Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this 3rd Session of the 12th Legislative Assembly we are going to be asking the Legislative Assembly to do something different. For the first time we will be reviewing a capital budget four months before the start of the new fiscal year.

This change in timing is important, Mr. Speaker. It is important to communities and to the N.W.T. construction industry. It will provide all parties, communities, contractors and government departments with critical lead time to gear up and prepare the next year's construction season. With this additional lead time, firm plans can be made by communities to maximize local employment, and training and business opportunities with regard to the government's capital program. Contractors will have more time to prepare bids, to get organized, to secure financing and to marshal materials before the construction season commences.

Capital construction activity in the Northwest Territories is tapering off due to the completion of the Forward Warning System, the slow economic growth in the country, and the federal government funding cuts to housing. The reduction of construction activity in other sectors increases the importance of the Government of the Northwest Territories' capital budget and makes it vital for government to take steps to ensure that more economic benefits of its capital program stay in the north with northern workers and with northern businesses.

With Legislative Assembly approval of the capital budget during this sitting, government departments and agencies will be able to commence project tendering immediately. They will also be able to meet with communities and plan how capital projects should be managed during the construction phase to provide maximum training and employment opportunities for local workers. The local training and employment aspect of the government's capital program has been a particular focus of government departments over the last year. Procedures and processes which help facilitate the inclusion of significant local training components in capital projects have now been developed.

In addition, we are looking at ways to increase opportunities for using goods manufactured in the Northwest Territories. To that end, Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Housing has implemented a program to break down housing packages into units which support the use of products that are, or have the potential to be manufactured in the Northwest Territories.

As I mentioned previously, this new schedule will permit departments to tender earlier than has been done in the past. With early tendering, will also come earlier reward of contracts to successful bidders. Although this will not allow the government to actually receive services or make payments before the start of the new fiscal year on April 1, it will provide certainty to contractors and allow them to plan better for the construction season.

Mr. Speaker, in keeping with the spirit and intent of this new capital budget process, I would like to emphasize that we expect contractors to work more closely with communities on capital projects. Early tendering of projects should provide sufficient time to facilitate this cooperative approach. While the scheduling change in the capital budget review is important, we have also made a major change in how the capital budget is developed. The budget the Legislative Assembly will be reviewing this session, has gone through the most consulted development process ever undertaken by the Government of the Northwest Territories.

Following the Premier's commitment to more open government and the support of a more open planning process by the Standing Committee on Finance, the development of the 1993-94 capital budget provided for direct input from all communities and all Members of this Legislative Assembly. Mr. Speaker, in May 1992, communities and M.L.A.s were provided with a listing of all projects their communities were eligible for over the next five years. Communities and M.L.A.s were asked to priorize and comment on these capital projects. Within a few short weeks almost every community and M.L.A. had responded. This demonstration of interest and cooperation provided the government with excellent information and guidance for the completion of the 1993-94 capital budget.

In August 1992, the government again went to the communities and M.L.A.s and this time, Mr. Speaker, the response was not as good as we had hoped. Communities found out that the capital projects had been assigned a priority in response to the input received and in consideration of the amount of capital money which was available.

The capital projects were presented to communities and M.L.A.s in the form of a draft five year capital plan. A document that I might add, Mr. Speaker, when I was an ordinary Member, was said not to exist.

Community and M.L.A. response to this second round of consultation was less dramatic than the response received on the first round. This may have been due to the short time frames involved or to the level of comfort that communities had with the resulting five year plan. Feedback received since the five year plan, which was circulated, suggests a combination of both. However, we feel that the predominant reason was that communities were satisfied that the government had made an honest effort to accommodate community priorities.

Many communities and M.L.A.s, as well as the Standing Committee on Finance, have provided us with valuable suggestions on how to improve the capital consultation process for the next budget. Suggestions include such improvements as providing more time for communities to respond, providing more information to communities on particular capital projects, making instructions easier to understand and allowing communities to suggest ultimate projects or approaches to fulfil community needs.

Mr. Speaker, the government is committed to making the capital planning process even more open and responsive to community needs. Each one of these suggestions will be reviewed carefully and to the maximum extent possible will be incorporated into the development of the 1994-95 capital budget.

I have already noted the importance of the Government of the Northwest Territories capital budget to the economy of the N.W.T., particularly the economy of the smaller communities.