Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week, I received a letter from the Premier outlining how a deputy ministers' task team has been created on meeting infrastructure requirements. The point of this team is to clarify the GNWT capital planning process between the GNWT and the communities in the North. Mr. Speaker, I was discouraged when I read this. To me, it is more busy work created by the upper levels of government which won't address the real issues.

There is a huge communication gap between the department heads deciding which projects go in which community and what the community actually wants or needs. There is also a lack of coordination between departments which results in delays and cost overruns on projects.

Last spring I travelled with officials from the GNWT into the communities in my region. Meetings were held with the people of the communities to hear what projects they felt would be of most benefit. The minutes of these meetings were sent to the communities and to my office. To date, no action has been taken. Mr. Speaker, I don't think this government realizes how frustrating this is.

What has been happening and what continues to happen is that projects and equipment are selected for communities without input from the community. For example, I've heard how a community was given the choice of either having a grader or a cat. The community really wanted a bobcat, but wasn't allowed to choose what would be best for the community. They had to choose between a grader or a cat, which wasn't their choice.

Mr. Speaker, how can we empower communities when we are still directing their choices? I have heard numerous examples of how government officials have come into the communities and told community members what the community needs, whether it be a new arena, fire hall or other such building. There is no dialogue between the people deciding the projects and the people who will use the projects. It is a top-down approach and it doesn't meet the community needs.

I'm sure you can understand how difficult it is for communities to do long-range planning when consultation is only given lip service. Instead of studying the problem, I encourage the government to open its ears, become involved in the actual communities and listen to the residents. Only then will useful decisions be made about which projects to fund in order to meet the needs of the communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause