Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the last few months, at the beginning of this government, we have heard a lot about devolution and some statements over the last week on decentralization of jobs. Government positions going out in the communities and the regions are going to be a big thing and something we have to prepare for. In fact, our communities are talking about it, our regional centres are talking about it, and they’re very excited to hear that we are going to be decentralizing some of the jobs into the communities.

With that said, as Mr. Dolynny had pointed out, our education system, we do know there are challenges in our education system and that our students aren’t ready for post-secondary schooling when they graduate from the school system. There are going to be a lot of challenges when they go through with decentralization, and we have to start planning and preparing for it now.

This government has to find innovative and unique ways that are going to help assist building capacity in these regions and in these communities, so when these jobs become available, our communities, our families, our residents will be ready to take on these jobs.

Something that has been talked about and discussed is the housing needs in the communities as well as the office space. So when these jobs become available, we know that these jobs are capable of being done in communities such as Hay River, Inuvik, Fort McPherson, wherever it might be, that we do have the office space and we do have the housing infrastructure to house these people.

But it goes further than that. A lot of these people who are going to be coming up, either taking jobs or going out to the communities, have families. We are

going to have them placed. We are going to need early childhood development programs. We are going to need nursing. We are going to need policing. We are going to need recreation services, because outside of work, people have lives. We are going to have to build the infrastructure in these communities that is well needed, so when people come up to the North or are decentralized out of Yellowknife and some of the regions, they are prepared to live in the community, that they are going to be proud to live in, to do their work in, and be welcome in the community and be able to develop their family structure and their work structure as well.

When it comes to preparing for decentralization, one motto that I always used when I used to do all my running is: fail to plan, plan to fail. This government needs to start planning so that when these jobs become available in the communities, we are going to be successful and we are going to have these jobs taken up by people outside of our small communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.