Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Roland on October 1, 2003, regarding consolidating contracts for computers.

Mr. Roland asked how many computer purchase contracts have been awarded this fiscal year to companies outside of Yellowknife. In 2003-2004, there have been 10 tenders for different products. These contracts have been awarded to three different Yellowknife firms.

The total value of the contracts is $610,632. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to advise Members on recent developments in the Northwest Territories sports and recreation system.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that over the course of the last few months, Northwest Territories sports and recreation partners and MACA staff have been working hard to develop a new governance and financing model for sport and recreation service in the Northwest Territories. They have made significant progress and we are on the verge of moving forward with two important advances in this area.

In the very near future we will finalize the design of a new Northwest Territories sport and recreation partners' council, and implement revisions to the Western Canada Lottery Act regulations.

The Northwest Territories sport and recreation partners' council will be structured to bring together the major sport and recreation partners and regional representatives in a common forum to set policy and make decisions on the allocation of resources. The council will report to the Minister of MACA and will be accountable to its membership for streamlining decision-making, improving program coordination and identifying new ways to access resources.

The council will be supported in its activities by an updated set of regulations under the Western Canada Lottery Act. The changes to the regulations will both ensure that the proper controls are placed on these lottery programs, while allowing the lottery to seek out new opportunities to increase revenues, so that ultimately communities and participants in the sport and recreation system will benefit.

Mr. Speaker, later today I will table a document titled "The Northwest Territories Sport, Recreation and Physical Activity System." This document, along with the discussion paper I circulated to all Members on the changes to the Western Canada Lottery Act regulations, spells out the government's commitment to supporting community, regional and territorial sport and recreation services.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the next steps in this process and to working with our partners and communities to continue to improve sport and reaction services in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share with this House the good news that was announced in Yellowknife over the weekend by the Honourable Allan Rock, the federal Minister responsible for Infrastructure. Minister Rock has confirmed that under the new Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund announced in the 2003 federal budget, the Northwest Territories will receive $15 million to support community infrastructure needs.

Mr. Speaker, as a result of aggressive lobbying by northern leaders representative of the NWT Association of Communities, the Premier and Finance Minister of the Northwest Territories, the Government of Canada has recognized that per capita allocation of federal funding programs does not begin to address our unique needs. Thus we are guaranteed a minimum of $15 million over the next 10 years, and we will receive an as-yet-undetermined additional amount based on a per capita allocation.

The new municipal rural infrastructure fund is designed to support essential infrastructure needs identified by communities themselves. It is my hope that this funding will enable the Government of the Northwest Territories to respond to concerns that have been raised time and again in this Assembly; concerns like the need for adequate water treatment systems in all our communities, and the need for chip sealed roads to address dust control issues.

Mr. Speaker, working in partnership with the Northwest Territories Association of Communities, with community government and with Members of this Assembly, we can take maximum advantage of this new funding for the benefit of all our residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too want to express my support for this motion and take the opportunity to express my gratitude to Mr. Hamilton for the services and assistance he's given me as a Member over the past eight years. I'd like to express my appreciation for the advice he's given us, in Caucus, as a committee member and in this House. I know that it's helped us to arrive at some very controversial decisions and it's helped us, as well, to make some very wise decisions. I also would like to express my gratitude to my constituents for helping me help them. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have capital planning staff and we also have our regional staff. So information to the communities will be passed through the regional offices and put to the communities, then there will be some discussions with the communities as to how we can proceed. No doubt, we would all like to see the communities receive the program as early as possible but, like I said, we can't guarantee anything at this point. But we will have discussions with the communities through the normal process, the regional offices. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as soon as we have reviewed the progress and cost that we've experienced over the summer, we will get the information to the communities. However, we have to keep in mind that this has to go through the business planning process, as well, so I can't assure any of the regions that they're going to have something happen next year or the year after until the business planning process is completed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the direction from FMB to the department was to expand the program to all the non-tax-based communities, so it will expand to all communities. What we are planning to do is at the close of the season, and I believe it will be early this fall because of the type of work that we've done in the communities, we will meet with DOT and review what it cost us and also at what pace we can continue, bearing in mind that we only have $1 million a year to do this. So we will review work we can do for the next business plans after we have reviewed the progress this summer. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the chipseal program under the supervision of MACA has, over the summer, been implemented in five communities: Fort Good Hope, Fort McPherson, Tuktoyaktuk, Fort Providence and Fort Resolution. The work in Fort Resolution at this point was to start on September 15th and it included culvert replacement, ditch drainage and grade improvements. The work was expected to take two weeks and should have been completed by the end of September. The work in all these communities is under the supervision of DOT. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to welcome in the gallery two of my constituents from Holman, Jill Olifie and Janet Kanayok, and from Tuktoyaktuk, Helen Gruben and Lena Kotokak. Mr. Speaker, these ladies are attending the annual general meeting of the Native Women's Association being held here in Yellowknife. I would also like to mention that Ms. Kotokak has been serving as my constituent assistant for the last four years and doing a fine job. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause