Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the budget speech presented by the Minister of Finance, there is one area I would like to focus on. It states we are on the brink of substantial development for our Territories. I think we must all thank the Good Lord above for putting those resources in the Northwest Territories.
In my region, Mr. Speaker, an announcement was made and a press release was sent out by the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, that on June 16th, the Gas Concession Agreement was ratified by the Inuvialuit of the community of Inuvik, and it was a unanimous vote of the beneficiaries that agreed to the concession agreement.
I must say it has been the development side and private sector that has kept Inuvik and the region going. It has been my experience as a Member of the Legislative Assembly that I have had to bring a lot of bad news to my constituents as a result of messages and actions of this government.
We do have hope on the horizon. I urge, as my colleague for Mackenzie Delta said, this government to help out when it comes to developing our substantial resources that lie in the ground now. We need to be ready for this, not playing catch-up as we have before.
I urge this government to take in the serious consideration of moving quickly in this area. Again, I am thankful for resource development in our region that puts people to work and trains people. I look forward to further working with the government to try and make sure that we are ready to move when the oil and gas companies are ready to move into the Delta. Thank you.
-- Applause