Thank you, Mr. Chair. The one thing I have learned, as a Member of the 13^th Assembly, is that previous governments' idea of how programs and services are delivered in communities is not working. We have departments with policies and programs that are developed in their own area. Stovepipe mentality is what I would call it.

It shows that the system is not working. We can look at our statistics. Our graduation rates are not good in the Northwest Territories, especially amongst aboriginal people. How do we make the system develop or change into something that is more productive? That is where we get together again and look at our priorities. If we look at all that we spend today in the area of education, the area of health and social services, we find we have a lot of non-government organizations out there that are trying to do similar things. Whether it is life skills or adult education, we have a lot of areas dealing with the aftermath of how our kindergarten to grade 12 system has not performed as it was first developed.

I think we have to go back and ask ourselves as Members elected to represent the people, how are we going to change the system to make sure the dollars we are spending are spent on quality, not quantity?

If our people are going to be trained to take jobs, they have to have a quality education. There are a lot of good teachers who put in a lot of time to teach children, including my own.

We find ourselves in a system we have tried to patch up and band-aid for many years. We have to ask ourselves, what are our key priorities? How will we make sure the system is going to start to work? For example, are we going to take more steps in the preventive area? We know that a child's life is formed within the first five to six years. If we do not take advantage of those years, we are going to pay for it in the long run. That is where the dollars start to pour in.

Are we going to put priority on early prevention, and start early intervention from kindergarten up to grade three? Will we focus on those areas so we can ensure the next generation is adequately prepared? That is why I say we need to have an overall policy, one that fits the economic sector.

As I stated in my speech, we have done things piece-meal. We have had to run to catch up with the development that is happening, and often, we have lost out. In some cases, with the hard work of previous Ministers, we have pulled it off.

But trying to catch up from behind takes a lot of energy. Let us get ahead of the game, and that means looking at the preventative side. Those are the hard decisions we are going to have to make. That is where I will count on the wisdom of all my colleagues around the table. Everybody has to have input on the priorities of this government when it comes to health and social services. Sustainability is a key area. I believe we have one of the better systems when we compare ourselves to the rest of Canada, but it is stretched to the limit.

We saw signs of it this past summer, where health centres were closing down. We cannot continue the way we are. We have to look at our priorities. How can we sustain these areas?

I look forward to sitting down with colleagues and looking at these strategies and forums to take some of their recommendations and implement them. The people have spoken at those forums. Thank you.