Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to commend the Government Leader for the bold and very significant step she took with the June 16 announcement of a New Directions initiative. This is the sort of thing that has been needed and should have been done years ago. Mr. Speaker, the benefits will be experienced throughout the Northwest Territories from the stimulation of local and regional economies. But that is only half of it. Program delivery decisions will also be made closer to the people who need to be served. On an economic development rationale and a service delivery rationale, the New Directions initiatives have both.

Recipient communities throughout the Northwest Territories, Mr. Speaker, are ready. Local governments and the private sector are poised to take on the task of supporting the infrastructure needed for decentralization. You will find they are willing, devoted, and have the energy and commitment for the planning process. But there is much that must be done, in partnership with the government, with this initiative. So today I am calling on the Government Leader and her cabinet colleagues to keep the momentum building.

First, we all need to begin to work on identifying the housing and office space requirements in the communities targeted for decentralization. Second, joint planning should begin now with the Departments of Public Works and MACA to develop a sound process through which the capital asset base will eventually be accrued to regional and local ownership. Third, there is a need to prepare regional residents for employment in the decentralization programs and services. Mr. Speaker, this is important. There is no sense in a decentralization initiative if it is not accompanied by administrative, and especially management, training that will enable our people to take advantage of this initiative. Fourth, we must support those public servants who accept the challenge of taking new direction in their careers and who agree to move to new communities with a view to making this initiative work.

As a final note, I would like to address a personal comment to those civil servants that will move. To the members of our public civil service who will be faced with a decision about workplace transfer and relocation of their next careers, I would say, do it. Make the decision to accompany the program. Be part of, and contribute to, this new initiative. In return for their commitment, we will have an opportunity, and they will have an opportunity, to experience the warmth of an emerging northern community, a sense of professional renewal, and a personal satisfaction that goes hand in hand with working in the regional setting. I know from my own experience of 20 years in the Keewatin, I would not change it for anything. Thank you.