There will be staff cuts and they will lead to reduction in program quality and content, and just at a time when Inuktitut programming is becoming even more central to future development of our people in Nunavut.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week I learned that the government has now decided it can no longer afford the $110,000 a year to keep the local radio transmitters operating in the smaller communities. Both regional programming and local access broadcasting will be directly affected as old equipment fails and is not repaired. This government, Mr. Speaker, will be creating a double standard that existed 25 years ago, where the bigger communities can get more services, while the smaller communities, two of which I represent, get fewer and fewer services. People in the smaller communities will now be forced to listen to radio programming from south -- perhaps, rock from Vancouver, or (with all due respect to my colleague from Iqaluit) talk shows from St. John's.

Is this how we preserve our language, perhaps our history, our traditional knowledge?

This is a one-two to punch from large organization that our people have depended upon for 35 years -- and it amounts to the people in twenty-eight communities then saying "Too bad, go listen to the south."

Mr. Speaker, the irony is even greater when we listen to the great support and enthusiasm we have all expressed for the new information highway initiatives our government has started. Over $3 million will be spent to connect all our communities with high speed data networks -- yet we cannot afford $110,000 to keep the smallest communities, those with the least resources, connected to their fellow citizens, their region and their country.

Returning from the land and my communities, the message is loud and clear -- do not cut initial and long valued services. To do so without support from the people is to leave us all open to criticism that we have become a government that knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.