Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, during the last session, I raised a concern of inadequate fire alerting systems within many of our communities as a result of aging, deteriorating systems which are proving to be difficult

and expensive to repair, and as a result of the rapid growth of our communities.

During my questioning of the government on this issue, it was discovered that, while MACA provides the capital and O and M funding for firefighting and alerting equipment, Safety and Public Services has the responsibility to inspect and monitor the equipment to make sure that it is effective. I note that last spring, after I raised the issue of problems of fire alerting systems, a Safety and Public Services representative undertook inspections of fire alerting systems in my constituency. Although I'm not certain of the results of those inspections, I appreciate the fact that there was interest shown by the government.

Madam Speaker, the most recent problem identified in my constituency, in both Coppermine and Cambridge Bay, respecting the firefighting system, is the aging of the fire trucks, particularly the difficulty and length of time required to order and receive parts for the fire trucks. On different occasions over the past summer, the fire trucks in both communities were unusable for weeks as a result of waiting for parts. Needless to say, this is a very dangerous situation of having the most critical piece of firefighting equipment unavailable to the community should a fire break out.