I thought I was going to leave it at what I had said earlier, but I guess I have no choice but to deal with some of the issues that have been raised and which have caused me even more concern. Number one, I do not really mind the idea of decentralization, and I do not want every stone unturned in terms of making a policy decision. The question I want to have dealt with is whether or not an overall policy decision has been made and what that means. If you are talking about decentralization, does it only stop at the region? If not, then let us say that. But that is not what is coming out in the documentation before us.

Maybe I can be more specific about Inuvik. Let us deal with Inuvik for a few minutes. It is not a matter of my particular constituency. One question I would like to ask is, what is the transportation centre in Inuvik Region? Is it Inuvik? That is an assumption that people have made, but the fact is that it is not the community which is serviced first by road transportation. It is the last. So the question I have to address is, how do I view that in terms of decentralization? It does not fit. That is all I am trying to get at.

The other point I want to make is simply this. If there is an attempt on our part to deal with decentralization and moving people into the communities or into the regional centres, then surely we are going to address the matter of ensuring that services are provided to communities first. If not, then how are we addressing that particular question? The document does not deal with that.

I can be more specific about it. Arctic Red River has no nurse, has no social worker, and has no police services. It is very fundamental, but nothing is done with it. So when I talk about decentralization, I look at that and I say the intention in the document is that we are going to improve services. How'? For the people in that community, it does not make any sense. For me to go back there to argue a case and support this government's direction, to them it does not make any sense it they are not receiving what they think are basic services. To some, maybe it is more of a constituency matter, but the fact is that it is basic services, and if people here in this Assembly do not agree that every community should have some basic services, then what is the logic of moving people out of Yellowknife? It does not make sense.

I do not know what I have to do to convince people that this is the view of the people out there, but I know that politically, if I look at this document and if I were involved in one of these particular constituencies, I would be a happy man. The simple fact is that I will support everything that has been proposed if: 1) there is some logical reason why we are doing it; and 2) if it means improving services to the community or making some basic decisions about those basic services and programs. If not, there is no rationale to it. There is no reason why people in the communities should support it, because it is not helping them. Maybe to some it is, but I know to a lot of others it is not. There has to be some logic to it, so I can go out there and defend the policy of this government.

I do agree with decentralization, but decentralization at the expense of services to people in the communities does not make any sense. Just for the sake of saying there will be a few more jobs does not make sense. There has to be some movement of government, but if you talk about this matter of economic growth based on non-renewable resources, the group that is from the Inuvik Region, including Kitikmeot, knows that there is no absolute future in the oil and gas industry. We have had that experience.

I look at this, and people say we are going to maximize those benefits. Yes, when it happens, but what happens before then? I am not going to be convinced by people arguing all is well. It is not all well. I think that if you want to say that it is all well, say it publicly. Do not say all is well because we made the statement. If it is not well, then say it is not well, but do not tell me that people in Yellowknife or the Northwest Territories are happy about the amount of employment they have in Echo Bay Mine. Every one of you here has heard criticism about the lack of employment at Echo Bay Mine. Every one of us. So do not tell me that things are all well and good, and that this New Directions is the answer. It is part of the answer, but it is not the total answer. I do not like to be told by Ministers in this government that my comments and my concerns are not valid, because they are valid. Address the other issues while addressing these, because I think it is wrong to try to fool people.