Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon to my colleagues. Mr. Speaker, on January 24, 1996, I was pleased to be asked to participate in a teleconference with the mayor, councillors and officials from the hamlet of Pangnirtung and the regional office of the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs in Baffin. We discussed capital priorities for Pangnirtung at that meeting. We discussed a number of capital projects, and some of those capital projects such as dump sites and sewage disposal sites, sealift staging. We were told that the projects are on schedule and are okay.

On another topic, the hamlet requested that a new dump truck should take priority over a new bulldozer. The hamlet asked that the dump truck be moved forward and the bulldozer moved back. They were told by the officials that it should not be a problem. However, when the hamlet requested moving the maintenance garage project ahead to the 1996-97 capital plan since it is a priority for the community, the regional superintendent said that the 1996-97 capital plan might be cut and he was not sure if it was going to be possible to move the maintenance garage forward.

I would like to inform the honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs that the maintenance garage is a strong priority for the hamlet of Pangnirtung. It is necessary to prolong the life of hamlet vehicles. The new maintenance garage is an investment for our government since it will make the hamlet equipment last much longer.

I welcome the chance to participate with the officials in our government...