Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The natural wood grows abundantly in this land mass of an area of about 519,000 square miles. We have lots of trees. Wood is removable and it is sometimes simply a matter of an axe or saw to bring a pile of wood into your home to keep you warm. Advances in technology have made many of the tasks of chopping or sawing an afterthought. Now we have chainsaws for industrial skill type methods for collecting firewood.

Wood is used in woodstoves, for heating systems, for boilers systems and for the production of wood pellets, to name a few. In the NWT, campfires burn for ages with wood and woodstoves are common. Nowadays most NWT homes have indoor woodstoves. Having a woodstove promotes independence and active living, getting your own firewood with your family with your snow machine in the wintertime.

Mr. Speaker, this is part of a greater initiative that this government has undertaken. Biomass is a source of energy. Recently in Fort Providence, it was a proud moment when the community entered into a forest management agreement with the GNWT and a business person to explore the idea of establishing a wood pellet plant. That day brought that reality closer, and at some point other communities will jump on that too.

So the northern wood has served the North really well and I’m hoping that now and into the future it will continue. Mahsi.