Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I am speaking again on water treatment facility deficiencies in Sachs Harbour.

Mr. Speaker, I have always supported drinking tap water to eliminate the unnecessary use of bottled water. But for the community of Sachs Harbour, it would be irresponsible to do so.

I have spoken about the boil water advisory and the water treatment facility problems in Sachs Harbour recently. This problem is so important for the people of Sachs Harbour it must be mentioned again and again.

Mr. Speaker, when I think of Sachs Harbour now, I think about the water treatment plant. According to

leadership in the community, the water treatment facility is the only type still in Canada and it’s so problematic, when parts are needed they must come from the United States or other parts of the world. I believe the primary responsibility of this government is to provide basic necessities of life to the residents of the Northwest Territories. I also believe the water is one of those necessities, so I can say I don’t…Sorry. So I can understand why this government is taking so long to resolve this problem with the water treatment facility. With the cost of electricity, boiling water in Sachs Harbour is not only time consuming, but is also costly.

This is another issue with a long list of disparages between small isolated communities like Sachs Harbour and larger centres.

Mr. Speaker, I know the Minister of MACA and his predecessor have forwarded me correspondence on this issue and I greatly appreciate that. But the frustration of the community is still boiling over, no pun intended.

---Laughter

The cost is escalating year after year. According to the community members, it makes more cost saving sense to just replace the entire facility.

Why is MACA so persistent in signing over the water treatment plant to the community when there are so many problems unresolved?

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted