Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. It's been estimated that here in the Northwest Territories some 8,800 people have or will experience some form of mental illness or addiction disorder in their lifetimes. Further, Mr. Speaker, it's been predicted that the number and complexity of these disorders will increase significantly, with service demands up by 50 percent. This was an estimate made eight years ago, Mr. Speaker.

For those individuals and their families, a sad reality is that our government services have actually been badly eroded over the past decade. Here in Yellowknife, Mr. Speaker, we've seen agencies like Northern Addictions Services, Structured Success Program for Kids, NWT Family Counselling, and the Somba K'e Healing Lodge shut down for a variety of reasons since 1997. The latest in this regrettable legacy was the surprise decision by the Minister of Health and Social Services a year ago to cancel an approved building renovation project and move the Territorial Treatment Centre from its 15-year-long roots here in Yellowknife. The idea was that a recently vacated building in Hay River could also be renovated and the whole continuum of about 15 staff, the involvement of schools, hospitals, and other service agencies, could all be transplanted successfully, economically, and seamlessly. As we now know, Mr. Speaker, this decision was made in contravention of rules set up by the government's own Financial Administration Act; and more to the point, we know that through the admission of the deputy minister at the time that this was all being done for political purposes.

I'd remind the Assembly, Mr. Speaker, of the petition tabled last fall signed by 707 residents demanding that this program be continued in Yellowknife. Since then the issue has become even more clouded with the decisions, more snap decisions made in secret when the government changed the program from a renovation to a demolition of the building and a new project, all projected to be completed within the next 15 months for a September 2007 opening at the original budget of $3.1 million. Mr. Speaker, this just does not compute. I come back to the demand of the 707 people who signed the petition to continue the service here in Yellowknife, Mr. Speaker, not for politics, not for money...