Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to start my general comments by focusing on one of the issues that we have not done well as a government, and we are going to improve on with this budget and the next 800 days and that is the whole area of communication.

We still have not come out of the communication strategy as we suffered through the budget that we are currently in and we are still feeling the affects and follow out by the way we have handled a lot of the initiatives. This current budget is intended to take $100 million out of the budget, almost equivalent to last year. People are highly sensitized as we are all aware in every corner of this territory about the issue of deficit reduction and cutbacks. It is going to be critical for us if we are going to continue to manage this situation and be sympathetic and open and understanding as possible and let people know all of the issues that we are dealing with, we have a communication strategy.

It is not enough for MLAs or Ministers to stand up and make comments in the House, in their riding or at meetings. That is but one small part of the process. So, I would strongly recommend in the strongest possible way to the Minister of Finance, since he is one of only two Ministers in the House, that this is to me a critical issue. If we want to sell our package of necessary cuts, we have to be able to do it properly. We cannot afford to drop the ball.

I, like the Minister of Finance, am interested in getting through this particular budget exercise as carefully and as thoroughly and by the set dates as possible so that we can move on to the issues of economic development and then be one of division. There is also a considerable number of strategies and reviews currently under way especially in the social program in relation to reconfiguring health care facilities. They are still working on their child care issues that are going to have an impact on budgets, and I will be watching those with great interest.

I would encourage all MLAs to be very vigilant and involved in those because they will have an effect in every riding and with every individual in your constituency. It is very clear, as we discussed with the seniors we met with on Saturday, we have far more problems than we have money. I think this is a message that people do not want to hear, but I think it is a reality that we have to keep reinforcing. We still have a very high level of expectation and, while the cuts may be unprecedented in the history of the Northwest Territories, I think the level of expectation of people in the Northwest Territories on a comparative basis is also very high. The reality is, some of the problems we face, unless we deal with them, are going to continue to cripple us.

The Member for Hay River brought one up that I think we have to put on the table in a public forum more and more. That is, the whole issue of our exploding population. As we look at budgets and the costs that are driving our economy, one of the biggest single costs is the exploding birth rates and the pressure on health care systems, on social welfare systems, on schools, and on day cares. It is very clear to me that we have to start looking seriously at those issues, in relation to any kind of budget process, if we are going to have some kind of sustainable economy.

I also am convinced, as painful as it is, that we have to stay the course on this particular strategy that we agreed to and embarked on a year ago; the two-year deficit reduction plan. We have a lot of things that are already in process and, in my opinion, while there are some modifications maybe that take place, we have to stay the course.

I also agree that we have unprecedented change. Any kind of significant restructuring, I think, is no longer appropriate, and that it is time to consolidate the changes we have made, the restructuring that has been done, and to evaluate the benefit and effect, or lack of effect, of some of the various initiatives that we, as an Assembly, have agreed to. I think of the new consolidation of RWED, the user pay/user say.

Where are we with privatization? There is a whole host of initiatives that we have in the works related to this budget. We have so many things going that it is hard to keep track and hard to see what is working. I am convinced that if we do not pay more attention to some of the changes that we have under way, they will not happen. Privatization, unless people are vigilant and unless we make it an issue and focus attention on it, will, in all probability, grind to a slow, inexorable halt, because I do not think the government very willingly through its bureaucracy will seriously look at privatization. I think, subconsciously at least, there is a vested interest to maintain status quo. Am I out of time?

I think if we limit any further restructuring and focus on some of the initiatives we do have, that it will in the long run may be more beneficial. We may be able to realize some of the end results that we are anticipating if we can focus some attention on those and I think we should. As I mentioned, moments ago, it is also critical that we look at serious ways to contain some of the social drivers that are really straining our ability to cope. It is not something that is easy to talk about, something as simple as families and children. Unless we put that on the table and people realize the impact, I think we are not doing people justice or making them clearly aware that it is not just a question of government cutting or not having enough money, but there are things out there that we can have an influence on. We mentioned that to the seniors' society, that everybody has a role to play when you look at restructuring our way of life in the north.

As I look at the budget, the cost of division as we move down into the next 700 days is going to be another critical area. As one of the communities in the west, outside of Yellowknife, my sense is that it is going to be communities like mine that are going to end up suffering a net loss as we move through the deficit reduction, plus factoring in division. I think it is going to be critical for communities, outside of Yellowknife or including Yellowknife, in the west, to make maximum benefit of the resource development initiatives that are under way, ones that are now under way or that may be on the drawing board. Because, very clearly, as has been indicated by just about all MLAs, government is not going to regain its former stature. We are not going to have new government revenues. Government will no longer be, as the Minister of Finance is wont to say, going to be the engine of growth in this territory. It is very clear that it is time to start shifting and broadening our economic base and that is a very difficult task in communities that have grown up on government largesse, I suppose.

Like Mr. Picco, I think MLAs have an obligation to defend their communities, but I qualify that defence by saying that I do not think it should be necessarily at all costs. When we talk fairness and equity we have an obligation as MLAs to consider other constituencies, other MLAs concerns, and the fact that we came in when we were elected into an imperfect system that we are trying to adjust and improve and that there is no doubt that some communities have more than others. Clearly there is no doubt. Just like it is very clear that some communities have faced inequities in the past, for whatever reason, in things like capital. So I, too, want to defend my community, but at the end of the day I want to make sure that the budgets that we put out and the programs that we agree to and the initiatives that we undertake, benefit the whole Northwest Territories.

Unless we keep a win-win attitude foremost on our minds when we are doing business in this House, then we will all retreat to our respective constituencies and we will have a regression to an old style of doing business that is going to be even more detrimental, now, than it was in the past, because no longer can we afford to try to go it alone. No longer can we afford to lobby individually to protect our interests without considering the overall picture. I know it is very difficult and I know we take a lot of heat for it, but I think we all knew when we were elected that this is possibly a short-term employment for us. But if we end up doing what is right, at the end of the day, when you look in the mirror in mornings, at least you will know you have that to your credit, that you did what you thought was right. You may be unemployed but you will have that satisfaction.

I think we have a lot of tough ground to cover ahead of us. I am confident that, as we listen to the discussion and debate at the end of the day, we can reach the goals that we have set for ourselves. Thank you, Madame Chair.