Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to talk today about the residents of Tuktoyaktuk who are being burdened with the high cost of living. They are not able to benefit from some of the initiatives the government has taken to help our other communities. Recently, petroleum products division adjusted their fuel prices downwards to ensure that residents in smaller communities would see lower prices, just as residents from many larger communities are seeing lower costs at the gas pumps. However, a private contractor provides the fuel services in Tuk and he was resupplied by barges, Mr. Speaker, this past summer when the fuel prices were at the highest cost, at the highest prices.

Gas costs in Tuk are $1.69 at the pump for a litre of gasoline. Home heating fuel is at $1.44 a litre. In Inuvik, people are now paying $1.27 a litre and their

gas truck is being resupplied by private contractor and is resupplied by trucks down the Dempster Highway.

The Minister can be pleased with himself that he reduced fuel costs in some of the communities. Another Minister can be pleased because he’s predicting there will be a new energy source for closer communities in the future. That’s all great, but right now the residents in Tuk are being hammered by very high costs; high power bills, high gas bills, high food bills. They don’t see the government doing very much to help.

I have heard that there is a Strategic Initiative Committee on the cost of living which is chaired by Minister Lee. Perhaps the Minister should take some time to live in Tuk for awhile and maybe she could get some ideas on the community’s high costs of fuel. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.