Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the important Taltson hydro expansion project this government is working to develop over the next few years. Mr. Speaker, I cannot express the important significance of this initiative enough. Not only does it affect the residents of Tu Nedhe, the people of the Northwest Territories, but also all of Canada because of the potential positive impacts to our environment if addressed with some degree of urgency by this government.

Mr. Speaker, currently there are three mines -- Diavik, BHP and De Beers --operating in the Tu Nedhe area. All are using fossil fuels to operate in our delicate northern environment, with a possibility of three more mines, the Gahcho Kue, the Jericho, and the Dry Bones coming on stream within the next five years. These mines will also be operating on fossil fuels unless we, as a government, place more stringent demands on industry to incorporate the policy and hydro initiatives into their long-term plans.

Mr. Speaker, I feel that the environmental benefits to be derived from this hydro development surely outweigh the cost to be incurred by industry should they be required to hook up to the hydro line. This gap will continue to grow, given the rising costs of energy; in particular, fossil fuels.

Mr. Speaker, these industries alone are taking $1 million each day from each mine, with approximately $3 million a day from the Northwest Territories, leaving northerners with some crumbs, a few rough diamonds, and a lot of low level jobs and tons of greenhouse gas emissions; emissions that will be directly attributable to the extinction of one of our true northern icons, the polar bear, in less than 50 years if we let this practice continue.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to stress to this government that we can no longer sit back and be driven by industrial practices which seem to dictate what directions we, as a government, should take. We have to be more aggressive in finding agreeable solutions that will keep the NWT at the helm when developing environmentally sound and respectful solutions that do not lead to the demise of what this last great frontier personifies: that being, respect for the environment, respect for the wildlife, and a continued traditional northern way of life. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause