Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my first instinct is to not support this bill to move past second reading, but I am going to; I want to first tell you why.
First, I want to tell you why my instinct is to not support it. The cost of living in the Northwest Territories is suffocating many NWT residents. Everyone is feeling it. Between the added cost of inflation, supply chain, energy, food, health, and housing, the people I serve are feeling the added financial pressures that come with living in the Northwest Territories. Over the last year this territory has seen rate increases from NTPC, threat of removal of supplementary health benefits, increases to municipal taxes, as well as the added inflation in cost of living squeezes that are happening globally as well. It's as if every decision that impacts the cost of living is happening in a vacuum rather than considering the increasing of cost elsewhere in the system, and it's all connected. So quite clearly, Madam Speaker, NWT residents cannot afford increased costs.
Last week in this House, the Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources said, quote, "climate change is one of the most complex and far-reaching issues facing the Northwest Territories today. Despite being responsible for less than 0.2 percent of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions, the Northwest Territories is experiencing rates of climate warming up to four times faster than the rest of Canada. This affects all aspects of our way of life. It is a serious threat to the economy, our socio-economic, cultural, and environmental health as well as residents", end quote.
This bears repeating, Madam Speaker, so I'm going to repeat it: The NWT is responsible for less than 0.2 percent of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions, and I hope the federal government hears that too.
According to the federal government, carbon pricing is about recognizing the cost of pollution and accounting for those costs in daily decisions. But here in the NWT, using fossil fuels is largely the only decision as I spoke to today in my Member's statement. Madam Speaker, it's a Northerner's double jeopardy - charged by NTPC for using their expensive aging infrastructure and then charged by the federal government through carbon tax for using our energy monopoly.
With rising costs of diesel and northern cost of living, NWT residents should have a clearer outlook of how the territory will add renewable energy sources and reduce the NWT dependency on diesel. But we don't. So the people of the Northwest Territories are being taxed for not making a choice that isn't in their hands.
But, Madam Speaker, I want to clarify why I am supporting the bill to move through second reading today. The Carbon Tax Program was introduced in 2018 as a "take it or take it" initiative directed by the federal government. The GNWT was originally given the option of signing on to the federal backstop or a made-in-the-NWT solution. The GNWT opted for a made-in-the-NWT solution whereas both Nunavut and Yukon opted for the federal backstop. But without moving this bill through second reading, I do not get answers to my questions, and I do not know what the federal backstop would look like here in the Northwest Territories and what option would better serve Northerners particularly when it comes to cost of living.
I want to ensure I am making an informed decision for the people that I serve. I look forward to reviewing the bill with committee and stakeholders and being able to publicly report the finer details of what this and other options might mean for the Northwest Territories and to make recommendations of how we can collectively better serve the residents of our territory. Thank you, Madam Speaker.