Debates of May 26, 2005 (day 2)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, 30 years ago, Thomas Berger put a 10-year moratorium on the pipeline in order to allow land claims to be settled and to allow northern communities to prepare for the construction. Twenty years have passed since that moratorium ended and most of us, like northern businesses, have been busy preparing and trying to build capacity in order to capitalize on the pipeline.

Unfortunately, some of us, even 20 years later, are still not ready, Mr. Speaker. For instance, one group is holding the future of the pipeline hostage while they try to negotiate their land claim settlement. This group already has two pipelines from their settlement areas going south. We didn’t try and hold them up in their development because it would not have been fair. Now I think we deserve the same respect. We need a champion, Mr. Speaker, to get this pipeline going. Mr. Handley, Nellie Cournoyea, and Fred Carmichael are all trying to champion the cause in order to get the benefits of the pipeline to the people of the NWT, but they can only do so much.

Mr. Speaker, I am not here to criticize or point fingers, but we have too many people with their own agendas who are going to jeopardize the project. Mr. Speaker, we have a representative in Ottawa elected by the people of the NWT. Why aren’t they fighting for the settlement of the claim so this project can move forward? We need the federal government to do what is best for the residents of the NWT. I want to see this project go ahead. I want to see the youth benefiting from all of the opportunities that will be there. I want to see the NWT get their fair share of the revenues.

Mr. Speaker, for the sake of all the young people across the North, let us not waste any more valuable time. We can’t afford to wait another 20 years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.