Thank you, Madam Chair. I would just like to inform the House that I have been cooperating with

the committee. I have shared all the information I have had access to. We have done briefings with the committee. I kept you up to date on where those units sat. Also, with regard to our implementation report on phase one, we could not deliver it because we did not conclude the construction and the complete phase of the project until the middle of November.

With regard to the time that was expected, I made it clear to the committee, at the time, that I would be reporting back after the phase two evaluation was presented to Cabinet. Once that was approved, I presented it to committee.

Also, I have been working with Members to try to get to the bottom of a lot of these problems. We are expecting to do a project that, in most cases, because you are dealing with logistics and isolated communities, housing projects usually take a year. We did something in less than six-and-a-half months. The majority of those units weren't ready for occupancy until almost October or November. In this case, a lot of people in those communities who were asking for these units found other accommodation.

We are working with those communities. We have put out calls to communities to ensure that we are open to other interested parties. The majority of the communities that we have these units in right now have requested, either through homeownership or working with the professions who are coming to communities, to have an opportunity to acquire these units. When they were there prior to this, they had to leave because there was no accommodation. We are seeing that.

We are also working closer with the departments to ensure that that information is out there. The bottom line is you are dealing with a challenge where you can't just drive up to a subdivision and pick which unit you want. You have all these logistical problems of getting these into communities. You have land development problems, transportation problems and ensuring that it is affordable.

I would just like to elaborate on the fact that now we are in the process of talking with the communities. We have interest in almost every community to purchase these units, either through the private sector or other departments like RWED or MACA. If anything, the whole idea is to develop a market in communities where there never was a market. Now people have an option and they didn't have that before. In most cases, communities such as Norman Wells and also Rae-Edzo and other communities, we are developing capacity in those communities, so we can accommodate professions who are looking at a health board for the Sahtu region. Where are they going to go?

Also with regard to the Tlicho agreement, they have to build capacity. One of the challenges we face is the need to be able to develop a market which isn't there right now. We have been working with those different organizations such as the Sahtu health board because they are the ones who are requesting more units in those communities.

It's important that we don't lose sight that there are other professions in our communities who now have an option that was never there before. I don't think we can exclude the idea that now we have 66 beds in communities that we didn't have a year ago.

A concern that I have is I have been open with the Members and I have been responding to any information requested by the committee. The report was done, the evaluation was done and we admit there have been mistakes, but trying to do a project which takes a year in six-and-a-half months, if anything we should be praising the department for making that go. I guess it was wishful thinking to deliver those before September 1st, but that didn't happen. Thank you.