Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to provide Members with an update on the Mackenzie gas project and our ongoing preparations for this exciting development project.

As the Premier stated in his sessional statement at the opening of the session, the Mackenzie gas project is a key to the long-term strategic interests of the Northwest Territories and the socioeconomic future of our territory. The Government of the Northwest Territories remains committed to this project, to the joint panel process established to review it and to ensuring that northerners fully benefit from this development.

The proposed Mackenzie gas project is an ambitious project that includes: natural gas gathering facilities in the Mackenzie Delta, a gas processing plant near Inuvik and natural gas and gas liquid pipelines down the Mackenzie Valley to bring the production to market.

With the filing of the environmental impact statement and associated federal regulatory applications by the project proponents, the scope of the project has now been clearly defined and the formal approval process for the project has been set in motion.

The environmental impact statement is a large and complex document, totalling several thousand pages. Our focus in the short term is ensuring that we can conduct a full and thorough review of this document. To take advantage of the expertise that exists within both the GNWT and federal governments, we are working with our federal partners to establish a series of teams to review specific aspects of the filing. We have also established internal committees to coordinate the review and approval of interventions related to the socioeconomic and environmental mandates of this government.

The Joint Cabinet/Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight Pipeline Planning Committee, established to provide advice and guidance to the government on the Mackenzie gas project, has met to consider how we can best prepare for this project. The work of the joint committee will focus on the issues, interests and priorities we must consider in our planning and preparation for this project.

As noted earlier, this government is committed to ensuring that northerners fully benefit from this project. One mechanism to ensure this occurs is through the negotiation of meaningful socioeconomic agreements with the proponents. Over the coming months, the joint committee will consider and advise on the priority areas that we believe must be addressed in these agreements. These priorities include employment and training, infrastructure, social impacts, community capacity and economic opportunities.

The proposed Mackenzie gas project has the potential to create enormous economic opportunities and benefits for the Northwest Territories. We are committed to ensuring that NWT residents can take advantage of these opportunities and that the proposed Mackenzie gas project is undertaken in a manner that is both environmentally and economically sustainable over the long term.

Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to these objectives, and we are taking the necessary steps to ensure that they will be achieved. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause