Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 1, too, am of the same opinion as my colleague for North Slave. For many years we have sort of been poor cousins to the government. The Kitikmeot needs a lot of work at ground level to get things going, as does the Keewatin. We cannot rely solely on the mining industry as the Minister stated, for this whole reason that the mining industry and the growth of a

community depends on the market value of your lead, nickel, and gold. That is dictated by the world market and how good the price is. From what I understand, gold is on its way down. What we really need is infrastructure in our community. We will be going into a new territory, and we need new things to develop with, like other regions in the Territories.

Kitikmeot Region Neglected

I am beginning to wonder if this Legislative Assembly looks beyond their own constituency needs and their interests. My region exists; we are part of the NWT; we will always be; because we are right in the dead smack centre of the Territories. I feel Rankin and Fort Simpson are not nevernever land; that should be us fellows. They are well established. Mr. Todd has all his infrastructure there, yet he is getting more PYs and we are getting nothing.

You have to look at decentralization on a territorial level and not on the region that you want to promote and develop and leave the two regions, which are already neglected, behind. We need this government infrastructure. We need many things that I wish we could get within my four years in this House or even after seven years. It will be pretty difficult to do. I am only one in 24; I am only a rookie. I sit back and listen to all the luxuries these guys are getting, and we are getting only sparerib extras with no meat on them.

I think the government has to seriously consider going back to the drawing board and see what they can come up with for the region that I represent. Because it is disheartening to go out of here during the day knowing that you are not getting anything and the decision has already been made without even consulting the hamlet councils and myself. Who made these decisions to move these person years to the region. In principle I agree with decentralization, but I have to say it is not being done on an equal basis.