Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will be responding to both documents. I look at both the western part of the territory and Nunavut and I see on a map a line drawn. But when you look at the people and the land itself there is no physical line. I hope when all this process is over, and at the end of the day, the people will still continue to work together, to cooperate, to visit and share their experiences as they have in the past. Although I find that it is important that governments have policies and procedures and a structure that will help them do business in the new territory, my concern goes to the people. When this is done and the snow settles, instead of dust I guess, that the programs and services available to the people of the territories would be equal or better to what we have today. I would be very disappointed to find out we have gone through a lot of time and effort and funding to find out at the end of the day that we have not changed anything. That we are still troubled by the way we do business. That we are not serving the people to the best of there needs and our abilities. I think as the days to 1999 shorten we should do all we can to make the realities happen of two territories in the best way possible.

What I said in the House before my concern goes to the people because it is the people that make our country our territory and our communities and the government is set up to serve those people. So, I think it is very important as the negotiation process begins and as we start dealing with matters that come before us as legislators that we take into consideration very seriously the impact our decisions will have on the people of the territories. I would wish best to both sides that the processes that they are developing will truly make lives and the quality of life better come 1999. I think it is very important that we do not focus on east west and what we will try and get out of it at the end of the day. That is important, mind you, but I think we need to focus as one territory to the federal government and state to them that it is very important to us a one territory that is being split into two that they accept the responsibility of the cost involved of creating two territories. That we do not get caught in a battle between east versus west and how one makes due with one thing and another makes due without.

There is definite concern in the communities, especially my community Inuvik, of what will happen come 1999. What service will be left, What will we be able to build as a government and those are important. But are they more important than what we have left at the end of the day, our ability to get on with our lives? We are at a very important crossroads. It is necessary to deal with these things. And some will be very difficult decisions to make. But I would encourage my colleagues that we work hard to achieve the best results for the people. Not necessarily for the governments. Sometimes what is best for a government is not so good for the people.

I look at the change that has happened from my parents in the early days of Inuvik. The changes that happened in the short period of time to where I am sitting today. That the government that made many changes, and it was the people that adapted. It was the people that made communities what they were. So I would encourage members here as we go through these number of days ahead of us towards division, to put the people first and foremost in front of things we set up. Thank you.