Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Truly the sky is falling on this particular issue if we do not make a positive change. Everyone knows renewables are the future. Those people who continue to deny this fact, deny the future that they hold for their children.
We all know we must get behind renewables and continue to make strides in that particular area. It’s well known that Canada does not meet its targets on climate change initiatives and greenhouse gas problems, but yet it’s leading the future into an unknown peril that we may never be able to get off of the track that’s driving us to the end.
In contrast, the GNWT is certainly making great strides in this particular initiative, and we certainly have to appreciate that. But we all understand the impacts big oil brings to our world. What is this issue that continues to blind us? It may be easy to reach for the oil and it may be a struggle to reach for the renewables, but we must ask ourselves: do we want a tomorrow or do we want to see things end in a negative way?
Mr. Speaker, those who tell you our economy is important I would not disagree with them, but our economy deserves a future and that’s got to be the undertow of every consideration. Canada continues to fail its federal GHGs, as it’s been reported, and even the federal deputy ministers say this as well.
Our Prime Minister promised in 2007 that he would deliver oil and gas regulations that would make sense, and yet Canada still waits. While the new Premier of Alberta, Mr. Prentice, says that he has a climate change strategy and he will be developing it in the near future, I worry about us Northerners who sit downstream as to what we will be promised because we will be the ones benefiting from their short-sightedness. Mr. Prentice goes on by saying, “We must be responsible stewards, but we can’t damage industry’s competitiveness.” I don’t want them to damage my future. Northern Gateway has been refused, for all intents and purposes, and now they look to the Northwest Territories as the solution to their problem. Let’s be honest. We all know pipelines bring lots of jobs in the construction but there are not jobs in the future.
We know that a pipeline through the Northwest Territories may only create 10, maybe 15 jobs. That’s not the future. Renewables are our future. We are not powerless and we should be asking ourselves to face that problem. The economy matters, but so does our future and you’re hearing it today. We must get off of this addiction of oil. We must get an intervention if necessary, but we must take the first step to a future which includes renewables as the first choice, not as the last choice. Thank you.