Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the past couple of days my fellow colleague Mr. Bromley, who is well respected among his peers and the citizens of the Northwest Territories on his views on climate change, was cited on the use of strong language to describe the seriousness of his thoughts. Although I tend to agree his choice of words may have been used in the wrong context, I do agree that his passion for making our government more accountable for our carbon footprint is dead on accurate and for that I do thank him.

It would be ill advised for me to stand before you and attempt to mimic or regurgitate statistical data or convince you of my green ambition to save the planet. This is not my intention here today. I do wish to inform the House that we all have an important obligation to perform, not only for our constituents but for our families and for our children. I would hate to tell my future grandchildren that I had an opportunity to make positive changes for our climate and I chose the easy road. That, Mr. Speaker, will not happen.

I think many here have seen and heard Mr. Al Gore throughout his Inconvenient Truth crusade, yet many have not seen or heard of Bjorn Lomborg’s Cool It economic approach to climate change, where Mr. Lomborg clearly claims that there has been much hype and exaggeration of global warming solely to root much needed research dollars.

Now, my intention here is not to split hairs about the economics of climate change, science, or Hollywood drama. My intention here today is to disseminate that there are different points of view when it comes to global warming and the realities of scale. This is especially true when our government is forced into accepting unrealistic climate targets based on science that is equally being questioned.

So what is one to do? One of the principles that always served me well in the business world was catching people doing something right. It was much more productive for the performance and success of a resolve than trying to be punitive or restrictive. The same basic principle can be easily introduced throughout the Northwest Territories when it comes to positive affect in our climate in the North.

In simple terms, providing tax incentives or financial credits for businesses or individuals doing good behavior is an easy and affordable step in the road to climate recovery. I say with conviction, let’s do away with unattainable targets and unrealistic goals set by so-called purveyors of catastrophic thinking

and let’s embrace a cleaner delivery model of our everyday footprint on our environment. Our real mission should be to deal with the economic realities of options.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Our real mission should be to deal with the economic realities of options in dealing with climate change and rewarding those who take the positive steps of change. In the end we all want the same thing. Maybe in the process we can reach the NWT’s true climate goals. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to salute the success achieved thus far on the reconstruction of the Detah road and call for us to keep building this road and building this success.

During this fiscal year and last, $4 million has been spent on the long-overdue reconstruction of the only all-weather artery to the community. Deton’Cho Corporation has led this project with a creative mix of joint ventures, partnerships, training and apprenticeship opportunities, equipment acquisition and development of management capacity, all the great things we want to see in the cost-effective projects that build our local and Aboriginal-owned businesses.

You can’t use the word “partnership” often enough. Deton’Cho, local private sector suppliers and partners, our territorial Transportation department and the federal government have cooperated to squeeze maximum benefits from every dollar. The government has backed that capacity and business development, granting the negotiated contracts that have enabled these benefits. The result: Local people are getting the jobs close to home, growing a local economy, and today we are closer to completing an acceptable highway to serve Detah’s vital needs. With the Highway No. 4 realignment around Giant Mine in the wings, Deton’Cho has the possibility for steady, continued success.

In this capital budget session we know that money is tight. Last year we were able to re-profile funds to add $2 million to this project. I will be asking this government to seek every opportunity to see that happen again. Deton’Cho has proven that it can be nimble and pick up the cash to ensure no precious dollars go to waste. I will be looking for dedicated funds to see this work completed.

The workers on this project are local family people. Many have gotten the training and the good jobs at the mines, but the jobs close to home and family are best. We’ve mixed up a recipe of success on the Detah road project. Let’s pull out all our best ideas and resources to roll these achievements to the end of the road.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was in the Sahtu region last year and last week and did a tour up in Fort Good Hope and Colville Lake. I missed the Wells because of the weather conditions. When I was in the Sahtu, the local

contractors were getting busy and people were getting excited because they were starting to open up the all-weather winter roads into the rest of the communities and connections to the south.

I was very happy to hear Mr. Ramsay’s statement here about the progress of the Mackenzie Valley Highway and the support the 17

th

here has given

this construction. My people are looking forward to the day when we can have the same opportunities as other Members here who enjoy all-weather roads into their communities or just to go down south to purchase supplies or visit family or do those other things that the Members enjoy who have the all-weather road.

I know Mrs. McCauley, Auntie Cece, is very happy, because she gave some good reviews and raves in her news column to the Minister and to the partnership on this project here. I want to tell this government here, and the Members, that we greatly appreciate the support. I hope the spirit of John Diefenbaker, the Prime Minister, lives within Mr. Ramsay to open up the highway, fulfill the dream of building the Mackenzie Valley Highway into the North to really connect the people in the North. We are looking forward to it.

We have some major infrastructure such as the Bear River Bridge that needs to get put in. We are going to see an influx of hundreds of millions of dollars in the Sahtu within the next five years with oil and gas exploration. We need help, and there’s help there and we can do it, but we need to push this government, push the federal government and tell Mr. Harper to please help us build this road within four years.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to honour one of my constituents, Mr. Wilbert Antoine, who works at Canadian Zinc Mining Corporation. He indicated to me that this month he’s celebrating 40 years in the mining industry.

