Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My comment will not be too long. It will be very brief. I just want to give the Premier feedback on the statement he had made. I would like to indicate to the Premier that I have had responses from some of my constituents who expressed to me that they generally liked what they have heard from this statement.

One of the more specific things that was expressed to me is the general impression of this statement and the emphasis on the importance of the individuals to make the choices. I think many people would agree that a lot of the problems we face, especially in the area of social problems in this Territory, like every other place in Canada, the government cannot do it alone.

If I may say, I do have a bone to pick with the Premier in his reference to the new Members. Because I do believe that the new Members that are here bring more than enthusiasm. I would hate to think that we are just young people with only enthusiasm and no experience and knowledge which he attributed to all the other older Members.

I would like to say that what this statement really said to me is that it is a commitment of the Premier to say that we really are working here, all of us, to build strong individuals, families and communities. And that is what it boils down to.

That is what the government is for. The government cannot do everything for everybody. We cannot fix all the problems. We need to rely on the strength and courage of individuals.

Also, I have to commend the Premier on the list of priorities that he set out. I do not want to read them, as it is already on record, but I do not believe that it received the kind of attention that it deserves in the media and from the public.

The other thing that I took out of the statement is that it is really calling for a partnership between the government and the people, and partnership between federal, territorial public and aboriginal governments.

I think that if we learned anything from what we have gone through since we have been elected to this House and the meetings we have held in public and in private, it is that there is no issue and no problem that we face right now that we can resolve alone in this House. It calls for partnerships at all levels.

I was particularly interested in what the Premier said about the progress that the aboriginal peoples and aboriginal leaders have made in this Territory and in this Assembly.

Mr. Chairman, I am not that old, but in 22 years of living here in Yellowknife, and about 11 years of being involved in and out of government and in and out of this Assembly, I could say that I have personally witnessed the empowerment of aboriginal people in this land and in this Assembly. I was here when the aboriginal leaders were a minority. Their issues were largely ignored. We have witnessed the empowerment of not only the leaders, but a great advancement of the aboriginal issues in this House and across the Territories.

I think it is very important that we celebrate this. That we take a breather and say "look at how far we have come." Our Territory is now made up of half aboriginal and half non-aboriginal people. I think the power of the aboriginal issues and aboriginal people are so obvious now. Because we are calling for an intergovernmental affairs forum, we are asking the aboriginal leaders to help us. Not to just consult, not just give us advice, but we are talking about them taking a direct role in controlling where we are going to go as a Territory, and how we are going to make decisions on a number of issues that we have to deal with, namely the devolution, fiscal situations, social problems, and everything else that the Premier mentioned in the statement.

I would like to highlight three things from the statement. I think I have already stated that I agree with most of the statements that were made.

Under human perspective, the Premier stated that he would like to see a society where children and youth can and are prepared to take advantage of education and training opportunities to grow and prosper.

I would just like to say two things under this heading. One is that I think that the recent settlement of the teacher's strike is one way to advance this. I think the settlement package addresses the high pupil-to-teacher ratio which has been caused partially by an increase in special needs students. This is an issue that was addressed to me time and time again when I was on my campaign trail, going door to door. There are many teachers in my riding and parents with young children. The number one issue they talked to me about is the crowded school situation resulting from the inclusion policy of special need students in their school system.

This is a priority to me Mr. Chairman, I think that this is one area that we have to address if we are going to create a society where the youth and children are going to be able to take advantage of all that is available.

I could also add a personal note to this. I think that when we are being very grim and negative about our social situation, I can say for the record that I think the system we have in the Northwest Territories is something that we have to be very proud of. I came here 22 years ago, when I was 14 years old. I spoke no English. I am a child of a single mother. I came here and I received every kind of help I needed. I had a tutor with me who taught me how to read the cereal box to everything else I needed to eventually do.

I was able to finish my junior high, then senior high. I wanted to be a lawyer and somebody mentioned that I should go and study political science. I was able to do that. Then I wanted to be a lawyer and I was funded to go to law school.

I realize that I had to work hard for that. I always had jobs from the government so that I could pay my way, because my mom was not able to pay a cent of my education or any of my living expenses. I think that when we are looking at what is wrong, it is very important to look at what is right. I understand also, Mr. Chairman, that not everyone in this society can take advantage of what is out there. I understand that not everybody can get everything that I have been able to get. I do not know why that is so, but I know that some people need more help than others.

I think we have to remember that we cannot do everything for everyone. We have to make choices so we help those who need it the most. That is all I am going to say on the human perspective.

The next item I want to mention is the economic perspective, where it was talking about infrastructure. There are two things I would like to say on this. I want to note for the record that over the last ten or 12 years we have had virtually no capital spending in this Territory. We are so burdened with paying for our social spending that we have not been able to spend any money at all on other things. I noticed no money at all on building roads, buildings, or anything that the government has to do to maintain its infrastructure.

I made a statement and I asked questions about the condition of Highway No. 3. I plan on doing that continually, along with other Yellowknife Members, until this matter is resolved.

I was a little alarmed that Highway No. 3 was not mentioned under economic perspective, infrastructure. The road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk was mentioned, and the Mackenzie Valley, but not Highway No. 3. I am going to read that as saying that it is money for new road projects and that is why it was mentioned there. I appreciate that Highway No. 3 is an existing road and we are talking about reconstruction and not new construction.

Another item I want to mention is division and the cuts in public spending. In this statement when the Premier mentioned the things that we could leave behind. One of the things that was said was that division and cuts in public spending are behind us. I will just wrap it up by saying that I hope there will be no serious job cuts without a rational plan at least.

I want to conclude by saying that I appreciated the Sessional Statement, and I believe that it gave a vision of the Premier and of what he wants to do for the next four years. It was well received by my constituents and I think that it is important that everyone in this House work hard to make this a reality. Thank you.