Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I speak in favour of the motion. Why? I think this motion is visionary and provides leadership. At the same time I think it creates options for what the public expects at this time. At this time in the North we’ve seen very dramatic rises in the cost of living, of course. As the economy improves, so does the cost of goods. Particularly energy costs. I think the public would expect this government would try to create some options and alternatives to the mainstream energy sources that we have at this point. In speaking to this motion I believe it’s visionary and provides leadership and that’s what this government is all about.
I have a vision at some point in the future that I’ll drive into my home community and I’ll see log homes that are built locally. At the same time they’ll have alternative energy sources such as wood pellets to heat the house. They have solar energy to provide lights for the house. We’d be looking at some biodegradable initiatives to ensure that we’re not leaving large imprints on the environment. I think this motion speaks to that. I speak strongly in favour of this.
Currently in our communities we have very nice, scenic communities along the bank. We have very nice scenery in the mountains. What contrasts with that is while we enjoy the aesthetics of nature and ensuring that our community complements nature, we have these loud, droning, diesel generators in our communities. That’s a really stark contrast. When I speak to kids about the environment, sometimes it doesn’t make sense for us to enjoy the beauty of the North in our small communities and be very environmentally in tune with nature, but then what contrasts is that we have these fossil fuels that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Of course they contribute to global warming. In that sense I speak in favour of this motion and will be voting for this motion.