Thank you, Mr. Chair. Again I would like to congratulate you on your successful bid for Speaker of the House. As a candidate for the riding of Hay River North, I sometimes had a hard time defending the belief that if I was elected, I would be part of a government that would represent all the people of the Northwest Territories, especially when it comes to obtaining benefits from social programs.

For example, how do you tell someone working for Kingland Ford or Igloo Building Supplies making in the neighbourhood of $30,000 or less that they are not entitled to medical travel? Or someone that is aboriginal or that is working for a government department making $60,000 or more is entitled to full expenses for medical travel, including taxis, meals, accommodations and even car rentals?

Or how do you tell a 16 year old student that has lived in the Northwest Territories all their life they are not entitled to the same educational benefits as their next door neighbour simply because of who they are or their ethnic background, or that they are not just part of the system? I would like to hear from both candidates how they would justify questions like that? I would also like to know if they would be prepared to readdress or revisit the definition of who is and who is not a Northerner when it comes to obtaining government benefits? Thank you.