Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to talk again about the need for territorial-wide land use planning and the ability to do cumulative impact assessments. The people of the Deh Cho have embarked on a journey to finalize and negotiate their own land use plan for their region and they’ve clearly set the trail for the rest of us. I believe it’s time for the territorial government, the aboriginal governments, and the regions, to seriously sit down and talk about how do we follow suit. We need regional land use plans, but we also need a broader land use plan for the territorial government. Let me give you an example of why I think that is the case.

Mr. Speaker, the folks from ATCO and Trans-Canada are trouping around the South Slave and Yellowknife talking about the projected, proposed hydro development on the Slave River. The old plan was for about 1,800 megawatts of power. They are talking about some type of run-of-the-river facility, but we know they are going to want to generate a maximum amount of power possible. As well, we know that there are discussions by these folks pushing the Green Corridors for Canada where they are talking about looking at trying to get 3,000 megawatts off the Mackenzie River at some point farther north.

We also know that site C of the Bennett Dam is being looked at for expansion and so is Dunvegan. We have the Taltson project and micro-hydro power projects as well. So, clearly, it is time for us, as a territorial government, to sit down with all the players to look at what is sustainable, what is the best way to advance on these projects if they even make sense, what is going to be the environmental impact and what is the benefit for people of the Northwest Territories. So there is a need, clearly, for broad land use planning.

The Dehcho has shown us that, if you do it, it can be done. It takes work and we might have differences about some of the things that were done or being asked by the Dehcho, but the process makes eminent good sense for us as a territory, the South Slave, the Sahtu, the Tlicho and all the other regions. There is going to be a need for us to make those decisions to look at what can be developed, how fast, what areas should be protected, how do we protect the waterways and the wetlands.

Mr. Speaker, right now we don’t have that capacity. As we look to the 16th Assembly, it is going to be clearly time for us to put that front and centre as part of our planning priorities. Thank you.

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