Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On October 14 Canadians will go to the polls to choose the next federal government. There has been a great deal of media attention paid to the campaign, to party leaders and platforms, and to the promises made to Canadians. Some of those promises, in areas such as the environment, taxation and economic development, will have a direct impact on the North.
During the past year the North has had a significant degree of media coverage and an unprecedented number of visits by the Prime Minister and other federal Ministers. Quite clearly, we are solidly on the national stage.
The federal election campaign provides an excellent opportunity to raise issues of importance to Northerners and to hear what the national parties, national leaders and local candidates have to say about them.
To this end, I have taken the opportunity to send letters to the national party leaders and to the candidates running in the Western Arctic riding, asking a series of questions about northern issues.
Mr. Speaker, I have asked the party leaders and local candidates for their plans to address the high cost of living in the North, the need for alternative energy to protect our northern environment while facilitating economic development, the need to assist the NWT in dealing with the effects of climate change, the need for critical infrastructure investment in the NWT, the need to address the critical shortage of social and affordable housing in the NWT, federal obligations under existing land claim and self-government agreements, and the need for a fair deal on devolution and resource revenue sharing. These are priority issues for this government and for NWT residents.
I intend to keep this Assembly and aboriginal leaders informed of both the questions I have asked and the responses. All of this information will be posted on my website, The Premier Online — http://www.premier.gov.nt.ca/ — for all NWT residents to read. I encourage them to do so. I would also like to encourage all Northerners to participate in the national election to the fullest extent possible.
Mr. Speaker, Northerners must make an informed decision on election day. Their decisions will have an impact on our collective future. As Premier I have raised our issues during this campaign to ensure that the NWT continues to be on the national stage and to build upon the foundation of work that we have undertaken to date with our federal partners.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.
