Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome everybody back to Yellowknife. I look forward to a busy few days of discussions on the challenges that face us here in the Northwest Territories. We have heard today a lesson on consensus government, how government is supposed to be working. We have heard about the exciting prospects that we have in non-renewable resource development in our relationship with governments in the Northwest Territories and Canada.

I have had an opportunity since our last session, Mr. Speaker, to travel to many communities as chair of the special committee reviewing the Official Languages Act. When you travel to these communities, you do not really discuss the official languages. You discuss the challenges, concerns and issues faced by people in their communities in the Northwest Territories.

In the last session, I spent a lot of time on housing issues, on education, on renewable and non-renewable resource development, on government systems and the kind of programs and services we should be delivering here in the Northwest Territories.

I am more convinced, talking to people, that we are not doing a good job at delivering programs and services and providing an opportunity to people at the community level, Mr. Speaker. They still are lagging behind in housing, in education. We are still the highest users of our social programs. How can we change things here so we can provide better programs and services, provide better infrastructure so that our people can stay at the community level, Mr. Speaker?

You know, after this session and coming into the fall session, it is probably our last real chance to make some significant changes to how we deliver programs and policies that will see better results at the end of the day. After that, it is into election mode. I would like to spend this next ten days seeing which direction our social programs delivery is taking and what the Ministers responsible are thinking in that area. I will be starting with questions to Mr. Allen, as Minister responsible for Housing. I thank you and happy birthday, Mr. Speaker.