Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise and announce that the Inupiat Development Corporation, of Alaska's North Slope, has agreed to buy six housing packages from the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. These six homes will contain elements manufactured in the Northwest Territories. Materials will be bought through NWT suppliers and shipped to Alaska down the Mackenzie River on the barges of the Northern Transportation Company Limited. All of these activities create jobs for our constituents. It is expected that contracts for these six housing packages will be signed in the near future following final design changes. The packages should hit the beach at Barrow this July with construction carried out by local labour.

The sale is the direct result of the Corporation's efforts to open new markets for NWT products, designs and services. This is work that has been ongoing for more than a year. Mr. Speaker, when I was an Ordinary Member, I accompanied representatives of the Housing Corporation on a trade mission to Alaska and the Russian Far East. This trade mission was followed by several visits to Alaska by representatives of the Housing Corporation. At that time they presented to the Alaskans, the high level of design and logistics expertise developed over the years by the corporation. To put it simply, Mr. Speaker, the Housing Corporation showed the Alaskans that it could provide homes for a lower cost than their suppliers in the lower 48 states.

--Applause