Thank you. This is a concern of mine, and I have already stated in my first speech in this House this Assembly that this community government infrastructure funding gap needs to be addressed in a significant way during the life of this Assembly. The question was asked: is it costing the GNWT money? Well, it is in Hay River.

In Hay River, we need to expand. We need to put roads in, put sewer lines in, put water lines in, so that we can start developing houses so that people can move to town, which they want to do. We don't have enough houses for people to live right now. Every person we bring in is going to be $30,000, $35,000 to the GNWT. Two hundred people is $6.5 million a year in transfer payments that the GNWT isn't getting, because the community can't afford to put in this additional infrastructure. This money isn't even for new infrastructure; this is for placement infrastructure.

Ms. Cochrane said that, when she was growing up in Yellowknife, they had gravel roads. I live in Old Town in Hay River. We still have gravel roads. We are never going to get paved roads at this rate. This is the case of the GNWT prioritizing its infrastructure needs over community infrastructure needs. Maybe we don't address the gap in its entirety, but maybe the GNWT pulls back and says, "Okay, communities, we recognize your value and your worth and the fact that you need this money in order to grow and grow the economy and lower the cost of living, and so we are going to support you." If we can get this money in Hay River, and we can get this new expansion, there are going to be places to live, which means the cost of rent is going to go down, people are going to be able to afford not just heat but heat and power, afford some groceries. This is a big issue, and it needs to get dealt with, so I want to thank the Member for bringing it up, and it's going to be one of my priorities going forward. Thank you.