Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was glad today to hear the Minister of RWED speak about the Inuvik Natural Gas Conversion Program because that is what I wanted to speak about today, natural gas conversion. Mr. Speaker, for some time we have heard about oil companies doing exploration, finding oil and gas, wanting to build pipelines to the Beaufort, further pipelines going south. Why are they doing this? Well, it is all for money. You find oil and gas, you deliver it to your customer, you make money. What do we in the Northwest Territories get out of our resources? Well, we do not get the money, what the oil companies do not get, the federal government gets in royalties. What about jobs? Well, the last time they built a pipeline I worked on it and the only people that were working there from the North, were in the kitchen or cleaning the rooms. What about cheap fuel you say? Well, we still have the highest fuel prices in Canada. Imperial Oil and whoever has pumped out billions of dollars worth of oil and gas and we still have the highest fuel bills in Canada. Mr. Speaker, I think it is time that things have changed. If people want our oil and gas, then we should benefit too. It should be a condition for any new pipelines that they hook up our communities and we get cheaper fuel. That will make it cheaper for the cost of living, it will also make it attractive for new businesses.
The Minister spoke of cleaner, burning fuel and it is true, natural gas is a cleaner, burning fuel. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions when you transfer or convert to that. Obviously with Yellowknife being the largest community, it is the largest contributor to greenhouse emissions. If we hooked up Yellowknife to a natural gas pipeline that would be the largest savings or reduction in emissions we could make.
Mr. Speaker, later today I will ask the Minister responsible questions in this area. Thank you.
--Applause