Thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted to provide some general comments in terms of what we have before us. It has to be acknowledged that in the NWT we’re very dependent on our natural resources to take us through the hard times, and this far we’ve been very fortunate in terms of the mineral industry playing a very vital role in ensuring that we have operating diamond mines to create employment and business and help the NWT overall in terms of the GDP, our gross domestic product, in terms of trying to at least invigorate the economy in the NWT.

That being said, this government is constrained in terms of the total operating budget of $1.6 billion and there are challenges that remain in the communities. The cost of living is fairly high. At the same time, the social issues remain fairly challenging, as well, and in terms of the cost of living, whom does it really affect. It’s the people that are on fixed incomes. At the same time, maybe it could be elders, seniors that live on fixed incomes. Sometimes it’s people that are disabled. At the same time, it could be single parents that are trying to put food on their tables for their kids.

So it’s a challenge and we have to acknowledge that we have to try to put our best foot forward in terms of meeting the challenges of at least ensuring that the needs of the residents of the NWT are being met and more so in the communities.

In the riding that I serve, and more likely it’s common throughout the NWT, there’s potential, and this government, through its departments, has to ensure that we work with communities to try to come up with the best possible scenarios of creating opportunities for businesses and, at the same time, trying to invigorate the economy. Such are those of the communities that I serve. I take pride in terms of the geographic location of our communities. They’re the first communities that you come across when you drive up north by vehicle, and I’ve always believed the first impression is vitally important. So, the communities that have campgrounds, it’s vital that we have the services, pristine, at the same time, and a very good service that people can identify and at least keep coming back to.

The biggest thing for the riding that I serve, too, is the transportation. This budget, the biggest sector is transportation, the highways. In some respects we’re quite fortunate that we live on the main artery from Enterprise all the way to Kakisa, to Fort Providence and Yellowknife and this summer we experienced what happens if we experience a

natural disaster. The fires closed down the highway and the goods of transportation were not being transported to Yellowknife. So there’s a need to perhaps look at contingencies, and with the reality of climate change, these kinds of incidents or natural events could be quite common as we go into the future.

Just generally, there are some projects that are coming down. So that’s good to see, but more could be done. But at the same time, we have to acknowledge that there’s a limited resource in terms of dollars that the government carries. At the same time, there’s a high rate of expectation on what kind of services this kind of government can provide, especially for the communities that it serves and the small communities that matter. It’s essential that we continue to meet the needs of our residents as best we can. Mahsi.