Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled Agriculture Products Marketing Council 2006-2007 Annual Report.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would argue that what is good for this pipeline project and sees this pipeline project go ahead, eventually will be good for the Northwest Territories. It makes little sense for us to sit down with these three parties and argue for infrastructure contributions that have no bearing on whether or not this pipeline goes ahead. There's a place for that and those are in discussions between our government and the federal government. There are a number of logical areas and we do that continually. However, if we're talking about what can make this pipeline a reality, we need to understand from the project proponents where the project needs the most help, and that's the approach that we've undertaken. We have, for some time, the Premier, Minister of Finance, myself, have been advocating for and lobbying for support to the APG. Those loan guarantees can bring down the cost of borrowing for the APG. They're going to need some help. Obviously as the price of this project goes up, it's going to mean they have to come to the table with more money. We've been working and focussing our efforts there primarily, but obviously we're encouraged with the indication from Imperial that infrastructure contributions in the North would be an area that would really help them. We think that has the federal government's attention and we will start to focus there as we see more detail. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons we like this project is because of the legacy it can create and, first and foremost, 50 or 100 year industry for people up and down the valley in terms of oil and gas exploration. There are logical infrastructure contributions we think can be made by the federal government. We've been advocating that for some time. Now what we do need to see from Imperial and the producers is some detailed breakdown on that costing. There's no sense for us advocating for roads that will have little or no impact on the project. We need to see this detail. They have indicated that it would be filed before the end of May. I

think that is happening now as we speak, or very shortly. That's when we can get down to the brass tacks in terms of discussions with the federal government and Imperial. There have been some high level discussions around support for the project, but without that detailed information it is very difficult for us to talk about what kinds of infrastructure will contribute the most. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, there are discussions, if not currently underway, they're imminent between our officials, federal officials and the pipeline proponents to talk about the areas that government could support and assist this project, and I've just indicated some of the options that we favour. We need to see more detail from the producers in terms of their costing. \what does that $16 billion comprise? What types of infrastructure would help make this project price come down? We want to make sure that we're advocating for areas that will have the most impact on the price of this project. So there are discussions underway at the officials' level and once those take place, that will come back up to our Cabinet for further discussion. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, the new costing came out and although we were expecting an increase in the price of this project, we were surprised by the magnitude of the increase: $16 billion. I think the suspected or the whisper number on the street had been, sort of, in the 10 to 12 range. So this is much higher than we had anticipated. We've been lobbying for some time; we do believe that there is a logical role for governments in assisting this project. We've never been advocating that there be subsidies paid to the producers; we don't think that makes sense or is the role of government, but we do believe that there are some areas governments can help. The Tristone report points those out. Whether it's infrastructure investments that could bring down the price of this project, we know it would be cheaper to construct in the South because of our infrastructure disadvantage. So marine infrastructure, road infrastructure, airports; there are some things that can be done. Assistance to the APG is another area that we would like to see happen in the form of loan guarantees, Mr. Speaker, potentially some shipping commitment help. So there are a number of areas we see a logical role for governments. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to draw Members' attention to the RCMP change of command ceremony that will take place later today in the Great Hall.

Chief Superintendent Tom Middleton will be appointed as the 34th commanding officer of the RCMP "G" Division. He continues the excellent work of his predecessor, outgoing Commanding Officer Pat McCloskey. Chief Superintendent Middleton is a 30-year veteran of the RCMP and will provide leadership to officers across the NWT. He will have a critical role in strengthening RCMP relations with communities, government agencies and institutions as well as non-government organizations.

Our communities are served by about 200 regular and civilian RCMP members. They work in the hardest of conditions to respond to crimes, protect public security and prevent criminal activity. The work can range from community patrols to disrupting the operations of organized crime gangs. I know that everyone in this House has the greatest respect for the work these officers do.

Please join me today for the change of command ceremony at 2:00 p.m. in the Great Hall. As Minister of Justice, I would like to welcome Superintendent Middleton to the Territories. I would also like to thank Pat McCloskey

and Superintendent Rick Roy for their leadership over the past few years.

---Applause

Thank you. We look forward, Mr. Speaker, to working with Superintendent Middleton to address the continuing policing and security needs of all communities. Thank you.

---Applause

Sorry; just before we go, Mr. Chairman, I wanted to make the point on the record that we looked at a number of other jurisdictions. I talked about the best case scenario where we would have enough private bar lawyers doing this type of work. We did look at some other jurisdictions that have similar models. I was hoping that maybe Mr. Aitken could provide some insight into the draft of this legislation and which of the jurisdictions we looked at.

Sorry; just to be clear, we contacted the Law Society. They indicated they were in support of this. I am not sure what internal consultation they would have done, but they did indicate they were in support of this.

Mr. Chairman, I am not sure how the Law Society handled the consultation with their own membership. We brought it to their attention and presumably they took it to their membership. Thank you.