He began his career in mining in 1971. He didn’t realize he was getting into mining; he thought he would take a short job. He ended up working for Cardinal River Coals in Alberta for 31 years. Upon completing that, he did move back to Yellowknife in July 2002 and spent six years with BHP Ekati Diamond Mine and he thought he was going to retire there. He made a trip home in 2007 to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the Papal visit to Fort Simpson and realized that there was another mining company operating out of there, which is Canadian Zinc Mining Corporation.

He began talking with them and found he was very interested in working for them because they were in his home community and there is huge opportunity to develop a mine in the Nahendeh region. He’s been working there for the last three years. He does say he began his mining career in the mountains and he’s ending his mining career in the mountains, as well, especially back home there.

I just want to add that he sent me a note and I’d like to quote him. He says that mining has been wonderful to him over the years. He raised and educated three wonderful children, now with successful careers of their own, totally independent, with children of their own. In the past three years he really prides that he had the best job in the world working with Canadian Zinc, flying and helicoptering over the most beautiful part of the world in the Nahanni Mountains. Serving his communities is very satisfying and rewarding.

He also links his career to his and our uncle Albert Norwegian of Fort Providence, who also celebrates his 78

th

birthday on December 21

st

.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

I just want to make a note that I’ve been speaking with Mr. Wilbert Antoine. He also indicates that Canadian Zinc received environmental approval from the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board. I just wanted to say to all the youth and young people out there, and those looking for careers in the mining sector, that there’s a huge potential in and around Fort Simpson in future years and we can look to the example of Mr. Wilbert Antoine, who had a successful career. This is an important sector that can be looked at for a long-time career.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to follow up on Highway No. 7 questions with the Minister of Transportation. I did take note that yesterday the Finance Minister indicated some priorities in his ministerial statement and I was actually taken aback that Highway No. 7 wasn’t mentioned at all.

It is part of our national highway system. It is key and critical to the development of our Northwest

Territories having access to B.C. and all the tours and industry that comes out of there. Especially if we are going to look at increasing the development in our region, a good highway system is critical to the North.

I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation if he worked with the Finance Minister in looking at his statement, because Highway No. 7 and the reconstruction and the upgrades were not mentioned at all and I believe that it should be a priority of our government.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. David Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for the question. Obviously, Highway No. 7 is a concern. Going forward we are going to need to identify more funding to address the issues with Highway No. 7. Going forward it’s going to take a sizable contribution of about $3 million a year for 10 years in order to address the work that needs to be done there. A complete reconstruction of Highway No. 7 is estimated to cost about $250 million. Again, I think that’s something you’ll hear, is we really need to come up with more funding, and when we do get some more funding, certainly Highway No. 7 would have to be given the development down in the Deh Cho region something that would factor into any decisions there.

I’d like to highlight it as a priority of this government. I think far before we invest in the fibre optic line, we should invest in Highway No. 7. I don’t believe that the Finance Minister, I don’t know if they made a mistake, but he should be mentioning Highway No. 7 as a priority. Should we run into some additional funding or we relieve our debt limit, I believe that Highway No. 7 should be critical enough that it should make this initial list of investment, should we have the opportunity. I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation if he can work with his Cabinet colleagues, work with the Premier and make this a priority going forward.

Certainly as we move forward, I’m looking forward to working with the Member and the EDI committee to make this a priority and to come up with a plan so we can address the situation on Highway No. 7. Again, it’s going to take funding and a substantial amount of funding to make that happen. But I do believe if we can work together and put everything on the table, I think we can certainly see this as a priority as we move forward when we do get some additional funding.

I believe that the Finance Minister, who’s got the strings for the financial purse, is not going to be mentioning Highway No. 7 in any of his statements. That’s my point. I’d like to

ask the Minister of Transportation if he would get his colleagues to make it a priority and start mentioning it in this House.

I certainly would have that conversation with the Finance Minister and my Cabinet colleagues as we move forward and identify further sources of funding for Highway No. 7. That discussion will take place.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What’s critical here is that if the Finance Minister is going to mention four or five projects and then not mention Highway No. 7, is that when and if we do get some debt relief that it’s not going to make this list. I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation once again, will he push and will he get his Cabinet colleagues to ensure that Highway No. 7 funding infrastructure will be done, should we have the opportunity. Mahsi cho.

In this consensus system of government, when we do identify further sources of funding, you can rest assured that I will work with the Member, I will work with committee on identifying those priorities, and Highway No. 7 should rank near the top of those priorities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my question is dealing with the moratorium that the Minister of Housing released earlier this week. It is a good program and I think it’s a great opportunity to educate the people in the communities on how to get back and educated into the housing programs, as well as getting them back on track with a payment plan. In the four months that we have from now until the end of the fiscal year, I wanted to ask the Minister of Housing what is the plan to work with these people in the communities to get back on a payment plan. Thank you.