Mr. Speaker, Dennis Waitley once said, "The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence." Mr. Speaker, the youth are crying out for help, telling us to listen, telling us that we, as adults, are not paying attention to them. We are still hoping that the youth issues will go away and we will continue on with life, and that it is their problem and blame it on them. We, as parents, who elect officials, have a huge responsibility to guide our youth into independence. Why is it that only when the youth get media attention for crimes committed, vandalism, or take part in any anti-social behaviour, we begin to discuss youth issues? Yet, I read in newspapers that our youth in larger centres are entering into national and international events and sports that youth in the smaller communities can only dream of unless we can bring back the test program that was once truly successful in Inuvik in the 1960s that combined the schools in after-school activities.

Mr. Speaker, we have a huge population of youth in the North. Mr. Speaker, in the Sahtu region, we have a high percentage of youth in our communities. We, as leaders and members in positions of authority, have to provide basic tools and skills to give our youth the responsibilities for their choices in life. Mr. Speaker, research shows us that there are far-reaching negative effects of leaving children and teens unsupervised after school, and that children exposed to inadequate care are more susceptible to peer pressure and negative influence than those who receive structured and supervised care. It is obvious that there is a need for youth after-school programs in all of our communities in the Northwest Territories. However, the need is more apparent in smaller communities because of lack of facilities, resources and NGOs involved in providing after-school extracurricular programming.

Mr. Speaker, it shocks me to hear that this government is considering building a brand-new building along some nice walking trails for WCB. Mr. Speaker, how can this take place? The needs of our residents will be better met by providing adequate facilities and resources for after-school programs. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I urge this government to take a serious look at where its priorities lie and, more importantly, where they should be. We must provide opportunities for those children that are in desperate need of our attention. Mahsi.

---Applause