Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ten years ago, the BC Minister of Energy along with a planeload of BC hydro officials flew down to Yellowknife to advise our government that they would be proceeding with building Site C and that they were proceeding into an environmental assessment mode. At that time, we advised them of our experience with the effects of the Bennett Dam. We were concerned about it. They told us that Site C would only have a 12-kilometre reach downstream of Site C, so we shouldn't have to worry about it, but we told them that we didn't believe that. Our experience is that it would have a longer reach, so we prevailed on them to consult with Aboriginal governments and communities all the way down the Mackenzie River, right up to the Beaufort Sea. We gave them a list of all of the contacts, and they proceeded to do so.

We also, as a government, the Government of the Northwest Territories, fully participated in the environmental assessment process for the Site C project. The Government of the Northwest Territories provided written comments, attended multiple hearings and meetings, and ultimately provided recommendations to decision makers to address any potential downstream effects to ecosystems, traditional harvesters, and communities in the Northwest Territories. Our government recognizes the importance of maintaining the ecological integrity of the aquatic ecosystems in the Northwest Territories.