Wildlife Act. I look forward to reviewing the bison and woodland caribou management plans and a new Wildlife Act.

We have devoted significant sums to helping people make their homes and businesses more energy efficient and we are developing an adaptation plan to belatedly counteract the expensive harms now being caused by climate change.

Mr. Speaker, this wide variety of activities boils down to two truths. It costs money to damage the environment; money we can spend on addressing our social ills and other priorities. Second, when we spend money in ways that protect the environment, we will get it back many times over in lower costs for our residents, good jobs in local small scale industry, reduced vulnerability to world market swings and, above all, by protecting the priceless quality of our northern way of life.

We have made some good progress on the environment but there is much yet to do: action on

mini-hydro implementation, solar opportunities, ground source heat, connecting our incentives to actual greenhouse gas reductions, greening our economy, aggressive implementation of biomass and other opportunities. Our leadership must provide an example that strengthens our call for national and global change.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the ongoing effective collaboration of Members in meeting these challenges. Mahsi.