Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just wanted to also say a few things about the M.A.C.A. I agree with my colleague, honourable Henry Zoe, in his concern for the smaller communities. Since my involvement here in this Legislative Assembly I have become more aware as I try to represent people in the smaller communities. My priority is making sure, like all the M.L.A.s, that the people in the smaller communities have basic programs and services. The reality is that the Government of the Northwest Territories provides these basic programs and services to people in the north and, if you really look at the people in the smaller communities as compared to the larger centres all through the north, you find out that smaller communities particularly in the Dene communities are really at a disadvantage.
The Minister of M.A.C.A., in the last session, stated that because they are chief and band councils, they are unorganized. The chiefs in the communities were very insulted. In fact, the Chief from Wrigley, Tim Lennie, takes that as a slap in the face. You know when the attitude of the bureaucrats is because you are chief and band council you are unorganized. It is a real insult to the chiefs and band councils. Some of the chiefs have told me themselves that they do not like the kind of attitude that is coming from this department and the whole attitude has to change.
I would also like to add, from the life of this whole Government of the Northwest Territories, the amount of infrastructure capital that has gone on in the past when divided per capita, you find out that in the long run the people in the smaller communities have been neglected and disadvantaged. A lot of the arguments now are that there are not enough people in these small communities to warrant such big expenditures but you should not look at it that way, you are looking at a really small window if you approach it that way. You have to look at the total service that has gone on in the history of this government toward the people in communities and then you find out that people in the small communities have been neglected. What we are saying here is that it is about time that you take them seriously and give them the type of programs and services that they are entitled to.
In the preambles of each department you have goals, objectives and directives of each department. In there it states clearly what the department intends to do and I would like to suggest that maybe this department carry out what they say in black and white to all the small communities. Mahsi.