Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to welcome everybody back to the House and take the opportunity today to talk about the capital planning process which this government uses.

Mr. Speaker, I was relieved when Cabinet made a commitment at the end of April to reinstate the practice of consulting with communities and MLAs to decide what projects go into which community. I think this is a positive step in ensuring the needs of all Northerners are being considered.

Mr. Speaker, in the past few weeks I have travelled with the government representatives to three of the four communities in my riding. Meetings were held in Rae-Edzo, Wha Ti and Gameti to discuss what capital planning is, what types of projects are funded and how much money is not available. As we all know, this government is in serious financial difficulty. Mr. Speaker, people in my communities were very pleased to see the government officials and to be asked for their input into the projects. Mr. Speaker, I enjoyed these meetings myself and I am looking forward to travelling to Wekweti on June 16th with these same officials.

Mr. Speaker, as useful as these meetings are, I am concerned that false hopes are being raised. I say this because decisions about which projects are going to be funded in the Territories are made at the deputy minister level, but it is not the deputy ministers who are going to the communities and hearing the needs of the people. I'm also concerned that, as long as deputy ministers continue to select the projects based on the same five criteria that were already in place, these community meetings are merely a front. I am worried that they might be a look good-feel good exercise with no actual changes made to help projects be selected.

Mr. Speaker, during the February session I mentioned that the first criteria in selecting projects to fund is the protection of people, the second criteria is the protection of assets. Despite these guidelines, we see money allocated and priority given to a campground when there is not enough for a health centre in Wekweti which could save lives.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage Cabinet to continue to seek input from the public and from Members when the actual decisions are made about which projects are funded. By doing this, the community consultations that have already occurred will be of benefit and the needs of all Northerners will be considered fairly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause