Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Clean, fresh water is the Northwest Territories most precious resource. It supports all of life. We have lots of water, Mr. Speaker, and it’s the defining future of the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, we must protect our water from the upstream pollution and the polluters. Mr. Speaker, the operations in the Alberta tar sands are poisoning our water. In the last four years the amount of arsenic, mercury, lead and other toxins have increased by 26 percent in the tailings ponds that are located in our watershed. The tar sands also create air pollution that poisons the earth through rain and snow.
Mr. Speaker, we are in great danger. For example, the people in the North have noticed changes in the fish. Their flesh is soft and their livers are black. Mr. Speaker, there is something wrong with the water. We cannot wait and sit idle.
Mr. Speaker, a member of the new panel at the Alberta government appointed to monitor the environmental effects of the tar sands has resigned because she felt there was a lack of integrity. There was not enough Aboriginal or scientific representation on the panel. Mr. Speaker, the 16th Legislative Assembly is spending close to $6 million to protect our territorial waters. We need aggressive transboundary negotiations. We need cumulative impact monitoring and water monitoring throughout the Northwest Territories. We need to make sure our own industry isn’t further destroying the environment.
Mr. Speaker, long ago people built fortresses to protect their territory. They patrolled their land and sharpened their weapons. Mr. Speaker, the world doesn’t work like that anymore. Instead we make laws and negotiate agreements. Our Water Strategy needs to be our fortress.
We need water monitoring to patrol our land. We need tough laws and tough negotiators. We need to stand up and say “no more” to dumping garbage into our waters. We need to protect our waters and we need to do it now.
