Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk about our commitment to action on climate change.
People in the Northwest Territories and other northern regions are among the first in the world to be experiencing the concrete, sometimes drastic impacts of climate change. How we confront climate change in our lives is a personal decision, but an effective response depends on individual and collective action now and in the future.
It is a complex issue and touches on a lot of areas of our lives. Climate change has an influence on how we heat our homes, and how much that costs. In our resource-driven economy it has an impact on jobs and local economies. For Indigenous people of the NWT, it now further threatens their traditional way of life. It is important to me as a leader in our territory that we have a solid plan in place and that we take action now. Our government has an opportunity to lead society towards sustainability. Many departments are working on a strategic framework to give GNWT departments guidance.
While this is an important start, I would advocate for more direct action to be taken. The reach of the framework should be expanded so that it incorporates teaching, research, demonstration, and accelerating solutions beyond the GNWT. We must state our commitment as individual leaders, and as a government, to provide guidance, and make the concrete changes necessary to address this challenging issue.
For example, as we expand educational opportunities we should also be investing in the long-term in our research institutions. As we improve healthcare, we should also apply northern research to measure how climate change is a factor in our people's health. As we design supports for small business, we must promote innovation and green technologies, and as we advance exploration we must prioritize carbon-neutral extractions methods and seek new ways to mitigate the impacts.
We should encourage more and better collaboration within our government departments, and partnerships with Aboriginal and community governments and the private sector. These are steps that will support real economic growth and create good jobs while doing the work to combat climate change and protect our pristine environment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.