Mr. Speaker, today I want to talk about fairness. This government has an obligation to consider decentralization of government programs and services. We can’t change where some things are located, where there is a river, a lake, rare earths, diamonds, natural deposits. We can’t change where those things are located and the industry that may spring up around them, but we can certainly change the economic outlook for our regions and for our communities.
Centralization of government is a self-perpetuating problem. The more centralization occurs, the more rationale there is for more centralization. Growth spawns a capacity, and capacity attracts growth. Someone has to have the political will to stand up for what is fair. This is what is fair: that this government, with its resources, use every opportunity possible to bring this question to bear. This is the question: Is this a service, a program, a project, a position, an activity, a meeting or a departmental activity that could be carried out within a community or a region outside the capital?
No one wants to deny Yellowknife its prosperity, but it isn’t necessary to sit back, to the detriment to the regions, and watch Yellowknife thrive. Businesses will make choices based on their interests of their enterprises and we do not control that, but the GNWT has the opportunity to consider, within the parameters of efficiency and effectiveness, the goals and mandates of this government to bring this lens of fairness to the decision it makes. Left to the bureaucracy, I am sad to say, I doubt that this kind of decentralization will happen.
I am looking for strong political leadership to put actions to the statements that we say we want strong and viable regions, communities, and where we have the opportunity to positively affect this, Mr. Speaker, I believe that we as a government have to stop talking and we have to start to see some actions.
Now, I believe this is a government that can do it. I have every confidence that this Premier, this Cabinet, this 17th Legislative Assembly is the government that is going to start to bring real action to decentralization in support of communities and regions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
