Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to talk about something that I have brought up in this House many times before. That is the fair distribution of government jobs, capital infrastructure, and programs and services.

The NWT has a very heated economy at this time, and most of this is manifested here in the capital, Yellowknife. Most of this activity is driven by the private sector, and much of it is related to resource development. Yellowknife has been able to capitalize greatly on the addition of diamond minds, and I say good for them.

What I am concerned about is the growth related to government activity. When Hay River and Fort Smith worked hard for a little support from the GNWT, with the leverage that they had with loan guarantees, training dollars and their international jet-setting diamond secretariat, to see some of the cutting and polishing in our communities, we got nothing. When Hay River proved that we could easily accommodate the expansion of Correction Services at a cost much lower than that being proposed in Yellowknife, we got nothing. The $50 million jail came to Yellowknife, so it follows now that we need to build a $41 million courthouse to go with that jail.

When other communities put forward proposals for the new Business Development Investment Corporation headquarters, we got nothing. When the new human rights office was planned, communities like Fort Simpson, Hay River, Fort Smith and Inuvik put forward proposals, and we got nothing.

There have been good economic arguments put forward for years from other communities to absorb some of the expansion created by new and improved government

infrastructure and services, but decisions were obviously made on the basis of politics. When the Dene K'onia Young Offender Facility was shut down last year, sending our long-term, highly qualified staff in all directions in search of jobs, sending our youth from the South Slave to Yellowknife, we got nothing. Sure, the numbers were temporarily down, but everyone in Justice knew that those numbers were going to climb back up again, under the new Youth Justice Act.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recite the number of political decisions that have resulted in lost opportunities for our regions, outside of Yellowknife, to become more viable, but a Member's statement wouldn't allow enough time for that long list. We need more political decisions that will show a government and Ministers with enough backbone to say that we have a responsibility where possible and where efficiently we need to locate government infrastructure and services in the communities.

If the WCB headquarters is looking for waterfront property for a new corporate office, Hay River has beautiful waterfront property available right downtown. If the NWT Housing Corporation is going to be reprofiled and downsized, I am sure that Fort Smith or Inuvik would be happy to step up to the plate. Let's...