Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share with this House the good news that was announced in Yellowknife over the weekend by the Honourable Allan Rock, the federal Minister responsible for Infrastructure. Minister Rock has confirmed that under the new Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund announced in the 2003 federal budget, the Northwest Territories will receive $15 million to support community infrastructure needs.

Mr. Speaker, as a result of aggressive lobbying by northern leaders representative of the NWT Association of Communities, the Premier and Finance Minister of the Northwest Territories, the Government of Canada has recognized that per capita allocation of federal funding programs does not begin to address our unique needs. Thus we are guaranteed a minimum of $15 million over the next 10 years, and we will receive an as-yet-undetermined additional amount based on a per capita allocation.

The new municipal rural infrastructure fund is designed to support essential infrastructure needs identified by communities themselves. It is my hope that this funding will enable the Government of the Northwest Territories to respond to concerns that have been raised time and again in this Assembly; concerns like the need for adequate water treatment systems in all our communities, and the need for chip sealed roads to address dust control issues.

Mr. Speaker, working in partnership with the Northwest Territories Association of Communities, with community government and with Members of this Assembly, we can take maximum advantage of this new funding for the benefit of all our residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause