Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I too have some issues with this particular act. Mr. Chairman, this government was created to represent all the people of the Northwest Territories. I have said it before and I will say it again; what I find is, this government controls a welfare state. The majority of government employees are in this capital and the regional centres. Through contract work or devolution of responsibility we deliver programs and services of this government in our communities, by band, municipal staff or institutions we create, such as the health boards that were created in Lutselk'e and then pulled away.

The biggest issue I have with this is that we create and protect the bureaucracy, but we don't recognize the value of service provided by frontline employees. As far as I am concerned, Mr. Chairman, the bureaucracy is the support staff and we are supporting and protecting that support staff more than we value and protect the service delivery at the community level. When we transferred authority -- for example, Fort Resolution and Lutselk'e had a health and social services board -- this government transferred about a quarter less resources and expected them to succeed in a very complicated area. Very little financial and human resource support for these two boards was provided. When they pulled it back, salaries and support of staff increased and they pulled it back saying you guys can't handle it, so we are going to take it back. That is not how you develop capacity in the communities. That is not how you develop self-government in the communities that we, as a government, are negotiating currently with the federal and aboriginal governments of the Territories. We don't address that. We protect ourselves.

I will ask one question of the Minister, Mr. Chairman. The exemption that we are looking for under the Human Rights Act, is there any guarantee that we will get that exemption if we pass this act? If not, what are the consequences? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.