Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my statement today is on safe drinking water. I see that the standards in the Northwest Territories are improving with the proposed mandatory certification of anyone working with water treatment plants. That is a great idea, Mr. Speaker, but we need the proper facilities and water from the right source. We have to use the water intake from Marion Lake, the source the people do not want, in Rae-Edzo. In the case of Rae, the people want the supply from Russell Lake, which is clean water coming from the Barren Lands.

Mr. Speaker, the people from Rae are the ones living there and they are the ones who want to have the clean drinking water. It is their health that is affected by the water they drink.

Mr. Speaker, a good example is Fort McPherson. They have to truck in water from many kilometres out of town. Sometimes we may have to travel further, but we want our water from a good source.

Mr. Speaker, there may be other options as well. When we do projects of this magnitude, we need to use traditional knowledge. We have seen projects where traditional knowledge was not used in the past and it is costing the government more than it should. Sometimes we see departments going through procedures or costly studies, but at the back of their minds, they have already decided what the communities are going to get.

The studies can be smoke screens, time wasters or dust collectors. In this case, it appears the government is going to go with the cheapest option and not the will of the community residents. I have asked repeatedly for MACA to consider the wishes of the residents instead of shoving through a project they do not want. I will have questions for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.