Thank you, Madam Speaker. Today I would like to speak to the water and sewer subsidy program operated by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. This program, Madam Speaker, pays for some of the high costs of providing clean water, and appropriate sewage service in northern communities by subsidizing the rates paid by northerners. It costs a lot of money to provide clean water and proper sewage services in northern communities, money that can be hard to come by. This program is of great benefit to northern business as it enables the growth of the small business sector in the north, growth that might otherwise be stifled by high utility costs.
Madam Speaker, the subsidy program is also a boon to home ownership in the Northwest Territories. Mortgage payments and heating costs are already much higher in the north than in most of the country. The water and sewer subsidy program makes it a little easier for northerners to afford to buy their own homes. In fact, Madam Speaker, this is a very important program; so important that it is often the subject of rumours, rumours that the subsidy might be reduced and that northern home owners and business people might have to pay much more for their water and sewage services.
Because the water and sewer subsidy program is so important, the Members of this House trust that the government will always consult fully with House and with the municipalities of the Northwest Territories before considering any changes to the subsidy. Thank you.