Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are here to govern on behalf of the people we represent. The young, the elderly, the sick, healthy, the employed and the unemployed. Mr. Speaker, I have had a chance to talk to many people during the time I spent at home this Christmas. I have heard from those who are fortunate to still have jobs, and they are wondering how much longer things will drag on for. Small businesses are closing their doors. Those that can afford to leave are doing just that. Many who are leaving are doing so, not because they want to but because they can find work elsewhere, and for the same job in other jurisdictions, they receive equal or better pay than in the north.
Mr. Speaker, Inuvik was once a place where work was plentiful, where contractors did not have to rely strictly on government. Well, things have changed. At the high point of Inuvik's history, we had a population of between 7,000 to 8,000 people. According to the census of 1996, Inuvik is at almost 3,300. If you talk to the people, they say it is more like 2,500. Mr. Speaker, at this time I request unanimous consent to conclude my statement.