Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to accent the report of the standing committee, Madam Chair, especially as Mr. Lafferty reported our extensive support for the non-government organizations that we contract with to deliver a wide range of services and supports and programs across the NWT.

Madam Chair, this has been a message that I have put out quite strongly and consistently for the past several years. Other Members have joined in on it as well. It is something that I just haven't seen a lot of evidence of. I know that there are some pockets where we are engaging in longer-term contracts and commitments with some NGOs, Madam Chair. This is what I have heard, but I am just not getting a lot of strong indication from the government that it really is taking to heart the seriousness of the situation that a number of NGOs...Well, every one of them that contracts with us, Madam Chair, naturally has to go through a process of arranging contracts or contribution agreements of accounting for them. This almost always includes full-blown annual audits of worrying about the commitments that are made for leases, for staff, for other projects as they continue and yet it still seems, Madam Chair, that far too many cases even where an NGO has a strong track record, very trustworthy performance, we still require them to go through this considerable administrative exercise on an annual basis.

We don't have to force these organizations or our own staff, Madam Chair, to go through this on an annual basis where there is a strong track record, a continuous level of service required, good people and systems and supports in place. We really do believe that we could sign longer-term agreements with less demanding and less rigorous levels of accountability and reporting. Of course, we still have to satisfy our need to make sure that what we want done is getting done for the money we pay.

What it comes down to for the people that I have talked to, Madam Chair, is that they are largely run by volunteers. The governance of these boards and organizations, the YWCA is one that really comes to mind, the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Yellowknife Association of Community Living, the Yellowknife Association of Concerned Citizens for Seniors, and on and on. These organizations are governed by volunteers. Where we can take some of the stress and angst, if you will, and time and energy away from getting the job done, then I think we should make every effort to do so. I think this is where creating multi-year agreements in financing situations can help not only those organizations, but can lighten up considerably the administrative burden that we have on our own bureaucracy to keep track of all these things. I will stop there, Madam Chair, as a general comment. My concern is that we do not seem to be moving forward on this change in the way we do business I think as aggressively as we could be.