Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My constituents tell me that they love the small town life. The petroleum products division provides fuel to a number of these small towns in my riding. Fuel is delivered in the winter; however, the fuel rates are set in July and sold at a fixed rate throughout the year. Rates can be very high and put a lot of pressure on people who rely on the traditional economy. Many people in small communities choose to live there because they can pursue traditional lifestyles. They choose to live this way and they have a right to do so.
Aboriginal governments and organizations, and even the Government of the Northwest Territories, have made a lot of effort to help people uphold traditional lifestyles and make it possible for people to live as they have for generations hunting, fishing and trapping. Some of the finest furs come from the Deh Cho region. But just because these people participate in traditional activities does not mean that they live like their ancestors. They rely on fuel to reach their traplines and to run outboard motors. They drive quads and other vehicles and use fuel in their homes just like other places.
The high cost of fuel is hard to manage, especially for an elder or someone who has seasonal employment, and unfair, especially when fuel prices
can go down in the regional centres but stay fixed in the remote communities. Yellowknife really collects the benefits when prices go down on fuel.
I urge this government to look at ways to make fuel prices fairer and more reasonable. One of the ways we could do that is through a freight subsidy that would help make up for the fixed costs. I urge our government to commit to a supplementary expenditure, like the Minister did yesterday. Assisting the cost of fuel through this kind of subsidy recognizes the difference in the economy between remote communities that are not on the road system and regional centres that are much more accessible, populated, and where people make a lot of money in the wage economy.
If we want to reduce the disparities between our communities, forcing everyone to work in a mine or in an office tower is not going to do it. We need to recognize the value of traditional lifestyle and community life. We need to make this lifestyle possible for people who choose to live that way. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.
