Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the major policy thrusts of this government is the twin towers of pain, community empowerment and the community transfer initiative. Mr. Speaker, in many respects the details of implementing this policy have not been well thought out. I personally believe there is a way for the government to save money, by downloading programs and services to the communities. Community empowerment is being marketed as a motherhood, an apple pie issue.

Give communities responsibility, let them run it, they know what communities want. Mr. Speaker, in these fiscally challenged times, what communities want is more resources, more money and more training, without adequate resources to back them up. If communities take on more operations and maintenance, infrastructure and program delivery, I fear, we will be setting these communities up to fail.

Yes, we should empower communities, Mr. Speaker, to make decisions for themselves, but empowerment is not just handing over the reigns and then abandoning all responsibility. Is it empowering our children to let them drive, if we just give them the car keys and tell them to go at it. That is not empowerment, to empower is to endow with the ability or power required for a purpose or task. We do not let anyone sit behind the wheel without training and testing. If community empowerment is to live up to its name, we have to remember the dictionary definition I have just quoted.

We must ensure that our communities have the ability to carry out the task that would be assigned to them. I am concerned that we are rushing too quickly to give the task to communities without empowering them with the ability to perform those tasks. I know the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs and the departmental staff are working on training programs, monitoring systems and so on, but these have to come before the transfer of responsibility, not afterwards. While I applaud the government's efforts to empower our communities, I want to see it done right. I want community empowerment to work. I am sure all of us want to see community empowerment work, but it will not work if we put the cart before the horse. We had to do the right things in the right order.

That is why I suggest that no further responsibilities be transferred to communities before the Members of this House, and the people of the North, are assured that the appropriate preparation has been completed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.