Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I was elected I told the people of Inuvik that I would come down and voice their concerns on fairness in the way the government operates. We have heard today, in some communities we have very little, and in some we have more than enough. It seems that we go around and we discuss, and we discuss some more. At the end of the day, we walk away feeling, what have we accomplished? I ask myself this question, time and time again.
Especially when we look at the upcoming budget. I hope we will address fairness in equity, because if what I am seeing is just the start of the 1997-98 business plan, the budget, I have grave concerns for the Inuvik and Delta region. I think as a government we have said we will treat people fairly. It is time we started putting some practise to our words. We need to let people see that it is going to happen, that we are looking out for the long term interests of the Territories. When the time of division comes, we will not have created communities that are lacking, that will have a very difficult time trying to continue on in the way that they have, not only become accustomed to but developed.
Inuvik, at one time, had a healthy, thriving private economy. I hope someday we will see that once again come north. But for now, we are heavily dependent on the government, and I hope this government would keep that in mind when making its decision of what it will do with its budget. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.