Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Members of this Legislative Assembly have committed to improving government transparency and accountability as one of our top priorities. This commitment came about in part because of an historic election in which 11 first-time Members were elected. Residents of the NWT were clear that they wanted a change in the way business was done.

In response, Premier McLeod created a Minister responsible for Public Engagement and Transparency and bestowed that title upon the honourable Member from Thebacha. The Minister is developing an open government policy and strategy to set consistent direction that will apply to all government departments.

To help develop the policy, he is holding public meetings around the territory. This Monday, February 13th, the Minister will be in Hay River to hold a public meeting to gather input on what this strategy should look like. This gives residents a chance to have a hand in changing the way the government does business without having to wait until the next election to do it.

Some people may be asking: what is an open government policy, and why should I care? To me, open government is a way to allow citizens to hold government accountable by making government data and information accessible and easy to understand.

As an MLA, I can attest to the importance of access to data and the need for this policy. I have to make decisions based on the best information I have, and it's a constant struggle and time consuming for me to find that information.

Just imagine if you wanted to know how much infrastructure money flows to Inuvik or to Fort Smith. An effective open government policy would allow you to go onto a website and pull up that information. Then, you could send that information to your MLA to hold up on the floor of the House and question the Ministers about why there seems to be such a disparity between funding to regional centres. That’s just one example, and there are many more.

I encourage all residents of Hay River who want to change how the GNWT does business to attend the public meeting this Monday at 7:00 p.m. at the Ptarmigan Inn. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.