Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It should be accessible to anyone who wants to develop that skill. Soccer is probably the largest house-league sport in Canada and is growing every year. For Northwest Territories youth, it is a chance to participate in a world-class sport. Young people should not miss out, just because they cannot afford to attend and participate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring up the issue of a lack of funding for Super Soccer, which is just one small example of the tremendous problems faced by youths and other interest groups in all of the small communities. Mr. Speaker, the way Super Soccer is structured is limiting and constrictive. I am not certain that the structure is serving the needs of the soccer-playing community. Smaller communities are at a disadvantage. Soccer could be further developed so that more individuals can take advantage of the training. Often, smaller communities have difficulty developing competitive individuals and teams compared to the larger centres.

There are several problems, Mr. Speaker. The first is that smaller communities have to come up with their own up-front funding to send sports teams by air to Yellowknife for Super Soccer. While there are some ways to recover partial travel costs, it is largely after the fact -- and only for a percentage of travel.

Another problem is with the huge costs of obtaining a bingo licence. Often sports groups have to fund raise, competing with other interest groups, just to get the very scarce money in small communities together to pay for a bingo licence. There does not seem to be a manageable separate rate for non-profit groups. The Super Soccer tournament is coming up this May in Yellowknife. Soccer teams in Fort Resolution have been holding bake sales, penny and bottle drives, and holding lunches at the school. They are scratching the bottom of the barrel, trying to come up with the funds they need to send the number of teams they want to.

If Super Soccer were held in March, many teams would not have to fly into Yellowknife, they could drive. That way, more teams would be able to compete. They would also save on the amount of money in the car to make the trip. The problem with all of these concerns is that many individuals and teams are missing out. Communities, such as Fort Resolution, can only afford to send so many players by air. Many more students would be participating if they did not have to fly or worry about funding.

It has been suggested that since Super Soccer is aimed at school children and takes place in the schools, that it also be funded by the divisional boards of education through the Department of Education. Soccer is a universal sport, requiring little equipment. All you need is a ball and a good pair of shoes.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. One final question. When you do that case-by-case or whatever that might be, do you have a cost associated with that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The last question was just to look at how long the life of the house is before it is condemned, before they offer it to the communities. I am not asking if they are going to put some resources into upgrading the houses, just to find out how long of a life it has before the offer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In the haste of getting out of staff housing, has the Financial Management Board Secretariat looked at the short term possibility of these houses that they want to transfer to the communities? If it is going to be condemned, what would be the cost to bring it up to acceptable standards? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As we all know, the major cost to this government is in the social programs, social envelopes. A lot of that has to do with health conditions, education levels and so on. One of the biggest challenges in the smaller communities, where most of these homes are, is housing for professional people. The high cost of living, coupled with the high cost of maintaining homes and so on, is a real challenge. It is costing this government quite a bit of dollars. I would think the government might see this as an investment to reduce the long term costs to the government in the areas of social programs by providing significant amounts of resources to upgrade homes. They could then pass on these homes to either the communities or continue to manage them. By doing this, they could reduce the costs to the social envelopes. I am just wondering if the Minister and the Financial Management Board Secretariat have considered that line of thinking. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would just like to take the Minister back to the FMBS homes in the communities. I believe the problems with the communities is the transfer of ownership of FMBS homes that will be condemned in the near future. It is with the Financial Management Board Secretariat to pay for the upgrade of the houses before ownership is transferred and that is a concern by a lot of communities. It is great to give the homes out. I am sure these people would love the houses, but not if it is going to be condemned in the next couple of years and is going to cost regular money to upgrade it to meet the levels of whatever the management structure is involved in homes being operated. It may also reduce the costs. It would definitely reduce the long-term costs of the government. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would just like to go on record and say that the deferral of the Deninoo School for the 2001-2002 main estimates from 2000-2001 is not satisfactory to me, obviously. I believe there is a forced growth in that community also. That was one of the campaign issues that I had to deal with. I understand this government is not doing too well financially. I have spoken with my honourable colleague, Mr. Ootes, on this issue on a number of occasions. He has given me his personal commitment that project would still be in the five-year plan, in the main estimates. I would like to get his personal and departmental commitment at this time.