Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement today is in regards to the whole question of the government's initiative in regards to community empowerment. The government has pledged to improve social conditions and to empower communities and to work towards community wellness, and also the idea of being fair and equitable to all communities and regions in the Northwest Territories. Yet my constituency, Mackenzie Delta has the lowest cost per capita expenditure on projects in the whole Northwest Territories compared to any other riding in the Northwest Territories. Projects designated for my constituency have been cut, have been moved. For example, the aquatic project to establish a camp dealing with the Department of Justice, and also core funding to the Gwich'in Healing Camp. And also now we are hearing the cuts to the Inuvik hospital which have been signed, sealed, and delivered to agreement between this government and the Government of Canada to transfer and build health facilities in the Northwest Territories.

This government talks about community empowerment, but when a community or region wants to take initiatives to establish facilities to help in the area of empowering their communities to deal with community wellness and also to deal with the whole problem, social problems that arise in these communities where we do not have an economic base, like most communities, and also the expenditures that this government spends in southern institutions, with no blink of an eye which are still sending people to southern facilities and paying a lot more than what has presently been allocated to Gwich'in Healing Society. The Government can talk about fairness and being equitable to all regions, I would like to see them practice it in my riding as soon as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.