Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to address a very serious issue that I was informed of yesterday. It ties in to what I said last Friday on information and how we receive it. Mr. Speaker, at the start of the 14th Legislative Assembly, we were told that this government would be more open and transparent, and that we would be able to win the respect of the people in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, what I have been finding during the interim appropriations is in fact, almost the opposite. The only time I have found out about the restrictions or the reductions that are happening in my community and region of Inuvik, is in this arena, on the floor in committee of the whole. Mr. Speaker, that is unacceptable.
The previous practice of Assemblies was to inform Members before notice was given in such a matter. I was speaking to the mayor in Inuvik, Mr. George Roach, and he said he was on the phone with the honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment the other day for about 15 minutes, and this topic did not come across the lines.