Debates of November 28, 2007 (day 4)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank my colleague Mr. Bromley for bringing up the hosting of the Wind Energy Conference in my community of Tuktoyaktuk. There’s over 100 delegates across the Northwest Territories and the northern remote jurisdictions, such as Alaska, Yukon, Newfoundland and Nunavut. It’s particularly exciting that the conference is being held in Tuktoyaktuk, the windiest region in the territory, and the region, I believe, that offers the most immediate opportunity for the use of wind energy.

Mr. Speaker, this conference provides an important opportunity for the community leaders to come together, to learn from the experience of the northern leaders, developers, academics, researchers and experts, who have developed wind energy projects in the remote northern communities from Alaska to Newfoundland. Mr. Speaker, this also allows community leaders to clearly state their wishes and desires of all levels of government regarding development to support the purchase of wind energy.

Mr. Speaker, I believe at this time it is the right time for both federal and territorial governments to develop long-term, stable, comprehensive programs to support our remote northern communities to take advantage of this resource. As we all know, the North is not just bearing the brunt of rising global fuel prices, but also the front lines of changing global climate. Many Arctic communities, including those in my constituency, are faced with extremely high and rising living costs, rising sea levels, and melting ice packs and want to be a part of the solution.

However, for wind energy to be successful there is a need to increase northern capacity and partnerships between governments, the private sector and research organizations. For example, the Inuvialuit are proposing a model that identifies Tuktoyaktuk’s infrastructure and human resource capacities and economies of scale together with the training and research capabilities of Aurora College and Aurora Research Institute as making it a good candidate for a wind turbine project and hub.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Jacobson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I end, I want to recognize the many sponsors of this conference, including the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, ConocoPhillips, Shell, NorthwesTel, Entegrity Wind, Frontier Power Systems, and the Inuvialuit Group of Companies. I also want to thank the hamlet and the community corporation of Tuktoyaktuk, and the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, and the federal government, and our own government, led by the departments of ENR and ITI, for working hard to make this important conference a reality.

Mr. Speaker, although I am unable to attend this conference this week because of session, I look forward to hearing the results from the leaders from the forum at the end of the conference and all the recommendations it will make concerning this use of energy in the Beaufort and other regions of the Northwest Territories. Quanami, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause