Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In all my discussions, I view a sustainable community in the 21st century as a community where its residents are physically and mentally healthy; are actively participating in the community, territorial, and national economies and expect to do so for the foreseeable future. The natural environment is also healthy and provides the foundation for economic, social, and cultural well-being. A sustainable community in the Northwest Territories is a community that is resilient and adaptable to climate change. We would like to see all of our 33 communities be healthy communities.

I appreciate the response from the Premier. Mr. Speaker, my second question is: how will the Premier engage in the newly revised government mandate in making that vision a reality?

Our government will continue to work with Regular Members through the legislative business planning and budget processes to continue to make progress on the implementing of the mandate that has been approved by the 18th Legislative Assembly. I truly believe that, by fully implementing the mandate, this Legislative Assembly will have made significant progress by making all communities sustainable over the longer term.

I appreciate the response. Mr. Speaker, coastal erosion accelerated by climate change is threatening both human-inhabited and human-uninhabited territory in the Arctic. Mr. Speaker, how will the forthcoming Climate Change Strategic Framework recognize this reality and lead the government to take action on it?

We have always said that the Northwest Territories has been the most affected by climate change. All you have to do is look at the Beaufort Sea, where for decades the Beaufort Sea was ice-free for five weeks a year and now it is ice-free for about 20 weeks a year. Consequently, it has very significant effects on coastal erosion. We are prepared to do our part in the Northwest Territories to combat climate change, and also we will be releasing new strategies so that our government's efforts to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions will continue, and also we will work very hard to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. Also, we will be working with the Government of Canada. We will be negotiating a bilateral agreement as provided for in the recent federal budget and through the draft climate change strategic framework and also the draft energy strategy that are complementary, and we will be releasing them shortly. We expect we will be able to make significant progress in dealing with these challenges. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.