Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of this Legislative Assembly, Members clearly signalled energy policy and programming as priorities and directed this government to pursue initiatives that reduce the cost of living and, in particular, energy costs.
Our government responded by an unprecedented $60 million multi-year commitment towards energy programs and initiatives. This investment was geared toward reducing imported fossil fuels, mitigating the environmental impacts of our energy use, and reducing the cost of living in the Northwest Territories.
We reported on the results of this investment in the Northwest Territories Energy Report that I tabled during the May session of this Assembly.
Mr. Speaker, consider the following results of these investments:
The Northwest Territories leads the country in the installation of commercial-sized wood pellet boilers;
The Arctic Energy Alliance now has more resources than ever before and has established three regional offices;
Energy use by the Government of the Northwest Territories has declined considerably. We have met our target established in the 2007 Greenhouse Gas Strategy, a 10 percent reduction in emissions;
There are many ongoing projects aimed at using local sources of energy. These include wind, geothermal, hydrokinetic, biomass, and solar. For example, the Northwest Territories Hydro Corporation has just issued a request for proposals for the installation of up to 70 kilowatts of solar panels in Fort Simpson. This will provide a source of renewable energy for the local grid for the next 30 years; and
We have made more significant changes to our electricity system than had been made in the past 20 years. Working together, this Legislative Assembly was able to bring about real change that benefitted families as well as local businesses. We cut electricity rates in many communities while increasing the level of support for affordable electricity for our residents.
This Legislative Assembly has provided a solid foundation for the future. There has been a tremendous amount of work accomplished and capacity established that will serve the people of the Northwest Territories well.
Where could the future take us? Ideally towards:
a future where every community is using, to some degree, local, renewable sources of energy;
a future where our homes and businesses use as little energy as possible, reducing costs as well as our environmental footprint;
a future that includes the Mackenzie Gas Project, which will provide our northern communities and industry with a secure source of clean and cost-effective energy. This project has the potential to reduce greenhouse gases by up to 30 percent in communities now consuming diesel fuel as their main source of energy. It can also supply southern markets with the natural gas that will be required in the transition to a low carbon economy; and
a future where we have developed our hydroelectric resources, in partnership with Aboriginal governments, for our own use as well as for export, contributing to the national effort on climate change.
In short, we envision a future that includes very little, if any, imported oil. That is the challenge for the future. I am confident that we have provided the foundation for the 17th Legislative Assembly to work towards this goal for the benefit of our economy, our environment, and for future generations.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for Justice, Mr. Lafferty.
