Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a complex issue, as the Members know. Late in the last government, we passed a revised and revamped Greenhouse Gas Strategy that set new targets. There’s built-in review periods built into that strategy that we will look at as we go forward. We also know, for example, that one of the planned projects has been deferred further, which is going to contribute to greenhouse gases, which is the Mackenzie Gas Pipeline. So while it’s still a critical project, it’s not imminent on the horizon.
At the same time as we talk about standards, we have to look at the tens of millions of dollars we’re investing at limiting our emissions. Things like the Biomass Strategy, the work we’ve done on solar, the expansion of hydro, the building standards, the Capital Asset Retrofit Program with the government, the rebate programs, the money we’ve invested to help people make their houses energy efficient and putting in more energy-efficient appliances.
So there are two things to do here. We can set standards and then we can actually get on the ground and do the right things, which is where the most immediate benefit is. We are already paying the highest prices for energy in the country.
When you look at companies like Diavik, they are investing about $33 million in wind energy that’s going to repay itself in five years. They deserve full commendation for that commitment. It’s those types of things that we are doing in addition for the setting of standards with the renewal of the Greenhouse Gas Strategy late in the 16th Assembly. Thank you.