Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to welcome Mr. Lafferty to the Assembly and express the pleasure that I shared in joining the Tlicho people at their celebration this summer.

Mr. Speaker, just when we thought we were getting back to normal with critical things like the CBC getting back to work and NHL hockey getting back on the ice, we get clobbered in the pocketbook by energy prices that are back on the increase. A litre of gas in Inuvik earlier this summer, my colleague was just telling me, was $1.44; $1.19 here in Yellowknife; a litre of heating oil in Yellowknife just over a buck. Thankfully, it seems those prices are on the way down. But the signal we’re getting, Mr. Speaker, is we better get used to these prices staying about 30 percent higher than they were a year ago.

For my household, that means that I’m going to be spending about an extra $700 to heat my house and I think about an extra $400 for my car expenses. That’s $1,100 this winter in direct expenses. But what is the ripple effect going to be on all of us when we start to see the airlines kick in with higher ticket prices, power cost increases, and I think the one that’s going to impact most northerners is the rental rates where landlords have to start covering their costs as well? It was $1.50 per litre in Colville Lake this summer for gasoline. Where is the relief?

Mr. Speaker, the average yearly temperature in Inuvik is minus 8.8 degrees; in Yellowknife it’s minus 4.6; in Hay River, minus 2.9; in Edmonton it’s a very balmy 3.9 on the plus side. That’s a spread of between seven and 12 degrees every day of the year between here and that tropical paradise of Edmonton. And believe me, I know something about tropical paradises.

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So what can we do? To some extent we have control over our own lifestyle, how warm we keep our houses and how much we drive our cars. But it’s the governments that have the greatest ability to make a difference in tax reductions and rebates, Mr. Speaker. The federal government has just announced it’s ready to do this, and I applaud this, Mr. Speaker.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Speaker: MR. SPEAKER

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Braden.

Bill Braden

Great Slave

Thank you, colleagues and Mr. Speaker. You know, along with the much welcome rebates that the federal government is proposing, I must make the case further that northerners bear the brunt of the weather and the cold climate more than most Canadians. Remember that 12 degree difference between Edmonton and Inuvik. I call on the federal government to take a real, good, hard look, a dollar and cents look, Mr. Speaker, at the true cost of living north of 60. This is not an original idea, but I think it’s one that we should bring forward, and we have a seven percent answer right now before us, that’s the GST on fuels. Can we start there, Mr. Speaker? Thank you very much.

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