Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to talk about a serious developing problem in the Northwest Territories. We are heading into a period of major financial uncertainty. The Northwest Territories is a very difficult region to govern at the best of times. It is a huge area with many different languages and cultures and a very small, scattered population. We have the youngest population in the country and the highest unemployment. We have terrible social problems. The political, economic and social fabric of our society is very fragile. The federal government has raised high expectations in the areas of division and of self-government.
Mr. Speaker, here in this House we should talk about how we are going to deal with those expectations in the years to come. I think this government has done a good job to protect the resources we have. I think the Minister of Finance has done the best job he could do, but the reality is the problems that are facing us in the next four or five years are immense. The federal government has to be held accountable because of the expectation they have raised. They have let every region think that self-government is just around the corner and that they will pay the incremental costs of division. I see signs more and more that that isn't the case.
The real danger for us, unless we deal with these problems and unless the federal government lives up to its expectations, is we in the Northwest Territories will turn against one another. I see that potential with every passing day as being a possibility. Today, Mr. Speaker, I will be asking the Minister of Finance some questions about his ideas of how we should try to approach this. I think as we head into an election, we have to be very clear and honest with our constituents; the future won't be the same as it was in the past. We won't have as much money, we won't be able to meet everyone's expectations. I think that all of us have a responsibility to be very realistic of what we can achieve in the next four years.
So I hope in the dying days of this Assembly, that the government and MLAs try to make it very clear to their constituents that we are heading for tough times. The federal government is struggling with a huge deficit and debt problem. I have no doubt that part of the solution is going to be more cutbacks in the Northwest Territories. If there isn't enough money to do things properly, then we have to work...