Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I have a very brief comment about Bill 6. I am part of the Standing Committee on Legislation. We reviewed the bill very thoroughly. We had witnesses appear before the standing committee. I, as a Member of that committee, supported the bill. However, Mr. Chairman, I agree with my colleagues Mr. Arvaluk and Mr. Patterson on some of the more urgent needs in the eastern Arctic and I'm sure, as well, in the western Arctic.
Mr. Chairman, Gjoa Haven needs a home for elders. We need safe shelters for battered women in some of the communities. We need, Mr. Chairman, access roads to hunting areas in the eastern Arctic. I'm sure some communities need access roads to hunting areas in the western Arctic as well.
Mr. Chairman, there are needy people in this jurisdiction, people living off welfare in some of the more remote communities where the cost of living is very, very high; not only in the eastern Arctic but in remote communities of the western Arctic. We heard that the government built winter roads in the eastern Arctic in accessible communities during the summer. I'm sure the cost of living is very high in those communities.
Mr. Chairman, maybe 15 years ago, finding funding for new endeavours by this government would have been something we could have done. But, now things are getting harder, time are hard, and resources are getting smaller and smaller, not only on a yearly basis but as well on a bi-yearly basis.
Mr. Chairman, I believe in open government. I believe in a government that is accountable to the people. Mr. Chairman, the few people who talked to me about accessing information from this government are the people from the business community in my region. Sometimes, they wanted to know why a particular contract was awarded to a particular contractor in the community or outside of the community. Sometimes, they wanted to know what decisions were made by this government not while we were in session -- they hear what is going on during session; they see us operating in session -- but between sessions.
I believe that making information more accessible to the public will help the public but, as Mr. Patterson indicated yesterday -- very eloquently -- and Mr. Arvaluk and other Members, times are difficult. There are real needs out there and people who are at a disadvantage in the small communities. When I speak, I would like to think that I speak not only for my people but for people across the territories, although mainly for people in small communities in the eastern Arctic. I travelled to the western Arctic with my eastern colleagues. I have seen similar situations that I have seen back home.
If there are resources within the Department of Justice, I will concur with my colleagues, as an elected Member and also as a Member of the Standing Committee on Legislation, that this is a good thing. People want to know what is going on in the system. There are cries out there that people want open government. We are an open government. When we deliberate in the House, we do that in front of a camera and the public knows what is going on. But, there are times, Mr. Chairman, when even politicians are not able to travel to communities. It may be because of the weather, because of other commitments, or because we don't have enough funds in our travel allowance.
This may not be the right time to do it. There are other needs in the system. But, as a responsible elected Member, I think access to information is what the public wants now and I will be supporting the bill. Thank you.