Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said before in this House, I believe when we all took on the task of becoming Members of this Legislative Assembly, we did so thinking of the ways and changes we could help bring about that would help the people of the NWT live better lives.
Mr. Speaker, it was with great difficulty that decisions were made through the business plans to reduce existing levels of programs and services. It was really hard to reduce the support to areas like cultural programs, income support, non-profit organizations, health boards and alcohol and drug treatment centres. What we tried to do in making the reductions was to encourage new ways of doing business, such as asking for a new approach to alcohol and drug treatment, which would make better use of the limited funds available while recognizing the need for intervention and prevention.
One of the hard things about being a Member and making the tough decisions is that no one notices when we add a bit more to a prevention program or a bit more to the housing. Unfortunately, the attention tends to focus on the unpopular decisions. We each have concerns in our constituencies which need to be addressed. There are also many opportunities we know about which could help this government in addressing problems which face the residents.
--- Applause