Joe Handley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Mackenzie gas project is critical to the long-term strategic interests of the Northwest Territories and to the social and economic future of our people and our communities. This project will provide significant opportunity for residents of the Northwest Territories to take control of their economic future.

On February 14th, the Joint Review Panel on the Mackenzie gas project will begin its public hearings to evaluate the potential environmental and socio-economic impacts of the project in the project area.

The Joint Review Panel is one of two hearing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hope Mr. Braden gets those running shoes, because he’ll need them to keep up with us.

I can suggest that while we are looking at creating a fair fiscal environment and a good balanced fiscal environment, we’re also looking at resource revenue sharing.

Mr. Speaker, I have to say that Mr. Braden’s implication in his statement earlier on that somehow creating this instability would somehow help us to make a better deal on resources revenue sharing at a time when the federal government is in an election, I just don’t quite understand his reasoning there. I want to take this opportunity to assure all businesses, whether it’s a big pipeline business, a diamond business, the mom-and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have not had opportunity to speak with all the aboriginal leaders. I will have a meeting with the regional leaders on February 9th, but I have talked to many of them and all the people that I have talked to recognize that Canada has voted in a new party as a government. The North has voted in a new Member of Parliament, and everybody is going to work positively to achieve what we can. We have many common agenda items right now and I have no doubt, as we discuss this further with aboriginal leaders, that they’re going to approach this very positively, in spite of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me say, first of all, it will be different because we now have our Member of Parliament who represents one of the opposition parties. Our working relationship with the Member of Parliament will be somewhat different. Mr. Speaker, I am encouraged, though, by the Prime Minister’s statements. In fact, on election night, accepting his victory, he did make the statement that he would work with us to realize our dreams in the North. In letters to me, he has been very clear in terms of his position on a number of major issues to us.

So, Mr. Speaker, I have written a letter...

Mr. Speaker, no. This is a letter of comfort. This is not a contract or something that is binding on a future government. We make it very clear in the letter that there is nothing in this letter that should be construed to somehow fetter the discretion of future governments, nor does it fetter the discretion of aboriginal governments. It’s a letter of comfort saying here is what the government of today’s position is with regard to a stable fiscal environment. That’s as far as it goes. It’s not fettering this one. It is certainly subject to any legislation that we may pass here. That was clear...

Mr. Speaker, again I have to remind the Member that the Aboriginal Summit has been in existence for years. There are ongoing discussions with them on resource revenue sharing. There are bilateral discussions between them and us. There are trilateral discussions between them, us and the federal government. They are involved. They know our positions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I must say that, going right back to our strategic plan in the government, we talked about a strong economy and having a good fiscal environment. I hope the Member refers back to some of those documents. In terms of consensus government, that has been talked about for the last I don’t know how many years; certainly the life of this government and the government before.

Mr. Speaker, we are working with industry, and, as I say, with all industry, not just the pipeline, but everybody to create that certainty. We’ve talked about it I don’t know how many different occasions with all the...

Mr. Speaker, what we agreed to with Imperial is an agreement that said we are going to be fair. We are a responsible government that we’re taking over through devolution responsibilities, and we’re going to be fair with you in the same way we’re fair with every other little business in the community. We’re not going to hold you hostage or use you for a pawn to achieve some other objective we might have. We’re responsible; we’re fair; we’re good government. We’re not some banana republic. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Interjection

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We, as a government, have to be able to balance a number of issues at one time. We can’t deal with one issue at a time. So there are a number of things in play, and I don’t know if the Member can keep up with all the things that are happening here or not.